The iPhone is the hottest gadget of our generation, and much of its success has been fueled by the App Store, Apple’s online marketplace for iPhone applications. Over 1 billion apps were downloaded during the nine months following the launch of the App Store, ranging from the simplest games to the most complex business apps. Everyone has an idea for the next bestselling iPhone app—presumably, that’s why you’re reading this now! And with the popularity of the iPad, this demand will just continue to grow.

So how do you build an application for the iPhone and iPad? Don’t you need to spend years learning complicated programming languages? What about Objective-C and Cocoa touch ? The answer is that you don’t need to know any of those things! Anybody can start building simple apps for the iPhone and iPad, and this book will show you how.

This update of an Apress bestseller walks you through creating your first app, using plain English and practical examples using the iOS 5 software development platform and more. It cuts through the fog of jargon and misinformation that surrounds iPhone and iPad application development, and gives you simple, step-by-step instructions to get you started.

• Teaches iPhone and iPad apps development in language anyone can understand
• Provides simple, step-by-step examples that make learning easy, using iOS 5
• Offers videos that enable you to follow along with the author—it’s like your own private classroom

What you’ll learn

• Get both yourself and your computer set up for iPhone and iPad application development
• Start by making small changes to existing applications to build your knowledge and experience before creating your own applications
• Follow steps in plain English to build simple apps and get them working immediately
• Style your application so that it looks good and users can easily navigate through it
• Make use of the iPhone’s touch screen and accelerometer
• Use shortcuts and cheat sheets to create apps the easy way

Who this book is for

If you have a great idea for an iPhone or iPad app, but have never programmed before, then this book is for you. You don’t need to have any previous computer programming skills—as long as you have a desire to learn, and you know which end of the mouse is which, you’ll be fine.

Table of Contents

1. Before We Get Started
2. Blast-Off!
3. 4 Critical Programs
4. Underneath the Hood
5. Buttons & Labels with Multiple Graphics
6. Switches
7. Storyboards
8. Debugging
9. MapKit