Creating an iPhone application from scratch. Guide to Creating iOS Applications

Every day the number of people dreaming of learning how to create programs is increasing. After collecting information on the Internet, the idea comes to them that the most promising is the development of applications for iOS, the operating system from Apple. In fact, dreaming is one thing, but programming is another. Create own application not easy. But it’s not prohibitively difficult either. What is needed for this?

Programming language

To write programs for a specific platform, you need to use a specific programming language. App development for iOS and Android is different. If you need to select the Java language for the platform from Google, then for iOS choice stands between Objective-C and Swift. Long time Development for the iOS platform was carried out only using the Objective-C programming language. Even though it is many years old, it is still being developed and used by a large number of developers. But its downside is the high barrier to entry.

Since Apple's biggest source of profit is its app store, employees are interested in more useful and interesting utilities. For this reason, a developer conference is regularly held to talk about changes in operating systems. In 2014, developers were shown the latest Swift programming language, which is used to develop applications for iOS. Swift is easy to learn as it has a very simple syntax and is strongly typed. This language is very suitable for those who want to learn on their own.

What you need to get started

In addition to basic programming knowledge, you need to have the following:

• a computer or laptop with the OSX operating system on board;
• Xcode development environment, which is free.

This set allows you to run applications in a special simulator directly on your computer. But keep in mind that in the future you may need to pay $99 to get an annual subscription to the developer program. After payment you will be able to:

• run developed programs not in a simulator, but on real devices;
• place apps in the store App Store;
• download new versions of the development environment and iOS.

In new versions of Xcode, a sandbox element called Playground has appeared. Here the developer can experiment with a new programming language.

Many people want to start writing programs, but they think it is extremely difficult. Of course, in order to become a professional, you need to have a lot of knowledge and vast experience behind you. But in order to create a small application, there is no need to be a professional.

Where does the development of applications for iOS and Android begin? Learning happens by doing. Therefore, we must start with it. A lot of theory is not always good. After all, if a person reads ten from cover to cover, he will not. We need to act.

Playground

This sandbox is a wonderful environment for learning a programming language. What does she look like? The user enters a line of program code and immediately sees the execution result. Once it becomes clear that the written fragment works as it should, you can simply transfer it to the project. Using the sandbox, you can solve problems such as:

• mastering the syntax of a programming language;
• improving programming skills by experimenting with new APIs;
• performing simple arithmetic calculations;
• developing a new algorithm and monitoring its every step.

iOS app development: where to start

Theory is, of course, good, but, as mentioned earlier, practice is needed. In order to get acquainted with the sandbox, you need to launch the Xcode development environment. After launch, the user can see a window in which it is proposed to create a new project or launch Playground. We need a second point. Now you need to come up with a name and save the “sandbox” to any convenient location on your computer. By the way, developing applications for iOS on Windows is also possible, but then a large number of problems will need to be solved. This includes installing a pirated operating system, editing important files, and many errors and crashes.

After saving, the very Playground that is needed will be launched.

At first glance, there is nothing interesting here. But as soon as you enter your code there, the appearance will immediately change.

To get started, you can try writing the following:

for var y = 0; y< 10; ++y {

println (“result: (z)”)

After this, the sandbox will change its appearance. The column on the right (results pane) shows the values ​​for each row that are obtained after execution. Also in the right column you can enable the display of a time panel, which makes it possible to track changes in time of the selected expression. The console output with the text that would be output by the program is also displayed here.

Commenting code

Development of applications for iOS, as well as for other platforms, is not complete without comments, which are needed to make it easier for the developer to navigate the code. Comments are lines that are ignored during program execution. They can be either single-line or multi-line.

Variables

So, applications are written in a programming language. The basis of any language is variables. Developing applications for iOS and Android without using variables is impossible. As the name suggests, it is a container that holds a mutable value. Each variable must have a unique name and can contain both numeric and text values. In the Swift programming language, variables are defined using the words var and let. In the second case, the variable cannot be changed and must be initialized when declared. In the first case, the variable is initialized immediately before use.

