Book Spotlight: iPhone in Practice MEAP

Playing with iPhone apps for hours can be quite fun and entertaining. Developing your very own app can be even more exciting. Here at iPhoneness, we understand that many of you may be interested in bringing your own iPhone apps to life. That’s why we have decided to review a few top iPhone programming books from Manning Publishing to help you get started with your iPhone development journey. Manning Publishing has been kind enough to provide iPhoneness readers exclusive discount coupons for each of these books, so don’t forget to take advantage of them (grab it at the end of this article). With that in mind, let’s dig in and see what iPhone In Practice is all about.

iPhone In Practice is an exciting new book by Manning that is designed for those who want to master the art of iPhone programming in the most practically way possible. The book is expected to be released in Fall 2010, but thanks to Manning Publishing’s MEAP program, you can get your hands on one and get started with your journey in iPhone development.

When you think about it, there is almost no limit to what you can develop for iPhone. The SDK is powerful enough to enable you to develop killer enhancements for the device. But before you get started with iPhone development, you need to have a firm understanding of what iPhone is all about and ways you can develop code for it. If you have never developed code for iPhone, it’s going to take a bit of time to get used to tools you can use to develop apps for iPhone. iPhone In Practice runs you through the essentials you need to know to get started with iPhone development. Whether it’s exploring the iPhone Developer Program or learning how to write code using X-code, this book has you covered.

Developing an iPhone application is not just about writing code. There are a lot of people who can write code but don’t have the basics down. Think about it. When you are picking up an iPhone application, you want one that is responsive, comes with a decent UI, and delivers what its developers promise. Whether you are a newbie to iPhone programming environment or have never designed a mobile app, you are going to learn everything you need to know to develop decent UIs for iPhone. But that’s not where the book stops. It also provide coverage for advanced topics such as animation, networking, in app purchase, and address book manipulation (a lot of these topics are coming to the book soon).

I have been involved with the world of iPhone from its early days. But those who are hoping to get into this business and have no prior experience programming for iPhone are going to need time to adjust to this environment. The beauty of iPhone In Practice is that it walks you through developing an app in each advanced chapter. So by the time you get to finish the book, you’ll have the knowledge and experience you need to develop your iPhone app fast. Here are just a few chapters to be excited about:

• Navigation Controller, Address Book and Table View — Dial4
• Maps, Core Location, Keychain Security — iParked
• Settings, UI Widgets, Audio, Shaking — Countdown
• Core Data, iPod Track Access and Playing Music — My Playlists
• Networking, Voice, In App Purchase, Push Notification — Rock-Paper-Scissors
• Animation, HTTP Request and Web Page Displaying — iEleven

In case you are wondering, the bold words in the above lists are the apps that you will get a chance to look at in their respective chapters. You can’t get more practical than that.

Who’s This Book For

I can’t say iPhone In Practice will work for everyone. There are some programmers who prefer reading dry theory instead of trying things in practice. But if you are serious about iPhone development and want to learn how one would go about writing an app from ground up, iPhone In Practice is a good place to start. It’s true that the book is expected to be released to the public in Fall 2010, but you can always get a head start with the Early Access Edition of this book.

Exclusive iPhoneness Coupon

Manning Publishing has been kind enough to provide iPhoneness readers with an exclusive coupon that will save you 50% off on this book. The coupon works for any version of this book. It’s valid from Feb 1st to Feb 3rd, so make sure you take advantage of it fast. Checkout code: “iphnss1”

Don’t forget to log on to Manning.com for more powerful development books. In the meantime, we will be covering a few more Manning books in the next few weeks, so stay tuned.