Page 3 of 3
When I first created projects in Xcode, I just let it take care of the version control for me by creating a Git local repository for my code. This was working fine for me but I could see that in future I would need more flexibility. I think it’s better to build that (and good programming habits in general) in at the start of a project when the codebase is small rather than refactoring down the line when it becomes a bigger problem.
One issue is that the local Git repository could only be used by one computer. If I wanted to share this code I would need to switch to using remote Git repositories. I also wanted to incorporate some form of remote backup for additional security.
Github (recommended to me by Ian Hennessy) would do the job just fine but the free accounts are limited to public repositories. If I was working with other developers then it would make sense to pay for one of their plans. The collaboration tools e.g. issue tracking, code review look really good. It’s certainly a site I can see myself using in the future.
However for someone like me who is a solo developer, these features don’t add much value. I really just needed the backup functionality. So for this, I looked at storing the repository on Dropbox. It’s private and the free two gigabytes should be more than enough to host my code. Also Dropbox is available on pretty much everything and works well with firewalls. As for backups, it’s bullet proof. I’ve had my Windows PC hard drive fail recently. In the past this would have been a nightmare to deal with. Now I just installed a new drive, reinstalled Dropbox and saw all my documents reappear.
One issue that I think may arise would occur if Dropbox has conflicting edits on the same file from multiple locations. In that case I’d imagine it’s merge resolution would mess up the Git repository. Fortunately I don’t think that this will apply in this situation. I will be the only person with access to the repository and I won’t be editing the same files from two PCs at the same time.
To set up Dropbox I followed the steps on this post from cimgf.com. This answer on StackOverflow is also a good reference.
git clone –-bare . ~/Dropbox/development/repositories/GCUtils/GCUtils.git
The bare option is used as this will just clone the contents of the local .git directory to Dropbox. We don’t want to create a working copy of the code on Dropbox, as this may lead to Dropbox edit conflicts if that working copy is edited directly. In order to edit the code, a user should have to clone the repository to their machine, work on it locally and then push the changes to the Dropbox repository.git remote add dbGCUtils ~/Dropbox/development/repositories/GCUtils/GCUtils.gitAnd that’s pretty much it for the initial setup. From here Xcode can manage the commits to the local repository and also the push and pull from the remote repository. The Xcode user guide describes how Xcode can interact with Git here.
→ posted on January 26, 2012development
Here is a list of the resources I used when learning Objective C.
The main class of resources that I haven’t decided to use in learning Objective C have been books. There seem to be some good ones out there but I don’t think there’s much there that I haven’t been able to find on the web. Blogs and Stack Overflow have killed programming language books for me.
The other thing is that I think books about specific programming languages are the ones at risk of going out of date. My data structures and pattern books from college are still useful but any Java books from then have become outdated. The core object-oriented parts are still valid but you can say goodbye to vectors, Swing etc. I’ll have to keep an eye out for good Objective C pattern books.
To give a specific example, the ARC memory management recently introduced to Objective C has rendered the sample code in a lot of books obsolete. Not just obsolete but incorrect actually as the old code won’t compile with ARC enabled. On the web this can be updated, but the books are stuck with the older, invalid code. Maybe with ebooks becoming more popular there will be scope for having books that update their sample code automatically. Until then we have to wait for revised editions, if indeed they are released at all.
I just found this document (via @steipete) which is a guide from C++ to Objective C. This looks to be really good.
→ posted on January 21, 2012development
The main application for developing apps is Xcode. I'm not sure if there are any alternatives but at the moment I don't think I really need any. Xcode is free, installs from the app store. What more do I need?
Ok, so first I installed Xcode. Or rather I installed an installer for Xcode. Seems a bit odd. I'm not sure how that will work with updates from the Mac Store. At first glance it looked the same as most other editors. Text area for writing code, tree navigator for files etc. My initial impressions are that it should be straightforward to learn to use.
Onto learning how to create apps. My first stop was the tutorials on Ray Wenderlich's site. They're really comprehensive and I really recommend them. I began with the iOS Apprentice free tutorial which teaches you how to create a game called Bullseye. From that I think I gained enough knowledge to find my way around Xcode. From here, time for the next step i.e. learning Objective C.
→ posted on January 18, 2012development
My initial thought was that I would obviously use Objective C to program the app. However a work colleague suggested that I look at Appcelerator as he had used it to create his app. (The app is for Irish Leaving Certificate students. It allows them to download past exam papers to their iPhone or iPad. If you're a 5th or 6th year student check it out at http://www.jamessugrue.ie/app.)
The technology basically allows you to use Javascript to create your application. This presumably will hide the lower level implementation details and allow you to create apps faster. Also the apps should be portable across mobile OSes so this would allow for Android ports.
I don't think that this is the right approach for me though. I don't know Javascript or much HTML5 so either way I'd have to learn a new language. My thinking is that Apple use Objective C and intend for it to be the official way to write apps. This means that there will be loads of help out there for writing in Objective C, e.g. Apple articles, books, Stack Overflow questions etc. One of my concerns is that when you start hitting road bumps in Appcelerator, I not sure there will be the same level of support available.
Another problem with these type of frameworks is that if Apple add new features, then you have to wait for your framework provider to update their product, to support the new features. In this case I think you're better off using the standard language and APIs for the platform rather than a third party solution. Also the iPhone libraries seem fairly similar to the Mac libraries, so in future it should be straightforward enough to learn Mac programming after gaining an iOS foundation.
Given my C/C++ experience I think I will pick up Objective C quicker. I have no intention to support Android at this time so the cross platform support is not of any use to me. I'd also assume that, as most apps are developed in Objective C, that this will be more in demand by employers in future. So, Objective C it is then. How hard can it be...
→ posted on January 14, 2012development
Here's my initial blog post. I'm creating this blog as I've decided to create iOS apps in my spare time. Up to now I've been working as a programmer for eight years in Java, C++ and C. I've never written an Objective C application before nor programmed on the Mac. Also I've never blogged before so this is a totally new experience for me.
Given the time of year, there is a lot of advice regarding New Year Resolutions and how to stick with them. One of the ideas is that by telling your resolution to other people, this acts as positive reinforcement to actually carry it out. My version of that is this blog. I am making a commitment to create and publish an app to the app store. After that, we'll see.
I want to use this blog to document my journey to learn not only the technical aspects e.g. learning Objective C and Xcode, but also the other non software activities that come with creating and publishing software. This will no doubt change with time as (hopefully) I start to release apps but will do for a starting point.
→ posted on January 8, 2012development