Every variable has some type. These can be strings, floating point numbers (fractional), boolean values ​​(true and false).

Output of results

The result of the program execution is output to the console. What is it? This is what allows the user to interact with the computer. Thus, the output console used to be called the monitor, and the input console was the keyboard. Now the meaning of the terms has changed a little. This is the name of a program window intended for input and output of commands. Developing applications for iOS often requires the output of some data. To do this, Swift provides the print and println commands. The first differs from the second in that it automatically starts on a new line.

Functions

The next basic concept in programming is functions. This is a certain sequence of actions that perform a specific task. Each function can take some values ​​and also return a result. To use this construct, you must first declare it using the func keyword. It is followed by the name, as well as parentheses. If a value is to be returned, its type is indicated after the brackets. If there is no return value, then the type can be omitted or an “empty” type – void – can be specified. The parentheses contain the values ​​that the function accepts. To call a function, specify its name and values ​​for the arguments.

You can make sure that the parameter name is required when calling a function. To do this, it is framed with the “hash” symbol.

So you can write some useful features, which can, for example, calculate exchange rates and convert one unit of measurement to another. Every time you need to use them, you just need to call these functions, and not write the code again.

What now?

So, as can be seen from the above, developing applications for iOS with your own hands may well be within the capabilities of everyone. The main thing is to learn the basics of the programming language, become familiar with the development environment, and practice a lot and often. It is practice that makes significant progress. But what is described here is just the beginning. There will be a lot of interesting, complex, and exciting things to come in the world of programming. This will help you always keep your brain in good shape, create something new and earn good money. After all, Apple technology is used all over the world. Therefore, your application can be appreciated by millions of people.

The profession of a programmer is one of the most prestigious and in demand, that’s a fact. In the development industry software have their own niches. Of these, the fastest growing, and at the same time the most highly paid, is software development for mobile devices. As you know, it just so happened that, leaving their competitors far behind, three constant rivals took the lead. The trick is that one of these three is the undisputed leader, while someone always catches up.

In the mobile technology segment, Apple is undoubtedly the leader with its iPhone smartphone. At a presentation held in September, the company from Cupertino demonstrated the 7th version mobile device. Along with it, Apple introduced a new version of the mobile operating system iOS 10. Now it is the most significant operating system in the world, like its predecessors. It follows that learning iOS development is the best investment of time and money.

Apple ecosystem

Today we will develop a simple mobile application for iOS. Of course, a native Mac is best suited for this. But if you are a Windows supporter or simply don’t have a Mac, you can install the macOS operating system under a virtual machine in Windows. In the vastness of the Internet you won’t be able to a lot of work find a version of macOS specially tailored for PC, popularly called Hackintosh. Feel free to install it on a VMware virtual machine, VirtualBox - your choice. Let me warn you right away that the PC keyboard does not have some of the keys that are on the Mac keyboard, and many of their combinations cannot be pressed in Hackintosh. This pretty much spoils the mood. Otherwise, all the operations described below can be successfully performed on Hackintosh.

Required knowledge

To program in general and for iOS in particular, you need to know quite a lot. Mathematics and logic may not be needed at first, but they will be in demand later. Modern technologies relieved the programmer of the need to thoroughly know the architecture of the computer, but it is necessary to understand the basic mechanisms such as number systems, their conversion, the speed of subroutines or the efficiency of algorithms (big O).

For more high level An iOS developer needs to have a deep knowledge of the macOS operating system and iOS itself. You also need to master the Apple programming language. Knowledge of Delphi, C++, C# or VB.NET will not help you much. Apple has its own ecosystem with its own languages: Objective-C and Swift. Of course, knowledge of C++ has never harmed anyone; programs and inserts based on it are found everywhere, even at Apple. But the most used by definition is Objective-C, simply because it appeared much earlier (in the mid-eighties of the last century), while Swift only two years ago (in 2014). Apple assigns high hopes on new language and invests a lot in it. Objective-C is used to support the old software, and the new one is written in Swift. So it's good for you to know both.

