iDoWebEdit v1.0 on the App Store

Apple recently approved my sixth app for sale on the App Store.
Version 1.0 of iDoWebEdit allows the user to enter HTML, CSS, PHP and
Javascript into a text editor then with a tap of the "Done" button,
preview it in a web page. Any changes to the source code are saved
upon pressing of the "Done" button. Tapping the "Edit" button in the
web preview returns you to the editing page.

Version 1.0 does not support references to separate local style sheets
or JavaScript files.

You can find more information at
http://appshopper.com/productivity/idowebedit

How I designed the app:
1. I used Core Data to save each web page. Check out the following
tutorial to learn more about Core Data:

http://developer.apple.com/iphone/library/documentation/DataManagement/Conceptual/iPhoneCoreData01/Introduction/Introduction.html

This is a must-read for anyone new to Core Data who will be using
persistent custom objects. (if you don't know what a custom object is,
you need to read My First Blog Post).

2. The app uses 1 UIView and 2 subviews: a UITextView and a UIWebView.
Then, to switch between the two, I implemented a flipView method and
set each subview hidden (e.g.,[theWebView setHidden: YES];) as
appropriate:

[UIView beginAnimations:@"View Flip" context:nil];
[UIView setAnimationDuration:1.00];
[UIView setAnimationCurve:UIViewAnimationCurveEaseInOut];
UIViewAnimationTransition transition;
transition = UIViewAnimationTransitionFlipFromLeft;
[UIView setAnimationTransition: transition forView:self.view cache:YES];
[UIView commitAnimations];

Who this app is designed for:
1. Experienced developers: Copy and paste code into the text view to
see how your code renders on a small screen. Also, test out web APIs
before integrating them into your mashup.

2. Beginning developers: Test out code in order to learn how the web
languages work generally.

3. All developers: Try out short code snippets while you are on the go
to see how they look on an iPhone.

MORE INFO on developing for Safari on the web:

http://developer.apple.com/safari/library/codinghowtos/Mobile/UserExperience/index.html

http://www.iphonewebdev.com/

http://developer.apple.com/safari/library/codinghowtos/Mobile/GraphicsMediaAndVisualEffects/index.html

http://developer.apple.com/safari/library/navigation/SampleCode.html

David Dobin
Ddobin@gmail.com
301-379-4264

Some Advice for Non-Programmers

During the course of learning how to write iPhone apps, I have found
myself google-ing for tips on iPhone development without having any
clue as to what I was looking for.

The extent of my programming experience before January was a little
HTML that I wrote in 2000. So when I started thinking about my first
real iPhone app, I didn't even understand the basic concepts that go
into a computer program.

Take timers, for example. A timer allows the program designer to
control when things happen in a program-like a timer on a bomb
controls when the bomb explodes. Well, when I started learning iPhone
development and how to make an iPhone app, I didn't even know timers
existed let alone know how to implement one in an iPhone app.

Then I read a tutorial on animating a ball using an NSTimer at http://icodeblog.com/
. After reading the tutorial, I understood what a timer was. Still, it
was probably another month before I could get one working on a real
app without crashing my program.

What's my point? A non-computer programmer can learn how to build an
iPhone app. But it takes time and patience, just like anything else
that's worthy. You won't be able to make a dozen apps overnight.
Believe me, I tried. But if you keep at it, read alot, write your own
code and accept that some days you will feel like you took two (or
ten) steps back, you will get a hang of it. After all, you are
learning a new language.

Here are some links that I found useful for beginning iPhone app
development. But understand that you won't truly get what's inside
those pages until you try to learn the basics of Objective-C (see my
first blog) and try it yourself.

http://icodeblog.com/

http://iphone.zcentric.com/

http://appsamuck.com/blog/index.php/category/31-days/

David Dobin
Ddobin@gmail.com
301-379-4264

iDoClipboard - Week One

I received my first week report for downloads of my latest iPhone App,
iDoClipboard, and the results are pretty exciting.

As many of you know, the app reached number one on the App Store's
list of free productivity apps in Japan.

Anyways, here is the list of countries and their respective download
totals:

1 Japan 4856
2. USA 628
3. Germany 111
4. Canada 81
5. Great Britain 81
6. France 79
7. Italy 60
8. Australia 53
9. SG 37
10. Russia 31

David Dobin
Ddobin@gmail.com
301-379-4264

iPhone OS 3.0 - some mapkit tutorials

iPhone OS 3.0 has some great new features. One of these is the new
MapKit. Check out these tutorials that I found online:

http://mithin.in/2009/06/22/using-iphone-sdk-mapkit-framework-a-tutorial/

http://blog.objectgraph.com/index.php/2009/04/02/iphone-sdk-30-playing-with-map-kit/

I worked with the Objectgraph tutorials and found them very helpful. A
quick review of the other tutorial also showed that it is very helpful.

If you know of any more tutorials, feel free to post them.

www.iDoTouch.com

My First Blog Post

This is my first blog post. I am an attorney and a self-taught iPhone software developer.

I recommend that anyone who wants to learn how to develop for the iPhone start with Programming in Objective-C 2.0 by Steven Kochan.

I got into iPhone programming because I have always been fascinated by futuristic technology, and how computers can make our lives easier. Plus, after using the Blackberry for two or three years, I fell in love with the iPhone as soon as I laid my hands on it.

So, if you are interested in learning how to build an iPhone app, get serious about the technology and get that book.

Also, check out www.iDoTouch.com for links to my current iPhone apps.