Getting Started E-mail

You can get everything you need to start iPhone development for free (assuming you already have an Intel-based Mac and OS X Leopard version 10.5.4 or later).

The first step is to sign up as an iPhone Developer:

http://developer.apple.com/iphone/

Once you are signed up, you can log in and download the latest iPhone SDK for iPhone (currently 2.2.1).  This is a LARGE file (1.7 GB) so be prepared to wait.  After it downloads, you just install it and awaaaaay you go!

After you install the SDK, you will have some new toys to play with in /Developer/Applications/

  • XCode - Apple's development environment.  This is where you write all your wonderful code.
  • Interface Builder - Apple's interface builder application.  This is where you design what your user interface is going to look like and tie it into your code.  Typically, you will launch this from XCode by editing an xib file.
  • A bunch of other apps I haven't used yet.

Apple has iPhone Development Forums available.  They're currently marked as Beta and I haven't used them much.

 

Once you download and install XCode, I think the next step should be to download a bunch of sample apps and play with them.  Apple has some cool ones up there.

Now you have some apps to play with along with the code that generated them.  The next question is: How do I build my own app?  Now it's tutorial time.  You can find some tutorials on Apple's site as well as some other sites.  Here is a list of sites I suggest:

 

So, what's with the iPhone Developer Program?  Do I need to pay money?

Not yet.  You can create applications and test them on the simulator without paying a dime.  Once you want to test your application on a real device, you will need a certificate and you have to belong to the iPhone Developer Program to create one.  Fortunately, I belong to the program and can create certificates for up to 100 devices.  The other thing the program allows you to do is distribute your application on the App Store.  If you have an app that is ready for distribution, I say pay the $100 and get it up there.  Unless your app is terrible or very over priced, I think you will quickly make your $100 back.