In order not to waste time, all these programming languages ​​can be learned under the strict supervision of teachers on the website.

Development Tools

As you know, the main developer tool for macOS and with it iOS is the programming environment Xcode. It includes tools for creating applications for Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple TV, Apple Watch. All Apple platforms. Xcode contains the Interface Builder, a code editor that supports all modern code tools. In addition, without leaving Xcode, you can test the application; if it is developed for an external device, then it can be run in an emulator.

The system includes emulators of all devices, new versions of which can be downloaded. In addition, Xcode contains graphical tools for analyzing application performance, including tools for diagnosing CPU load, storage usage (HDD, SDD, etc.), load on graphics adapter(from the OpenGL side).

On September 13, a new, hotly anticipated version of the development environment 8.0 was released. Stable versions can be downloaded for free from the App Store. Alphas and betas are distributed by developer subscription. The eighth version includes: a new version of the Swift 3 language, the Swift Playground learning tool for iPad, a new version of Interface Builder, which has become faster and allows you to view the application layout on different platforms, without having to deploy the application itself to the simulator.

Xcode 8 can be used to develop applications for macOS Sierra, iOS 10, watchOS 3 and tvOS 10. All SDKs are available. New versions of operating systems began to appear consistently right after Apple’s presentation, which took place in early September.

Objective-C language

Let us briefly recall the basic information about the language. Objective-C is a compiled object-oriented programming language used for writing applications for Apple systems. It is a superset or, in other words, an add-on to C, inheriting from the latter syntax, data types, methods of monitoring the progress of program execution and adding object-based capabilities to it oriented programming- description of classes and methods.

As in C++, in Objective-C the central role is played by objects, which are associated with four paradigms: abstraction, encapsulation, inheritance, polymorphism. C++ is a strongly typed language, while Objective-C is weakly typed or has dynamic system data types. Like Smalltalk, Objective-C sends messages to objects. This is an exceptional feature of dynamic languages ​​because the type of objects is checked at runtime rather than at compile time.

The description of the Objective-C language takes up more than one voluminous volume. Therefore, in order to gain objective knowledge, it is convenient to take the “” course. An entire section of the course is dedicated to this language.

iOS application development

As a sample we will develop a very simple application. Let us not deviate from the sacred tradition, let us greet the world. However, given that we have graphic application, we will diversify it a little: we will add a button, when clicked, we will display or hide the inscription “Hello, World”.

Launch Xcode, in the window that appears, select Create new project or in the main menu File -> New -> Project. The next window will ask you to select the target platform and application type.

IN in this case We are interested in the iOS platform. There are seven types of applications to choose from. Six of them are templates for typical applications of the iOS operating system, containing a different set of components by default. The seventh type is play.

