So you say want to program? Fantastic! I am sure you are hyped up and thinking about the app you want to build and how it will look and function. Your first instinct is probably to rush out, download Xcode and start diving in.
Well, just hold on a moment. By all means start your Xcode download since that will take a while anyways. And you might as well brew a coffee or grab some other tasty beverage while your at it. Before you dive into programming and working in the IDE (integrated development environment) there are two documents you should read. The first is Apple’s Swift Programming Language book. This can either be viewed online or downloaded as a PDF for reading offline or through iBooks. This is not going to be an easy read. In fact you may get through it and realize you did not understand most of it. That’s okay and too be expected. There is a lot packed into this book. It covers concepts from the beginner level to the advanced. While it is hoped that you will understand some of the basics (like was is the difference between a variable and constant), the primary reason to read through this book at the get go is to give you an introduction to the concepts and terms that are at the core of the Swift programming language.
You are likely going to re-read this book a few times and consult it numerous times as you are learning. It is also a living document which changes to reflect the evolution of Swift as it becomes more robust and mature. And a great exercise several months down the road when you’ve really start to feel comfortable programming is to go back and re-read it. Not only will you feel great about how much you have learned and understand but will also find a lot more concepts starting to make sense and fall into place. Programming is complex. Don’t expect learning to be linear, and do expect to go back over some resources over and over until you have that light-bulb moment where you finally get it!
The second document to read is Apple’s Human Interface Guidelines. Like the Swift guide this can be read online or downloaded as a PDF. Unlike like that guide there is no discussion of code what so ever. The Human Interface Guidlines (HIG) focuses on design, user experience, and best practices. All those small little elements that create the iOS experience are covered, like when an alert sound can or cannot play, or what size a Spotlight icon needs to be. It is not difficult to read at all and actually provides a lot of fascinating insight into what makes a great app. Because the design of an app and its code are not independent of each you are going to be thinking of the one element as you are working on the other. There is no better time to instill this way of thinking then at the very beginning!
These two documents really form the basic foundation to start from. If after some time you are able to say that, yes, I really understand and can follow these two documents you will have achieved a massive success!
One last bit of housecleaning before we move on. Why not take the time now and set up your Apple Developer account. It’s what all he cool kids are doing so you know you want to! This is a pretty simple process. Head on over to developer.apple.com/register/ and follow the steps. All you need is an Apple ID and you can be set up in no time. You will notice that there is an option to pay for the yearly membership. Unless you are ready to put one of your apps on a device to try it out in the real world or submit an app to the App Store you don’t need to pay anything right now. But, keep in mind, as you progress and start to get closer to actually publishing and testing apps out on devices you might want to get your paid account set up in advance. It can take a few days to get authorized and ready to submit apps so setting it up before that point will prove quite helpful!
And with that you can also continue to install Xcode, maybe grab another beverage, and start some reading. Once you have all that done then come back here and read on to see what excitement comes in the second step!
Manitoba Ninja 