iPhone and iPad App 24-Hour Trainer

Chapter 1

Hello iOS!

Hello and welcome to the exciting world of iOS application development. iOS is Apple’s operating system for mobile devices; the current version as of writing this book is 5.0. It was originally developed for the iPhone (simply known as iPhone OS back then), and was subsequently extended and renamed in June 2010 to iOS to support the iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch.

iOS at its core is Unix-based, and has its foundations in MacOS X, which is Apple’s desktop operating system. In fact, both iOS and MacOS X share a common code base. As new versions of mobile operating systems have appeared, Apple has brought over more functionality from MacOS X. This is part of Apple’s strategy to bridge the difference between desktop and mobile computing.

With the launch of version 5.0, Apple has once again pushed the boundaries of what is achievable on smart phones and tablet computers. iOS 5.0 has more than 200 new features and is without a doubt the most significant update to the family.

This lesson introduces you to the arena of iOS development.

iOS Developer Essentials

Before you get started on your journey of becoming an iOS developer, you will need some essential resources. This section covers these basic requirements.

A Suitable Mac

To develop apps for the iPhone and the iPad using the official set of tools provided by Apple, you will first need an Intel-based Mac running Mac OS X Lion with a minimum 2GB of RAM and at least 11GB of free space on your hard disk. You do not ...