Application Types

• The Single View Application template is intended for simple application with one screen. The preset includes a View Controller component, which allows you to customize the appearance of the application using the Interface Builder form designer.
• Master Detail Application creates an application that displays a collection of objects in a table view. After selecting one of them, detailed information about that object is shown. The first view is the master, the second is the detailing.
• Page-Based Application creates applications that have multiple screens, like pages in a book. Consequently, e-readers are created from this blank.
• Tabbed application allows you to create applications where each screen can be switched to at any time, that is, each screen has its own button to activate it, on which the title is displayed. An example is iTunes.
• Game is used to create a game template. There are four frameworks to choose from for creating a game: SpriteKit, SceneKit, OpenGL ES, Metal. Let's look at them briefly.
  SpriteKit is a system for 2D rendering and animation of textured rectangles - sprites. When displaying frames, a standard loop is used, the frame is displayed after all the contents of the scene have been processed.
  SceneKit is a high-level framework for rendering 3D graphics without OpenGL. It supports loading, manipulating 3D objects. It includes: a physics engine, a particle generator and an easy scripting method.
  OpenGL ES is the industry standard computer graphics. Allows you to visualize 2D and 3D scenes. Allows you to describe the pipeline for a video card: vertices undergo transformation, are assembled into primitives, which are rasterized into a two-dimensional image and displayed on the screen. Programmable shaders can be included in the pipeline.
  Metal is a low-level API that will allow you to get the most out of your video adapter. Streamlined APIs, along with precompiled shaders and multi-threading, take your game to new levels of performance and quality.
• Sticker Pack Application - new look applications introduced in iOS 10 and Xcode 8. It is a set of simple or animated images used in new iMessage. It does not require coding to create it.
• iMessage Application is a new type of application that appeared in iOS 10 and Xcode 8. Allows you to create add-ons for iMessage, for example to purchase and download your sticker pack. You can also use the iMessage API to create your own analogue this application, including playing audio, video, using stickers and more.

Creating the first project

We will select Single View Application as a template for our application. Since we won't develop big program, the funds provided by this provision will be enough for us. Click Next. On the next page of the wizard, you need to enter a project name, for example ShowLab. In the Language drop-down list, leave the default language selected - Objective-C. Next, in the Devices drop-down list, leave the Universal selection. Here you determine for which device (iPhone or iPad) the application is being created. The Universal clause means for both. Let's uncheck the Include Unit Tests and Include UI Tests boxes; we don't need any tests. Next. Select a folder to save the project. Now click the Create button.

As a result, a window will open with a list of all parameters applied to the project. In this window, you can change the parameters previously set in the wizard: orientation, target device, etc.

First we need to create the application interface. To do this, select the Main.storyboard file in the list on the left with one click (if this file is not visible, expand the contents of the ShowLab folder). To the right of the list, the entire window will be occupied by Interface Builder. The device layout will be displayed in the center. In the lower right corner of the window there is a component panel. Drag the Label and Button components from there onto the layout. Above the component panel is a list of properties. If you don’t have it, click the Show the Attributes Inspector button, located under the window title on the right side of the interface.

Select the Label component in the layout and configure it Text property: leave the Plain selection in the drop-down list, enter the desired inscription in the line below, in our case “Hello, World”. If the text does not fit within the borders of the label, change them by dragging the handles on the edges of the component. To centralize it horizontally, go to the Size Inspector page by clicking on the Show the Size Inspector button (to the right of Show the Attributes Inspector). On this page, from the Arrange drop-down list, select Center Horizontally in Container.

Now select the Button component, change its Text property to the desired label - Switch. You can center it in the same way as described above.

Creating a connection between graphic elements and code

IN Visual Studio(or Delphi) object in the code is created automatically at the moment when you place a visual component on the form. This doesn't happen in Xcode, but it doesn't cause problems.

Open the contents of the ViewController.h header file in a separate window by double-clicking on it. This file contains a declaration of an extension of the UIViewController class, marked with the @interface keyword. This feature was added to the second version of Objective-C. Now perform this trick: move the mouse cursor to a component - a text label, hold down the Ctrl key and left button mice. Move the cursor to the window with the code (file ViewController.h), a blue line will follow the cursor. Release the mouse and key inside the ViewController interface description.

The Outlet creation window will appear.

This is a property of an object that refers to another object (in this case, a visual component). You need to enter the name of the Outlet object, by which you will access the visual component, let it be lab. Next, the object type is selected, it is selected correctly: UILabel.

Even lower in the Storage list, select the type of object reference: weak or strong. If you choose strong, the object pointed to by the property will exist as long as the property points to it, in which case it will not be automatically deleted when it is no longer used. On the other hand, when a weak reference is in effect, the object can self-destruct. So, select the weak link type and click the Connect button. As a result, the following line will be added to the code:

@property (weak, nonatomic) IBOutlet UILabel *lab;

Let's make sure that Outlet is a property.

