Happy Wednesday – it’s book release day during the iOS 11 Launch Party!
This week’s book release is the iOS Apprentice, Sixth Edition. This is our book for complete beginners to iOS 11 development, where you learn how to build four complete apps from scratch.
In this edition, team member Fahim Farook has taken Matthijs Holleman’s classic and completely updated the entire book iOS 11, Swift 4 and Xcode 9.
This is a free update for existing PDF customers, as our way of thanking you for supporting our site.
Don’t have a copy yet? Read on to see how you can get one during our limited-time sale!
What’s Inside the iOS Apprentice
Did you know that iOS Apprentice was first written for iOS 5, and it’s been updated for every version of iOS since then for free? You can’t beat that value!
Here’s what one of our readers has to say:
The iOS Apprentice is one of our best-selling books of all time. Over 10,000 people have begun their iOS development adventures with this book since it was released.
Here’s what’s contained inside:
Section I: Getting Started
In the first tutorial in the series, you’ll start off by building a complete game from scratch called “Bull’s Eye”.
The first app: Bull’s Eye!
Here’s what you’ll learn:
- How to use Xcode, Interface Builder, and Swift 4 in an easygoing manner.
- How to use standard UIKit components
- How to customize them to make them look good!
By the time you’re done, you’ll have created your own iOS app from scratch, even if you’re a complete beginner!
Section II: Checklists
In the second section, you’ll create your own to-do list app. In the process, you’ll learn about the fundamental design patterns that all iOS apps use and about table views, navigation controllers and delegates. Now you’re making apps for real!
The second app you’ll build: Checklists!
Here’s what you’ll learn:
- How to use Storyboards to design user interfaces
- How the Model-View-Controller design pattern works in iOS
- How to use table views, including the new prototype cells and static cells capability
- How to create your own data model objects
- What refactoring is, why you should do it, and how to do it
- How to use Navigation Controllers
- Using text fields and the keyboard
- Sending data between view controllers using delegates
- Saving your app’s data into files in the app’s Documents folder
- Using NSUserDefaults to store application settings
- How to use arrays and dictionaries
- How to set reminders using local notifications
Most importantly, you’ll learn more than just how to program with the standard iOS components — you get to see what it takes to build a quality app. You’ll learn about all the little details that set great apps apart from mediocre ones. After all, you need to make a great app if you want it to be a success on the App Store!
Section III: MyLocations
In the third tutorial in the series, you’ll develop a location-aware app that lets you keep a list of spots that you find interesting. In the process, you’ll learn about Core Location, Core Data, Map Kit, and much more!
The third app in the book: MyLocations!
Here’s what you’ll learn:
- More about the Swift 4 language
- How to use the Tab Bar Controller
- Using the Core Location framework to obtain GPS coordinates and do reverse geocoding
- How to make your own UIView subclasses and do custom drawing
- How to use Core Data to persist your objects
- How to make your own table view cell objects
- How to embed the Map View into your app
- How to use NSNotificationCenter
- How to use the camera and photo library
- How to use “lazy loading” to improve the responsiveness and memory usage of your apps
- How to play basic sound effects
- How to make your app look more impressive with UIView-based animations and Core Animation
Of course, all of this is just an excuse to play with some of the more alluring technologies from the iOS SDK: Core Location, Map Kit, the camera and photo library, and Core Data.
These are frameworks you’ll use all the time as a professional iOS developer!
Section IV: StoreSearch
Mobile apps often need to talk to web services and that’s what we’ll do in this final tutorial of the series. We’ll make a stylish app that lets you search for products on the iTunes store using HTTP requests and JSON.
The fourth and final app you’ll build: StoreSearch!
Here’s what you’ll learn:
- How to use a web service from your apps and how to download images
- View controller containment: how to embed one view controller inside another
- Showing a completely different UI after rotating to landscape
- Cool effects with keyframe animations
- How to use scroll views and the paging control
- Internationalization and supporting multiple languages
- Changing the look of navigation bars and other UI elements
- Making iPad apps with split-view controller and popovers
- Using Ad Hoc distribution for beta testing
- And finally, submitting your apps to the App Store!
By the time you have finished this fourth part in the series, you will have the core skills that it takes to make your own apps, and will be ready to make your own apps and submit them to the App Store!
Best of all, the book comes complete with all source code for the apps in the book. That way, you can always compare your work to the final product of the authors at ay point in your journey through the book!
About the Authors
Of course, our book would be nothing without our team of experienced and dedicated authors:
Matthijs Hollemans is a mystic who lives at the top of a mountain where he spends all of his days and nights coding up awesome apps. Actually he lives below sea level in the Netherlands and is pretty down-to-earth but he does spend too much time in Xcode. Check out his website at www.matthijshollemans.com.
Fahim Farook is a developer with over 25 years of experience in developing in over a dozen different languages. Fahim’s current focus is on mobile development with over 80 iOS apps and a few Android apps under his belt. He has lived in Sri Lanka, USA, Saudi Arabia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, France, and the UAE and enjoys science fiction and fantasy novels, TV shows, and movies. You can follow Fahim on Twitter at @FahimFarook.
Now Available in ePub!
And as another exciting announcement, by popular request, the iOS Apprentice is now available in ePub format. Take it on the go with you on your iPad, iPhone or other digital reader and enjoy all the mobile reading benefits that ePub has to offer!
Where To Go From Here?
iOS Apprentice, Sixth Edition is now 100% complete, fully updated for Swift 4, iOS 11 and Xcode 9 — and is available today!
- If you’ve already bought the iOS Apprentice PDF, you can log in to your account and download the new book in PDF and ePub format immediately on our store page.
- If you don’t have the iOS Apprentice yet, you can grab your own very own copy in our online store.
And to help sweeten the deal, the digital edition of the book is on sale for $49.99! But don’t wait — this sale price is only available for a limited time.
Speaking of sweet deals, be sure to check out the great prizes we’re giving away this year with the iOS 11 Launch Party, including over $9,000 in giveaways!
To enter, simply retweet this post using the #ios11launchparty hashtag by using the button below:
We hope you enjoy this update to one of our most-loved books. Stay tuned for more book releases and updates coming soon!
The post iOS Apprentice Updated for Swift 4 & iOS 11 appeared first on Ray Wenderlich.