It’s a seemingly natural transition. The more you use the platform, the more you want to learn. This is a path that almost inevitably leads to application development. Maybe not in a professional context, but many will at least dabble in AppleScript or create some freeware out of need or desire.
For me, this was accelerated by the iPhone SDK. It is a simple sandbox that allows beginner programmers to have a chance to focus on a well defined set of functionality and features. Moreover, it provides UIKit classes that do the visual heavy lifting. In my opinion, it is the perfect environment for a fledgling programmer.
The ecosystem created by Xcode, the SDK, iPhone Simulator, Instruments, etc… has allowed many programmers to not only write, but also distribute apps with an ease that has never before been seen in world of software publishing (at least not in my limited knowledge of this area). Of course, the downside has been the flood of $0.99 apps that are negatively impacting the App Store. Additionally, developers have given up a large amount of control, but many of us new to the game didn’t know we lost. In regards to bringing new programmers to the platform, the overall effect seems positive.
Just being a curious Mac user has afforded me a great opportunity. Mostly, I’m just grateful I have a chance to be create my own company and be my own boss. Which, while not impossible, would have been much more difficult without the iPhone.
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I agree.
In my early computer days, I was able to quickly learn how to write simple programs for the Apple II. However with the advent of the Mac, I felt cut off from programming due to the complexity of writing programs for a graphical user interface.
Now, the opportunity to easily publishing software has been the carrot that I needed to start learning how to program the iPhone. While I am still not one of the iPhone programmers in our group, I am making headway and having fun with it. I attribute this in part to some excellent books that are available, such as Learning C on the Mac by Dave Mark. Also before starting with C, I dabbled with Ruby on my Mac (starting with an absolute beginner’s book by Chris Pine called “Learning to Program”) and that gave me some confidence that I can handle object-oriented programming.
Doug Hogg
http://toykite.com