Now let's create an Outlet for the button. The algorithm remains the same. Only for the Name property you need to enter a different name, for example but. The line will be added to the code:

@property (weak, nonatomic) IBOutlet UIButton *but;

As a result, we have two pointers to visual components: lab and but - respectively, an inscription and a button. Now, using pointers, we can manipulate components in code.

Then you need to create a button click event handler. To do this, open the implementation file ViewController.m in a separate window. In exactly the same way as you dragged the line into the header file to create the outlet, from the button, drag the line into the implementation file and drop it to the closing command bracket - @end. A window for creating an event will appear, similar to the window for creating an outlet. You see the difference: a link to an object is created in the header file, a method is created in the implementation file.

Fill in the Name field, its value represents the name of the property - method. Let it be onClick. Leave the Type field value as default - id. In Objective-C this type is the ancestor of everyone else. In the Event drop-down list, the Touch Up Inside event is selected by default, which occurs when the pointer (mouse, finger...) is released over the button, that is, the final stage of pressing the button. This is what we need. In the Arguments list, we will leave the default value: Sender is the object that sent this signal, in our case it will always be a button. Click the Connect button. As a result, the following code will be added:

- (IBAction)onClick:(id)sender ( )

A minus at the beginning means a closed method (private). Keyword IBAction tags the events (methods) of visual components from Interface Builder.

Between the command brackets we will write the code that is executed when the button is pressed:

Lab.hidden = !_lab.hidden;

In this line of code we invert the value of the hidden property. It is of type BOOL, which has two values: YES - true and NO - false (somewhat unusual for Windows programmers, where true and false).

Pay attention to the underscore character before the name of the object - the label (_lab). Without it, compilation will fail. The underscore is added automatically for objects contained within other objects; that is, in this case, the lab object is contained in the ViewController object. It used to be conditional rule, used to distinguish between objects declared as members of a class and local objects. And now this is a strict rule implemented in the language compiler.

Now you can compile the application and run it on the simulator. We chose the simulator for iPhone 7, included in Xcode 8. The compile and run button is a black rectangle and is located in the bar at the top of the interface.

After compiling the application, launching the simulator and loading our application, its interface will be displayed on the simulator screen: the inscription “Hello, World” and the Switch button. If you press the last one, the inscription will disappear; if you press it again, it will appear again.

We have made a very simple application to understand the essence of iOS development. You can learn more detailed information about creating iOS applications in Objective-C from the course by our friends from GeekBrains “”. The course devotes two months to learning this language. During the first month - introductory topics, and in the second - real coding of professional applications.

Swift language

In 2014 year Apple introduced a new programming language - Swift. It quickly became the most talked about and fastest growing language in the world. It's reliable, safe, intuitive clear language for developing applications for the operating systems macOS, iOS, tvOS and watchOS for the entire fleet of Apple devices. Swift- effective language programming. It's easier to learn than its predecessor, Objective-C, and Swift borrows some of its best ideas. At the same time, the developers have made the languages ​​compatible, that is, one program can contain code in both Swift and Objective-C. There are billions of lines of code and hundreds of thousands of legacy programs written in Objective-C in the world, so its support will definitely not be abandoned.

When developing Swift, the goal was to create the most convenient language System programming is fast, safe and expressive.

The algorithm in Swift is 2.6 times faster than the same algorithm in Objective-C, and 8.4 times faster than in Python. Using Swift makes the program development process more flexible and convenient.

Due to its exponential development, the Swift language was released to the open source community on December 3, 2015. At the same time, Apple strictly monitors its development, organizing a committee for its development. Now Swift is available not only in Apple systems, but also on Linux. All additional tools for working with the language, including a debugger, standard library, package manager, are also free and open.

