In this extremely fast pace era where there is an app available for everything, people focus their strengths on what the next big thing will be. The App Store currently displays a variety of apps that help us out in each aspect of life, and it can be challenging to come up with something new – and better yet, know how to develop it perfectly.
App development is not as hard as it seems, but it does require a great degree of attention and tolerance as it is a tedious process. Until and unless you have a persistent attitude toward finishing your goal, this task can be annoying considering the 1000 source code errors that will inevitably pop up (and you would have to correct them).
Here are the basic things you need to know about iOS App Development:
Download and install Xcode
iPhone apps are developed in an environment called Xcode. In order to start your programming tasks you will have to download Xcode from the app store for free. However, you need OS X 10.8 or later to be installed in your system. This particular program needs a Mac in order to run since there is no official way of running Xcode on Windows.
Another important program is the iOS 8 SDK which along with Xcode 6.0.1 will help you in creating new app experiences such as Touch ID or iCloud integration through a wide range of APIs that exist within the program itself.
Get a good text editor
A specialized editor in programming syntax will make it easier to work with substantial amounts of coding even though you can completely code within Xcode.
Graphics and Designing
Every app needs a substantial amount of art and design, which obviously is not easy for most people to do. Unless you are hiring a designer or a graphic artist, you’ll be creating designs and art for your app yourself. Installing a vector graphic can allow you to create eye-pleasing graphics that are easy to scale and crucial for an app to look good. Even if you are a first-time user, you can easily find a range of free graphic designing apps on the web. One very popular program is Adobe Illustrator.
App Functionality with Objective-C
In order to twist and tweak the functionality of your iPhone apps you need to familiarize yourself with Objective-C. Through this, you can handle object and data manipulation. If you have an existing understanding of Java or C, then you won’t be facing many issues while proceeding with this. Even if you do not consider learning this language, you will still be able to build a basic app. However, you will not be able to perform any advanced functions without self-coding.
The most that you can do with Objective-C is move between different screens. Nothing really fancy, if that’s what you had in your mind. For those of you who are actually considering learning Objective-C, there are many online learning platforms that are available such as CodeSchool and Zeolearn. Other than this, you can also find various books for further reading and information.
There are chances that you may not want to go into all this in the first place, luckily, in this situation, you can outsource. There are a number of talented freelancers and developers in the market that can take on your projects for you, but inevitably, it is going to be a tedious and complex process as handling the team according to your agenda can be a challenge. Nonetheless, the bright side will be the time and headache it saves you if you’re not the programming expert yourself.
Planning your app
The plan that you devise can really make or break the app that you intend to develop. For this, you need to consider that your applications fall in line with those of the App Store. All apps are vetted before entering the App Store in order to reduce the chances of malware as much as possible. This means, that loopholes and insecure coding can result in the rejection of your app altogether. Other than this, infringement and legal issues can result in the discontinuation of your app in the App Store for an indefinite period of time, which obviously, is something that you do not want.
Probably the last thing that you need to keep in mind specifically considering iOS App Development is the development account that you will need to make in order to launch your app in the App Store. Your account will be made at the Apple Developer Centre website and will cost $99 per year. This will allow you to distribute and test your app easily.
In the end, you should always keep in mind that no matter what you are developing, the idea should be original and helpful to the downloading audience.
Photo credit: hackNY
