It’s been awhile, but I decided to take up this subject (yet again.) Although I do still have access to Safari Online, a friend of mine lent me his copy of iPhone SDK Essential Training DVD from Lynda.com for comparison. I spent the last two days watching the video. It’s just under 7 hours, but I spread it over two days because I was watching Tebow get his butt handed to him against the Patriots (sigh, I was hoping for more.)
The video in a word is Awesome.
Simon Allardice is the instructor and has put together a simply awesome experience. I like the fact that the DVD pulls no punches. He expects you to know coding – at least something. The pace is a fast – but they cram a lot of information and tips (and a bit of humor) in under 7 hours. I even like his presentation slides (Prezi?)
I picked up a lot of great information and I was left with the desire to learn much more. Based on the subjects covered, I’m already refining the subjects I need to concentrate on to build my first iPhone app. I highly recommend the DVD to anyone who wants a quick overview of the iPhone SDK.
Of course, this DVD is a bit old and covers Xcode v.3.x – and I have version 4.x installed. So a lot of the examples that were given didn’t match up with my UI, but the basic concepts stuck and I was able to fumble my way through the examples. To be honest, I didn’t do a lot of the examples as the pace was pretty fast. The pace lends more to listen and learn on the first pass. When you are ready to actually start coding, go back to the appropriate section you may have questions on.
I’m already looking to see if they have a DVD that covers the latest technologies – iOS 5, or Xcode 4.x.
-JT