This language is the future. You can find out more detailed information about it from the mentioned course from GeekBrains “”, in which a whole month is devoted to studying of this language programming.

App Store

Simply put, the App Store is a content store for the entire range of Apple devices. Here you can buy games and applications from both large companies and independent developers. Every developer, no matter what country he lives in, can sell or distribute his programs for free on this digital distribution platform. To start doing this, you need to register as a developer and buy a license to sell your applications. This is a fee for the service provided and the development of the App Store.

Results

We have developed a simple application for the iOS mobile operating system using the Xcode programming system along with the Objective-C language. We tested the finished application on an iPhone 7 simulator. We learned how to build a user interface using Interface Builder, how to associate graphic elements with application code, and how to create event handlers. We got acquainted with the basics of Objective-C. In addition, we drew attention to the promising Swift language, used to develop powerful and secure applications for the “apple” ecosystem.

However, the material studied is only the beginning. In order to intensively upgrade yourself in the direction of mobile coding and the development of actually selling applications, we recommend taking the “” course on our friends’ website.

This is a worthy course: if you take it, you definitely won’t waste your time. It starts with two detailed courses on Java language, followed by learning basic programming for the Android mobile operating system. Further course on databases in general and SQL language in particular. Then an in-depth course on developing professional Android applications. After this, the vector of study will move towards Apple systems: two detailed courses on the Objective-C language and a useful course on Swift.

The course lectures are taught by professional teachers with extensive experience in software development. If something is unclear, you can ask a question without delay. In general, learning on GeekBrains is a live process, you can communicate, ask questions, and help with answers. To test the acquired knowledge, teachers give homework, which is then checked. After completing the training, you will have a guaranteed internship in an IT company. And then everything depends on you, if you show yourself as a competent specialist, you will be invited to work.

Special project with the company

Without financial investments and special knowledge.

Here simple instructions, how to create a basic iOS application and try it on your device. Based on it, you can go further into the topic and create really useful programs.

Note for Windows users: to create applications for iOS you need to install OS X on a virtual machine (VirtualBox, VMware). This process is by no means simple and requires separate instructions.

1. Go to the App Store and install the XCode development environment:

If you already have XCode, then you need to update it.

2. Launch xCode and select the menu item File -> New -> Project:

3. Select the platform and application type:

4. Provide information about the project. Please note that we have selected the "Universal" application type:

5. Click on the button New Folder and indicate the name of the folder in which we will store the application files:

6. Uncheck the Create Git Repository checkbox and click the Create button. As a result, you should get to the start screen for working on the application:

7. Click on the item Main.storyboard in the right menu, drag the element to the main field Label and add text to it Hello_world:

8. Now we need to make an icon for the application. We select an image and upload it to mapappicon.com:

9. We wait for the web application to finish working and indicate your email address to receive the archive with icons:

10. Return to XCode and select section in the left menu Assets.xassets:

11. Open the archive from the mail and drag icons from there to the XCode workspace:

12. Select one of the device simulators, click on the application launch button (black triangle) and turn it on on your Mac Developer Mode:

13. We try to start again. We are waiting for iOS to load on the simulator:

14. Make sure the application is working:

We look at the finished application on the device

Now you can see how the application works on the device. Before following the instructions, make sure you have latest versions XCode and iOS.

1. Let's go to xCode -> Preferences -> Accounts and add your Apple ID:

2. Connect the iOS device to the computer:

3. Choose required device in the list and click on the start button. We're waiting for a while.

4. If a message about security problems appears, then on the iOS device go to Settings -> Basic -> Device management and allow applications from the developer to run with your Apple ID:

5. Go to the desktop and find the new application icon:

6. Launch:

7. Disconnect the device from the computer. Now the application can be used.

What to do if you want more?

Using scientific poking and Google, you can expand the above sequence of actions and create a more functional application. But you can only use it on your own devices.

