Reddit reviews Objective-C Programming: The Big Nerd Ranch Guide (Big Nerd Ranch Guides)

The Big Nerd Ranch guide to Objective-C Programming is what you need.

It covers the basics of C programming (variables, loops, etc.) before quickly moving on to Mac and iOS specific tutorials. Small book, short chapters, and easy to read.

You can dive right into Objective C, I was only vaguely familiar with C and I've published a few apps without any problems. However, if you're intent on learning C pick up 'The C Programming Language' (K&R), not only the best C programming book, but one of the best programming books ever written.

Objective C books, I recommend one of the two or both books,
'Programming in Objective C 3rd edition' or
'Objective C: The Big Nerd Ranch Guide'

Both of these books are excellent resources for learning and I keep them close by whenever I have a question.

In terms of learning iOS development. I recommend going into iTunes U and downloading the latest Stanford University iPhone development course. I believe Winter 10 is the newest, follow along those classes and the class website, treat it like a real class, do the homework and all the assignments. There is no text book for the class, but this other book by Big Nerd Ranch, 'iOS Programming: The Big Nerd Ranch Way' is totally awesome.

After these classes and books you should have a great foundation for iOS development. Once you feel comfortable with everything and have an app or two under your belt, download Madison Technical College's Advanced iPhone Development course videos from iTunes U and Apple's own WWDC Session Videos.

Each MTC video is about 3 hours, watch them in chunks. The professor, Brad Larson is one of the best iPhone developers out there and in my opinion is one the best contributors to the community, (see his posts on stack overflow).

Lastly, check out www.raywenderlich.com. My personal favorite iPhone development website. It's updated every Monday, Wednesday, Friday with great technical tutorials that are funny and educational.

Best of luck to you and welcome to iOS development :-D.

The Big Nerd Ranch book on Objective-C doesn't assume you have any programming experience and I've found it helpful for someone that's not very familiar with compiled languages. Also, it was published very recently, so it stands a chance at being most up to date.

I'm currently using Objective-C Programming: The Big Nerd Ranch Guide

So far I haven't learned much that I didn't already know from Java or Python, but if you don't have any programming experience I'd say this is a great start

Here a some top notch books you'll need.

• Objective-C Programming: The Big Nerd Ranch Guide (Big Nerd Ranch Guides)
  
• iOS Programming: The Big Nerd Ranch Guide, Third Edition (3rd Edition) (Big Nerd Ranch Guides)
  
  You also need a Mac to develop apps for iOS and OS X.

You didn't ask me the question, but I'm learning with the same material.

• Paul Solt's course
  
• Big Nerd Ranch Objective-C programming
  
• Big Nerd Ranch iOS Programming
  
  I just finished working through the Big Nerd Ranch Objective-C book and found it extremely accessible and enjoyable. I started the iOS book yesterday and worked through five chapters - if you're genuinely interested in learning Objective-C and iOS these books are difficult to put down. Be aware that the newest edition of the BNR Objective-C is due at the end of November and the iOS book due at the end of December.
  
  Paul Solt's course provides video content that I have found to be beneficial supplementary content to the BNR books. Working through the book along with Paul's course has helped me cement the material. He posted a coupon to take the course for free ~1 week ago. Not sure the coupon is still valid or not.
  

Read this, then read this.

I would start by learning the fundamentals of coding. I personally recommend the Big Nerd Ranch guide on Objective-C.

It does a really good job of explaining concepts.

I would think C rather than C++, because Objective-C is basically C with the object orientation from Smalltalk smacked onto it.

My recommendation is to pick up a book. This one (Objective-C Programming: The Big Nerd Ranch Guide) was one recommended by the iOS 5 Developer Cookbook.

Pick up this book for $15 and work through it.

http://www.amazon.com/Objective-C-Programming-Ranch-Guide-Guides/dp/0321706285

This book is written for complete beginners so that you will learn the C programming language on OS X, and then more specifically Objective-C so that you can begin programming for iOS and Mac OS X.

It'll guide you through everything from getting your development environment (Xcode) to creating your first programs. There's also an active forum community at BigNerdRanch if you run into problems, although all of us should be able to help you as well.

In my opinion, not only do you not need Windows, but developing anything in Windows is much more difficult than in OS X. OS X is based on UNIX, which is a big deal for programming, because it gives you access to the terminal and a nix filesystem (which is identical to Linux's – most programmers would suggest you use a Linux variant such as CentOS or Ubuntu, but to be honest Mac OS X is just as viable for programming as any Linux variant).

