book

Coding iPhone Apps for Kids, 1st Edition

by Gloria Winquist, Matt McCarthy

May 2017

Beginner

336 pages

9h 2m

English

No Starch Press

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Cover Page
Title Page
Copyright Page
About the Author
About the Technical Reviewer
About the Illustrator
Brief Contents
Contents in Detail
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
INTRODUCTION
Who Should Read This Book?What’s in This Book?The Companion WebsiteHave Fun!

PART 1: XCODE AND SWIFT
Chapter 1: HELLO, WORLD!
Installing Xcode, Your Code EditorYour First App!Introducing the StoryboardAdding User Interface Elements with the Object LibrarySaving Your WorkRunning the App on a Real DeviceWhat You Learned
Chapter 2: LEARNING TO CODE IN A PLAYGROUND
Constants and VariablesWhen to Use Constants vs. VariablesNaming Constants and VariablesData TypesDeclaring Data TypesCommon Data TypesType InferenceTransforming Data Types with CastingOperatorsOrder of OperationsOrdering Operations with ParenthesesCompound Assignment OperatorsWhat You Learned
Chapter 3: MAKING CHOICES
Boolean ExpressionsIs Equal and Is Not EqualGreater Than and Less ThanCompound Boolean ExpressionsConditional Statementsif Statementsswitch StatementsWhat You Learned
Chapter 4: WRITING CODE THAT LOOPS
Open the Debug AreaLooping Through Ranges and Collections with for-inSay Hello!Say Good Morning!Testing Conditions with while LoopsGuess My NumberShrink AwayWhich Loop to Use?Nesting and ScopeNesting Blocks of CodeConstant and Variable ScopeWhat You Learned
Chapter 5: KEEPING YOUR PROGRAMS SAFE WITH OPTIONALS
What Is an Optional?Creating OptionalsUnwrapping OptionalsA Special Kind of Operator: ??What You Learned
Chapter 6: STORING COLLECTIONS IN DICTIONARIES AND ARRAYS
Keeping Things in Order with ArraysUsing Mutable and Immutable ArraysUsing Type InferenceAccessing Items in an ArrayWatching the RangeAdding Items to an ArrayCombining ArraysRemoving Items from an ArrayReplacing Items in an ArrayUsing Array PropertiesLooping Over an ArrayDictionaries Are Key!Initializing a DictionaryAccessing Values in a DictionaryAdding Items to a DictionaryRemoving Items from a DictionaryReplacing Items in a DictionaryUsing Dictionary PropertiesLooping Over a DictionaryWhat You Learned
Chapter 7: FUNCTIONS ARE A PARTY, AND YOU’RE INVITED
In with the Input, Out with the OutputWriting a Custom FunctionFunctions Do Even More with Input ParametersMaking Party InvitationsInviting All Your Friends at OnceMessaging Your GuestsArgument LabelsAdding a Custom Argument LabelRemoving an Argument LabelReturn ValuesWhich Is the Bigger Box?Conditional ReturnsWhat You Learned
Chapter 8: CUSTOM CLASSES AND STRUCTS
Making a ClassWriting a Class DefinitionStoring Information in PropertiesCreating an Instance of a ClassAccessing the Properties of a ClassCustomizing Each Cake with InitializersAdding a Birthday Greeting MethodWriting a Helper MethodA Special Property Called selfClass InheritanceCreating a SuperclassCreating a SubclassDetecting the Data Type by TypecastingRefining the Data Type by DowncastingValue Types and Reference TypesUsing StructsWhat You Learned
PART 2: BIRTHDAY TRACKER
Chapter 9: CREATING BUTTONS AND SCREENS ON THE STORYBOARD
An Outline of Your AppCreating a New Xcode ProjectAdding the App IconDisplaying Your Friends’ BirthdaysAdding the Table View ControllerAdding the Navigation ControllerAdding a ButtonSetting Up Control Inputs and LabelsAdding Your Friends’ Names and BirthdaysMaking Your App Look Perfect on Every Device with Auto LayoutAdding Save and Cancel ButtonsWhat You Learned
Chapter 10: ADDING A BIRTHDAY CLASS AND HANDLING USER INPUT
The Birthday ClassCreating a New FileWriting the Birthday ClassProgramming User InputCreating the Add Birthday View ControllerConnecting Code to the Input ControlsConnecting Your Code to the StoryboardSetting a Maximum BirthdateSaving a BirthdayHooking Up the Save ButtonReading Text from a Text FieldGetting a Date from a Date PickerCreating a BirthdayAdding the Cancel ButtonWhat You Learned
Chapter 11: DISPLAYING BIRTHDAYS
Making the Birthday ListCreating the Birthdays Table View ControllerAdding Cells to the Table ViewSetting Up the Birthdays Table View ControllerDisplaying Birthdays in a Table ViewPutting It All TogetherDelegationConnecting the Two Controllers by Setting a DelegateWhat You Learned
