Book 1: Diving In - iOS App Development for Non-Programmers Series: The Series on How to Create iPhone & iPad Apps Paperback – December 4, 2012

With these books I have accomplished more in three days than I have in the previous three weeks. I am thrilled to have stumbled across book 1 and 2 - Book 1: Diving In - iOS App Development for Non-Programmers (The Series on How to Write iPhone & iPad Apps), Book 2: Flying with Objective C - iOS App Development for Non-Programmers (The Series on How to Write iPhone & iPad Apps)). Thank you for publishing this jewel of a series! Getting and working through these books has pushed me much, much closer to publishing my own apps. So you know I am not a programmer - not yet.The key characteristics of these books that helped me the most are:* Discovery and learning is organized around a variety of example projects that are real, relevant and mean something to me and I would think to most people. Who would not relate to things like making a route map for deliveries or shuffling and picking cards?* Book 1 does a great job at leveraging the storyboarding features to explain basic concepts, provide a glimpse of many bells and whistles one might use later in one's journey and helps focus on what the app could and what it should look and behave like. I found that particularly helpful in case I wanted to consult with an expert later on but needed to keep the fees low.* Book 2 then takes you on a fast but easy to follow journey to implement functionality while always showing what Objective-C is about, what to look out for and where to find "more", all in the appropriate context and place.* The chapters are designed so you can work through each of them easily in one session, then go for a bonus experience doing homework yourself and afterwards, comparing your own work with what you see in each chapter's video solution. Just a great approach!* The writing style is light and casual. The sentences are short which for me makes great reading. There are lots of screenshots, illustrations and layout features so that going through the material does not become boring or hard to concentrate. And there are no typos or other errors I came across that would hijack one's mojo.I highly recommend the books in this series. So far I know of only two (Book 1 and 2) but I cannot wait for the next to become available.

I've been toying with the idea of writing my own app ever since I purchased my first iPhone a number of years ago. Since then I've purchased an iPad and a MacPro which has only further increased my desire to write an app. I've purchased a couple of other programming books, tried a couple of Stanford Univ. on-line classes, and looked into taking programming classes at a local community college. None of these provided a clear, efficient path to achieving my goal of writing a good app however. I was getting frustrated with my options until I recently discovered this book on Amazon. I quickly downloaded the e-version and read several chapters right off the bat and was hungry for more which hasn't happened with the other books I've tried. One thing I like about this book and the next (In less than a week I've finished the first and I'm part way through the second book on learning Objective C) is that the the books are truly written for the beginner. The author does a great job of making a rather complicated topic clear. After all we're not only talking about learning Objective C, but also how X-code, iOS, and Cocoa Touch factor into the app making process. The author accomplishes clarity by using well written and well illustrated step by step instructions, great summaries at the end of each chapter, and a summary video at the end of most chapters. If you don't understand the process from the text you'll be able to do so watching it unfold before your eyes on video. Another strength of this series is that the author gets you involved with hands-on exercises right from the beginning. It's not information only, like many books, but step by step app building exercises which is how I learn best. Of course it remains to be seen how good an app I can write when I'm done going through all of the author's books (only 2 out so far) but I'm encouraged by what I've experienced so far. My main concern at this point is whether or not Mr. McNeish can continue to deliver the yet to come books at the same quality level as the first two and yet do it quick enough so that I can continue my education with him and not have to transition over to other sources. I'm sure he'll do his best if he hopes to continue to capture his share of this hot market topic!

I think the author has achieved a great deal here. He walks you through the elements of constructing an APP using no code, just theinterface builder in Xcode. The interface builder is an impressive tool (it goes back to NextComputer days in the early nineties) andmakes it possible for the absolute novice to get an impression of some of the main ingredients of an iPhone app in a few steps.Xcode is a formidable IDE with quite a learning curve, so it's a bit of a challenge to chart a path that a novice can follow and build a prototype thathas some interesting features, and I think Kevin McNeish has done it well. He also tries to do more than give a cookbook recipe, pausing at times to explain what's going on and why it works. At no point does this book or its successor over-simplify what's going on. The reader is quickly told shat she will have to learn how to program in Objective C to really gain some control over what she's doing, something which the successor to this book does admirably well. So this book lives up to its aims. There were some choices to be made: what does one start with, what should be the goals of an absolutely introductory book. They are the right choices. It breaks the ice, and importantly, it leaves the reader wanting to dive into programming and really understand what's going on.

Nice

Finally I should stumble over a book that takes time to drag the reader (student) along. Most books gives more insight in to the authors knowledge than it helps understanding the basics.Based on this experience I look forward to take on next book in this series.Svein Setten

The author guides you through making your first app, but the app is static.It was nice to experience making an app without having to deal with code; my question would be: will it ever be possible to make a functional app without having to use too much code? Who knows.I was expecting this book to be the answer, but it wasn't. After I bought the first book, I immediately bought the 2nd book of this series (around $20) and in it, after 2 chapters of well explained pictures, he jumps into pure code.I have to say I am understanding code more, but there are hundreds of books out there that explain code just as this one (I already had several Code books, though I decided to buy this one thinking it would be way easier to digest; it is not).The author does a good job on attaching video files (accessible when you are online) to explain some exercises on this first book.Overall, this book is good if you want to brainwash yourself momentarily by thinking that is so easy to make apps without code. But you may as well save the $10 bucks and start learning your code, cause it all seems to lead there anyways..

I have quite few books on this subject in my library, most of them are for beginners. The problem IS, all these so called beginners books, believe me there are hundreds on the market, assume you know X, Y and Z already. Hence when you work through the book you hit an obstacle and get stuck. You frantically thumb through the book looking for the solution but to no avail as the author assumes you know this already. The result, you just throw the book aside and take up needlework or similar.Even after all my attempts I was NOT in a position to programme anything successfully until I purchased this book. It is fantastic! It assumes you know absolutely NOTHING and takes you from this stage to being able to develop with the aid of this book your first programme successfully. I had my first app up and running in less than 2 hours; NO, it was NOT the standard "hello world"!We, the community have been waiting for a book like this for years. It is money more than well spent. In fact I have purchased ALL 3 of the author's creations.I downloaded all of these to the Kindle app on my Mac/iPhone/iPad as well as ordering Books 1 and 2 as hardcopies. Book 3 will be released later as a hardcopy. I like to feel paper in my hands as well as make notes in same. BTW, more to Kindle in the review on Book 3.Yes, this book deserves NO LESS than the 5 stars I have awarded. Well done Kevin J McNeish!

Came across this new series whilst searching through for promising Kindle books. I have tried both traditional paper books and the ebook versions and find having the ebook version alongside my MacBook on my iPad makes for a better reading experience than trying to stop a paper book's pages from turning when not required!Anyway, to the book. I like the way Kevin McNeish, the author, takes nothing for granted and truly writes for beginners, which is exactly what I am. He explains everything in sufficient detail and doesn't make the mistake some books, supposedly for beginners, make in assuming the reader has come from another programming language.The topics covered in the first book are enough to get the reader interested and, dare I say, excited enough to want more. I could hardly wait after completing this book to go and purchase the second book in the series Book 2: Flying with Objective C - iOS App Development for Non-Programmers (The Series on How to Write iPhone & iPad Apps), so I did!And, no, despite the fact I share a Scottish surname with the author, I am not related or associated in anyway.