Tag Archives: iOS

Ology’s AusSign nears Beta

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http://ologyinteractive.wordpress.com/2012/03/13/aussign-nears-beta/

Ology Interactive is nearing beta testing for AusSign, a platform for a mobile dictionary of images and signs.

It might be some time before our dictionary is released to the market, but when it happens it will have a scale and quality unsurpassed by others.

We’ve been working hard on the algorithms that drive the data sorting and categorisation, in addition to efficient search routines which allow users to have that amazingly smooth experience they’ve come to expect from an iPhone. Needless to say, a lot of effort goes into making something happen flawlessly.

As the saying goes, “its like ducks on a pond; above the water, everything is smooth and graceful as they glide across the surface; under the water, legs are waving frantically about, flapping back and forth”.

Expanding a Settings.bundle in Xcode 4.2

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I just spent an hour trying to figure out how to expand the Settings.Bundle file so that I could get at the Root.plist file contained therein. Apparently Xcode 4.2 is a bit of a pain. For those of you who want to avoid the same down-time.  The answer is remarkably simple.

  1. Click on the Settings.Bundle file,
  2. Over to the utilities window, and look in the File Inspector.
  3. Change the file type to ‘Application Bundle’
  4. Enjoy…

XCode iOS App Development – a beginner’s perspective

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20110429-111549.jpg

The purchase of my first Mac was driven by the desire to develop applications for the iOS platform. Having spent a number of years getting accustomed to the software development tools available for the windows platform however, it is like starting all over again. The difference this time is the relative simplicity of the tools available, and the challenge being to understand how different classes interact.

Starting Xcode and getting a template project up and running didn’t prove to be much of a problem, but like all templates, the typically show you fundamental applications that have little use other than as a quick “look what I can do” guide.

The real trick come in figuring out how to integrate these various pieces into an application that is not only functional, but aesthetically pleasing, and most of all, ho not to waste time reinventing the wheel.

That’s where the likes of Google and YouTube come in. They, combined with the almost Apple Developers website will, with persistence, give you most of the answers one needs. As such my suggestion is always.

First, Google your problem to find a tutorial
Next, Google your problem to find an Apple Dev page, and read
Then, Search YouTube for a guide that related to your problem, and
Finally, implement your solution.

My personal experience thus far has yielded the same lessons learned elsewhere. One being, don’t cut and paste anything. This will undoubtedly bring you grief.

One (1) week after buying a Mac mini I’ve successfully developed my first, multi-controller, multi-nib app which combines split-views, tab-control views, showModal views among others, and it is only after learning the following lesson that any of this was possible.

Lesson:
Before you start, spend a full day gaining a detailed understanding of; (1) How the Apple Developer website works, (2) The Objective-C syntax, and finally (3) What is a Delegate, and how are they used.