Objective-C
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Xcode 3.2 Daily Tip: Adding actions and outlets in IB
More Xcode daily tips for Mac and iPhone developers. Back in the old times, when dinosaurs roamed the earth (and used less sophisticated IDEs), Interface Builder offered a built-in class browser as part of the project window. This browser allowed to you navigate through the Objective-C class hierarchy, and add subclasses along with instance variables and methods. You could generate files from those classes as a skeleton for further development. Then for a while, the class browser went away. And it was missed. But it is back again. New to Xcode 3.2, the Interface Builder Library pane hosts an updated class browser. This new subpane combines features that have recently been in the Class Identity Inspector (namely, adding outlets and actions to a class) with the ability to generate new subclasses from existing classes. So how does it work? I may be a brontosaurus but I prefer the old style browser to the new style "Lineage" display shown here. The new pane is certainly pretty, and it fits in well with the Library pane concept of collecting elements that are universally used throughout a project, but it lacks a certain ease-of-browsing that the old tree-style presentation used to give. All aesthetic and usability concerns aside, it's important to know that the Outlets/Actions interface has moved from its prior home into a new one. The interaction objects remain essentially unchanged. Use the + button to add outlets and actions, the - button to delete them. Double-click the default types to change them to a different class. You can locate a class by entering a string into the search field at the bottom of the pane. The pop-down action menu on the bottom-left offers a number of class-related functions including subclassing, displaying group banners in the class list, writing out updated class files, and more.
My first iPhone application
Last month I wrote about some resources for learning Objective-C that I was using to learn how to write iPhone applications. Judging by the number of comments on that article, I thought that I should write a follow-up post about my progress and the status of my first iPhone application. Since I had a few programming classes in college (VB, C++), the logic of loops and decision statements was not a big hurdle. By using the learning resources like screencasts and books, I was able to get a better grasp of object-oriented programming (OOP) in general, and of course the syntax specific to Obj-C. I became familiar enough with Xcode just by using it for demo programs, and I used the wealth of iPhone developer resources from Apple to use the iPhone SDK. After paying $99 to Apple to enter into the iPhone Developer program, I was then able to access the forums; they were helpful in figuring out specific things (like how to preset a UIPickerView object).
Starting out with Objective-C
I recently decided to embark on a personal challenge to learn Objective-C (the programming language behind Mac and iPhone applications) so that I could one day get applications into the App Store. I'm not looking to make millions with a fart machine app, but I do want to see some of my ideas come to fruition and end up on some iPhones. While we've previously mentioned how to delve into programming in Objective-C, there have been some recent releases of educational materials that can help those who want to learn the language:Programming in Objective-C 2.0 (book, $44.99)This is the latest release of Stephen Kochan's series which some consider to be the Objective-C bible. It has a wealth of information jammed into almost 600 pages, and it will take you from simple variable assignments to advanced class implementation. I'm over halfway through this book, and the text is easy to read (not too high level), and is broken up in a visually appealing style with sufficient whitespace to be gentle on your eyes. If you're only interested in programming for the iPhone, you may only want to rely on this book for its wealth of foundational Objective-C material as it only has one chapter devoted to the iPhone.
AppLoop brings automated application development to the iPhone
With the iPhone SDK, Apple is pioneering a new mobile development platform that is ahead of it's time; however, this innovation comes with a major caveat: It requires Cocoa (or Objective-C) programming knowledge. You may ask "Why is this a problem?" Well, someone might have a really great idea for an iPhone application, but not have the programming knowledge to back it up and follow through with the idea. This is where AppLoop comes in.AppLoop is a brand-new service that allows anyone with a web browser and RSS feed to create an application similar to the AP News app and submit it to the App Store -- without ever writing a single line of code. Their service works by generating a .plist file on the server side (based on your choices). The file is then passed through a couple of AppleScripts that generates the code based on the choices, and compiles it. The entire app-creation process takes less than a minute to complete, and you have an application ready to be deployed to the App Store. Ad-hoc versions can be requested in advance of the app being placed on the App Store. Currently, AppLoop is offering the RSS reader application, but they have plans to add additional paid features down the road.You can find out more information about this service by visiting their website, or by watching the video [link here] above. You can also see a gallery of screenshots from one of their applications.%Gallery-34925%Thanks for the information, Eric!
iPhone Coding: Recording Audio
%Gallery-5616% Yesterday, I figured out how to record audio on the iPhone. Today, by popular request, I'll go through the how-to part. And, for those of you paying close attention, I've updated the application with lots of nice new features. For those of you playing along at home, here are the basics you'll need to know to get started with audio recording.
In which, iPhone apps are built
It turns out that creating new GUI iPhone apps is both harder and easier than you expect. Saturday night when the first iPhone UI app proof-of-concept appeared, I was tied up with family. I frantically emailed Mike Rose begging him to get a post out, which, wonderful man that he is, he did. Sunday, I grabbed what time I could, intent on testing out the new developer toolchain produced by Nightwatch and company. In summary: if you can wait for an already-compiled binary toolchain to emerge, do so. The developers have done all they can to make building the tools as simple a process as possible. The folks on the irc.osx86.hu #iphone-uikit channel are helpful and supportive. But the bottom line is pre-alpha means pre-alpha. There many rough compiling patches along the way where I ended up hitting my head against the wall, convinced I could never get the tools built. I had to edit the source several times to get it to compile on my Intel Mac Mini.
Roll Your Own Quicksilver Plugin
Regular readers know we here at TUAW love Quicksilver. Indeed, I think it is my single favorite application (and that it remains free is just mind-boggling to me). Anyway, despite a ton of built-in functionality and plethora of plugins to add more, you may still find there are a few things your best Mac buddy can't do. So why not write your own plugin? If, unlike me, you can get over the hurdle of not actually knowing how to code, there's still the issue of the lack of adequate documentation for writing a Quicksilver plugin. And so the "Vacuous Virtuoso," Ankur Kothari, comes to the rescue with an on-going series devoted to writing a Quicksilver plugin with Xcode in Objective-C. So far, only the first two parts are available (an Introduction, and an Anatomy of a plugin), but three more parts are planned. So all you developers out there fire up Xcode and get to extending and expanding our beloved Quicksilver![Via Daring Fireball via Cocoa Blogs]