After all, Apple places very high demands on applications. The App Store Review Guidelines include 29 points and more than a hundred sub-points. In order for an application to comply with them and be accepted for publication in the store, the developer requires a large amount of technical knowledge.

If you want to create high-quality iOS applications intended for mass use,

iOS is the operating system that Apple smartphones run on. To purchase games or applications, use a proprietary digital platform App shopping Store. If the developer’s product turns out to be successful (will be in demand among users), then even for one program you can earn good money. On average, developers popular applications for iOS they earn several thousand dollars a month.

Creation process

The algorithm for creating a program or game has the same concept regardless of the platform, so it is extremely important to adhere to development rules. By skipping this or that step, the developer risks getting a failed project at the initial stage. Let's take a closer look at the algorithm for creating a digital product:

1. Creating a product concept– the first stage, requiring analysis of trends in digital store App Store. When creating a project, the developer must clearly outline target audience. For the analytical stage to be successful, look at which applications, programs, games, etc. are in the top of the App Store. In addition, find out what is installed on the smartphones of your acquaintances, friends, and relatives.
2. Technical base– first you need to learn the Objective-C language, which is used in writing programs for iOS. For novice programmers, it is recommended to familiarize yourself with the Pascal language and other languages: C, Java.
3. Tools– development environment, special text editor and graphic editor.
4. Creation and testing programs.
5. Marketing promotion.

Step-by-step creation of the utility

Each user has the opportunity to independently create an application for iOS without additional financial investments and professional knowledge. There is a special XCode development environment that allows you to work directly on your phone. In case you need to write mobile applications on a Windows computer, you will have to install special virtual machines. For example, VirtualBox and VMware. Let's take a closer look at the official method:

1. Install on your smartphone XCode development environment. The add-on is located in the official OS App Store and has a free distribution system. If the program is installed on your phone, check it for updates.
   
2. Once you've sorted out the preparatory settings, log into XCode. To create a new project, use the tab File. Next, a sub-item will open where you need to select commands New And Project.
   
3. The next step in creating an iPhone application is choosing platform and thematic type future utility.
   
4. Specify brief information about the software being created.
   
5. Next you need to press the key New Folder. A folder is created here where auxiliary files for the program will be stored.
6. In the next window, uncheck the item and activate the command Create. Thanks to these manipulations, the user will be taken to the start work panel.
   
7. Click on the button called storyboard. It is located on the right side of the interface. Drag an element with the name to the main field Label. Don't forget to add introductory text in the line Hello_world(any other text is possible).
   
8. Be sure to come up with icon for the utility. Upload your icon to mapappicon.com.
   
9. After a short processing of the request, indicate email address, where they will send an archive with icons.
   
10. Return to the XCode development environment. Now on the left side of the interface, find a section called xassets.
11. Open the archive from the mail (where the icons were sent) and drag them into the window located in XCode.
    
12. Select one of the device emulators, and then click on the command launch the program(the icon is indicated as a black triangle), turning on Mac Developer Mode.
    
13. Repeat startup attempt waiting until iOS loads on the emulator.
    
14. Make sure the utility works.
    

This way you can create your application from scratch.

Popular services for creating applications

We offer a selection of services that will help you make iOS applications yourself.

Apps Globus

The Apps Globus project is a universal application designer that is suitable for mobile operating systems. Android systems and iOS. It features a convenient user interface. Thanks to the built-in modules, significantly simplifies the development process. Apps Globus supports up to 60 built-in modules, including:

Apps Globus is distributed By paid subscription . Users who want to test the application can use the 5-day demo version. Monthly subscription is provided in three types: “ home page», « studio" And " business" The difference between subscriptions is the price and number of developed applications. There is also a version that requires a one-time payment of 20,000 rubles. In addition to unlimited use, it offers source codes and assistance in setting up the utility.