As far as getting started goes, it's always a good idea to learn the granddaddy of most languages: C, and one of its extensions (C++ or Objective C). After that you're free to learn whichever language you want. Python is a popular choice because it's very simple (and powerful!), but I wouldn't make it your first language if you're serious about programming. Python is almost too simple for its own good. You won't learn many of the common language conventions, which you would* learn if you learned C or Java.

There are a few free C textbooks online, but none are as beginner-friendly and OS X tailored as the one I linked above. As far as development environments go, on Mac OS X there are two important environments: Xcode, which is Apple's own development environment. It will allow you to program in C, Objective C, and NASM. And then there's Eclipse, which is a multi-platform environment that supports a whole slew of languages.

Before you read any iPhone-specific development books, you're going to want a good understanding of the C and Objective-C language. Trust me, building a good foundation will help you immensely down the road. I can't recommend this book highly enough. http://amzn.com/0321706285

I'm currently working through the Big Nerd Ranch books which are fantastic. They have such a good way of teaching - you are constantly writing code and there are a lot of challenges for you to complete at the end of chapters. I picked them up after recommendations from many other redditors.

They have two books:

• Objective-C Programming - for those with no previous Objective-C experience.
  
• iOS Programming - for those who have worked through the above book &or those who already have a good understanding of Obj-C.
  
  I started with the first (as I would suggest you do) and would definitely recommend both.

I'm considering starting off with this and then moving onto this book

This book by Aaron Hillegass is what I consider to be the bible for noobs. He's an amazing teacher.

Objective-C Programming: The Big Nerd Ranch Guide

I've been writing Objective-C for a decade now and writing iPhone apps since Apple first launched their SDK, and since wayyy back in the Mac-only days I've always referred people to "the Hillegass book".

If you can get another book, I would recommend this one; it is basically written to be the other book's only prerequisite, so it will take you through the language without assuming that you already know anything at all. As far as Internet tutorials, the first thing I found in a quick search that makes similarly few assumptions is this. There may be others, I'll try to look more later.

Keep in mind also that, if you want to write iOS applications, you're going to need either a Mac or some kind of hackintosh, because the tools you will need run only on Mac OS.

> Maybe now is a good time to step back and consider what kind of programming job you might want to target.

This is definitely something you should keep in mind. Try to become really awesome at one thing. That's not to say you shouldn't have a well rounded education in programming, just that someone who is simply ok at everything isn't getting a job anywhere.

Here are a few texts which I consider to be great for a novice programmer:

The C Programming Language : ANSI C

It's an older book, but it's still the best book to learn the language.

C++ Primer : C++

I used this book to get started with C++, and found it to be easy to follow and informative. Some say it's not a beginner book per-se, they may be right. I was already very familiar with C when I started.

Objective-C Programming: The Big Nerd Ranch Guide : Objective-C

If you're planning to write apps for Apple's iOS and OS X platforms, you're definitely going to need to learn this. Otherwise, don't bother.

Algorithms : Algorithms / Data Structures

This is not the be and end all authority on algorithms, but it's a great book. It's less theoretical and more concrete in my opinion.

I don't feel qualified to give recommendations for other topics like Java or web development, as those aren't really my strong suits. Happy hunting!

I would highly recommend just diving in with Objective-C. Skip all the other languages - they'll just slow you down. The Big Nerd Ranch Objective-C Programming book is an excellent way to get started with programming in general, and you get to learn Objective-C (of course). Here's the link: http://www.amazon.com/Objective-C-Programming-Ranch-Guide-Guides/dp/0321706285

I've written a bit more on my blog based on my experience - it's a bit different from yours, since I already had Java experience when I learned Objective-C, but you certainly don't need to learn another language first. Here it is: http://roadfiresoftware.com/2014/03/can-i-learn-objective-c-without-knowing-c/

I really wish I had started programming earlier. It's something that you easily have the capacity to learn at the age of 15 and you can teach yourself outside of school. I'd recommend getting some books from amazon. If you have a mac, learning iOS app development can be an awesome way to get started. You could get these 2 books (this and this) and be well on your way to developing iphone and ipad apps by the end of this school year.

Use these ebooks. They're brilliant:

First: Learn some Objective-C
Second: Start with iOS

It's very important that you don't give up when learning to write software. Keep chiseling at it and you will be able to create amazing apps.

http://www.amazon.com/Objective-C-Programming-Ranch-Guide-Guides/dp/0321706285

• Objective-C programming
  
• iOS programming
  
• stackOverflow
  
• RayWenderlich

I've seen the following recommended, I've not read them myself yet, so can't comment on how good they are or not:

Objective-C Programming: The Big Nerd Ranch Guide (Big Nerd Ranch Guides)


Programming in Objective-C (4th Edition) (Developer's Library)