Chapter 12: SAVING BIRTHDAYS
Storing Birthdays in a DatabaseThe Birthday EntityThe Birthday AttributesThe Application DelegateCode CleanupAdding More Features to Our AppAlphabetizing BirthdaysRemoving BirthdaysWhat You Learned
Chapter 13: GETTING BIRTHDAY NOTIFICATIONS
The User Notifications FrameworkRegistering for Local NotificationsScheduling a NotificationRemoving a NotificationWhat You Learned
PART 3: SCHOOLHOUSE SKATEBOARDER
Chapter 14: SETTING THE STAGE
Where Do I Get Art and Sound Effects?Making Games with Xcode’s SpriteKitCreating the Game ProjectAdding ImagesThe Scenery: Displaying a Background ImageHow It Will Be Played: Screen OrientationSizing Images for Different Screen ResolutionsWhat You Learned
Chapter 15: MAKING SCHOOLHOUSE SKATEBOARDER A REAL GAME
Our Hero, the SkateboarderCreating a Skater Sprite ClassImporting SpriteKitAdding Custom Properties to the Skater ClassCreating an Instance of the Skater in the SceneSetting Up the SkaterSeeing the Skater on the ScreenUnderstanding SpriteKit’s Debugging InformationHittin’ the BricksCreating Sidewalk BricksUpdating Sidewalk BricksFilling the Screen with BricksLeaving Gaps to JumpThe Game LoopTracking the Update TimeCalculating Elapsed Time for Each UpdateAdjusting Scroll Speed Using the Elapsed TimeUpdating the BricksUp, Up, and Away—Making the Skater JumpUsing a Tap Gesture RecognizerSimulating Gravity in a Simple WayChecking for LandingsWhat You Learned
Chapter 16: USING THE SPRITEKIT PHYSICS ENGINE
Setting Up the Physics WorldPhysics BodiesGiving Shape to the Physics BodiesSetting Properties of Physics BodiesGiving the skater Sprite a Physics BodyAdding Physics Bodies to BricksContacts and CollisionsHandling Contacts and CollisionsResponding to ContactsApplying Forces to Physics BodiesStarting and Ending the GameStarting the GameEnding the GameWhat You Learned
Chapter 17: ADJUSTING DIFFICULTY, COLLECTING GEMS, AND KEEPING SCORE
Speeding Things UpAdding Multilevel PlatformsDefining Multiple Brick LevelsChanging How Bricks SpawnAdding Gems to CollectSpawning and Tracking the GemsDeciding When to Spawn a GemRemoving GemsUpdating GemsCollecting GemsAdding Scoring and LabelsCreating LabelsTracking the ScoreUpdating LabelsUpdating the Player’s ScoreMaking the Gems ValuableTracking the High ScoreTweaking the GameplayWhat You Learned
Chapter 18: GAME STATE, MENUS, SOUNDS, AND SPECIAL EFFECTS
Tracking Game StateAdding a Menu SystemCreating the MenuLayer ClassDisplaying the Menu Layers When NeededRemoving the Menu LayerMaking SoundsAdding the Sound FilesPlaying the Sounds at the Right TimeShooting SparksWhat You Learned
RESOURCES
Troubleshooting ErrorsApple DocumentationXcode Keyboard ShortcutsiOS Simulator Keyboard ShortcutsXcode Versions
INDEX
MORE SMART BOOKS FOR CURIOUS KIDS!

Overview

Apple's Swift is a powerful, beginner-friendly programming language that anyone can use to make cool apps for the iPhone or iPad. In Coding iPhone Apps for Kids, you'll learn how to use Swift to write programs, even if you've never programmed before.

You'll work in the Xcode playground, an interactive environment where you can play with your code and see the results of your work immediately! You'll learn the fundamentals of programming too, like how to store data in arrays, use conditional statements to make decisions, and create functions to organize your code--all with the help of clear and patient explanations.

Once you master the basics, you'll build a birthday tracker app so that you won't forget anyone's birthday and a platform game called Schoolhouse Skateboarder with animation, jumps, and more!

As you begin your programming adventure you'll learn how to:

Build programs to save you time, like one that invites all of your friends to a party with just the click of a button!
Program a number-guessing game with loops to make the computer keep guessing until it gets the right answer
Make a real, playable game with graphics and sound effects using SpriteKit
Challenge players by speeding up your game and adding a high-score system

Why should serious adults have all the fun? Coding iPhone Apps for Kids is your ticket to the exciting world of computer programming.

Covers Swift 3.x and Xcode 8.x. Requires OS X 10.11 or higher.

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