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So, you want to get into iOS development? I was in your shoes on January 27, 2010, when Apple first announced the iPad. As soon as the conference was over, I knew that I wanted to learn how to create apps for the iPad. I signed up for the Apple Developer website and paid my $99 annual fee. But then, I realized that I did not know where to begin. A large variety of instructional books or videos did not exist, especially since the iPad hadn't released. I had previous programming experience; however, I had no idea how to write Objective-C (the original programming language for iOS). Therefore, I had to teach myself the basics. In this book, we will learn what it takes to become an iOS developer together.

If you are new to programming, take your time. You should understand the lessons that are provided in one chapter before moving on to the next. These essential skills will set you up with a solid foundation in iOS development. If you have previous programming experience, you should still review the earlier chapters, as they will be a refresher for you.

Throughout this book, we will work in Xcode, specifically Xcode 10 (and Swift 4, which we will tackle later in this book). Xcode is known as an Integrated Development Environment (IDE). Using Xcode gives us everything we will need to build apps for iOS, tvOS, macOS (formerly, OS X), and watchOS. In this chapter, we will explore Xcode to help you get more comfortable using it. If you are not on Xcode 10, make sure to update Xcode, as the code in this book will not run correctly otherwise.

Our focus in this book will be on creating a universal iOS app (an app for both the iPhone and iPad). The best way to do this is to create a project to familiarize yourself with where everything is and how to find what you need. So first, let's first download and install Xcode.

To download Xcode, launch the App Store on your Mac and then type Xcode into the search bar in the upper-right corner:

This is the screenshot of the App Store and the blurred out information is not important here

For enhanced image quality, download the graphics bundle from https://www.packtpub.com/sites/default/files/downloads/9781789348668_ColorImages.pdf.

Next, click on INSTALL:

This is the screenshot of the App Store and the blurred out information is not important here

Once installed, launch Xcode, and you should see the following Welcome to Xcode screen:

If this is the first time you have launched Xcode, then you will see No Recent Projects in the right-hand panel. If you have previously created projects, then you will see those listed to the right. To get started, we are going to click on Create a new Xcode project in the left-hand panel of the welcome screen. You will see the new project screen, as follows:

Across the top of this screen, you can select one of the following items: iOS, watchOS, tvOS, macOS, and Cross-platform. Since we are creating apps for iOS, make sure that you have iOS selected. Then, choose Single View App and click on Next. Now, you will see an options screen for a new project:

This option screen has the following seven items to complete or choose:

Product Name: The product name is your app. We are going to set ours as ExploringXcode.
Team: The team connects to your Apple account. We are going to ignore this for now, because we do not need the Team for this chapter. If you already have a team set up, leave it as is. We will cover this in greater detail later in this book.

Organization Name: You can set the organization name to your company name, or just use your name.
Organizer Identifier: You will set the organizer identifier to be your domain name in reverse. For example, my website URL is cocoa.academy, and therefore, my identifier is academy.cocoa. Since URLs are unique, it will ensure that no one else will have your identifier. If you do not have a domain, then use your first and last names for now. However, you will eventually have to purchase a domain if you want to submit your app to the Apple Store.
Bundle Identifier: When you create a new project, Apple will combine your Product Name with your Organizer Identifier to create your unique bundle identifier. So, even if 10,000 people create this project, each person will have a different bundle identifier.
Language: Set language to Swift.
Checkboxes: You can uncheck Use Core Data, Include Unit Tests, and Include UI Tests, as these are things that we will not use in this chapter.

Now, select Next, and Xcode will prompt us to save our project. I have a dedicated folder for all my projects, but you can save it on your desktop for easy access.

Description

Want to build iOS 12 applications from scratch with the latest Swift 4.2 language and Xcode 10 by your side? Forget sifting through tutorials and blog posts; this book is a direct route to iOS development, taking you through the basics and showing you how to put principles into practice. Take advantage of this developer-friendly guide and start building applications that may just take the App Store by storm! If you’re already an experienced programmer, you can jump right in and learn the latest iOS 12 features. For beginners, this book starts by introducing you to iOS development as you learn Xcode and Swift. You'll also study advanced iOS design topics, such as gestures and animations, to give your app the edge. You’ll explore the latest Swift 4.2 and iOS 12 developments by incorporating new features, such as the latest in notifications, custom-UI notifications, maps, and the recent additions in Sirikit. The book will guide you in using TestFlight to quickly get to grips with everything you need to get your project on the App Store. By the end of this book, you'll be ready to start building your own cool iOS applications confidently.

What you will learn