App2b

The App2b project offers a multifunctional designer that can be used not only to create applications for iOS, but also for Android platforms. This constructor is used to create commercial or informational content. That is why the service has built-in template library to quickly create a convenient application yourself.

Like other similar projects it is distributed by paid subscription. The main difference from other designers is the only way payment in the form of a one-time payment in the amount of 9,900 rubles.

The project is the only one free constructor for creating websites and applications. The program is a comprehensive solution for online business. Allows you to create unique pages, virtual stores, electronic magazines. A distinctive feature of the designer is lack of prepared templates. Instead, flexible tools that do not require programming knowledge are used. Because of this, any program created by New Digital Times looks like the author's work.

The designer is a multimedia tool focused on creating business applications in various directions: information panels, online stores, restaurant menus, etc. For the convenience of users there are built-in templates for programs and synchronization with social networks and other popular services.

Sold in several variations: for independent use And affiliate program . Distributed in two types of subscription: monthly and annual. In addition, on the site you can hire people to create programs.

Many people have probably thought about creating their own iOS application. However, if you are new to this business, the first step in mastering it will be to solve the question “where to start.”

The main goal of this article is to set guidelines for a novice iOS creator, with the help of which it will be easier to understand where to start their development in this area. You will learn about the necessary developer tools, get acquainted with the main programming language for iOS applications Objective-C, learn what Cocoa is, get a number of useful links, etc.

iOS Developer Toolkit

Getting started, first install all the necessary tools: Xcode - created by Apple a program for creating applications for OS X, iOS and the iOS SDK.

Xcode is an amazing thing that provides everything you need to develop applications for iPhone and iPad. Xcode's user interface is one working window (workplace window), where all the magic happens: from writing code, checking it and debugging bugs to developing the software interface. The iOS SDK mentioned above, designed to extend the Xcode toolkit, requires no additional download and is installed automatically with Xcode.

Thus, as you already understand, all work begins with installing the latest version of Xcode, which can be found in the Mac App Store.

The second step will be to register a newly minted iOS programmer in the iOS Developer Program. Registration is necessary if you are serious about the development and promotion of your brainchild in the AppStore. Otherwise, you can stop worrying and limit yourself to the Simulator included in the iOS SDK.

You can learn about the next steps in mastering Xcode here:

Objective-C language

Objective-C is an object-oriented programming language used to create iOS applications. Objective-C is a superset of the C language, which means you can write code in both C and Objective-C.

Frameworks

Any iOS application is created using Objective-C and Cocoa frameworks. In frameworks developed Apple Corporation, contains a library of functions that your application calls. At the same time, several applications can have access to the framework library at the same time.

Apple creates frameworks that already contain all the necessary functions, which saves time and is a kind of guarantee of the quality of the work done.

For those wishing to learn more about the topic here:

Templates

Necessary assistance in creating standard applications for iOS are project templates. However, this does not mean that templates solve all problems: after familiarizing yourself with the basic iOS Design Patterns, the developer will one way or another have to “hew” his creation in accordance with existing needs.

Attractive shell

The visual component of an iOS application is given no less importance than the functional one. Therefore, it is important to remember the importance of the interface when developing software. The main visual expectations of users from the application can be described in a few words - attractiveness, interactivity and, most importantly, intuitiveness of the interface.

More about interface design:

And a couple more points

Now let's digress a little from the technical component and turn to ideas. When creating any application, it is important to understand what the purpose is and what functions it will perform. Decide whether the application will only work on the iPhone, or maybe the iPad, or whether it will be universal. Spend a little more time and decide on the type of data model, interface style, and study frameworks. All this will help you understand the software architecture more clearly.

This concludes our excursion into the world of iOS application development and it is assumed that you now have the answer to the question “where to start.” The rest is all in your hands.

If you haven’t found an answer to your question or something didn’t work out for you, and there is no suitable solution in the comments below, ask a question through ours. It's fast, simple, convenient and doesn't require registration. You will find answers to your and other questions in the section.