bookreview - Head First iPhone & iPad Development, 2nd Edition

Head First iPhone & iPad Development, 2nd Edition by Dan Pilone & Tracey Pilone

The Head First series are always a great way to get started in some new technology. This book is no exception to that. This second edition is completely rewritten to match the new iOS and Xcode versions. The authors take the reader with them on a path to learn these new technologies. Every aspect of developing for the iDevices is shown and discussed. Real life examples are used to build complete applications that can be submitted to the App Store. The book starts out with a simple iPhone application which is then expanded to incorporate more advanced stuff such as iPad support, device orientation, Core Data and usage of the Camera. Every part is explained in detail with code samples and screenshots.

Overall the book is a great way to get introduced to development for iOS. The authors try to cut lose from boring introductions. Code samples are alternated with screenshots, in dept explanations and silly interviews. This way the book stays fun and interesting. However, I found the style a bit to childish from time to time. Interviews with GUI controls are not the content that I would expect. It does make this book useful for teenagers that want to get started. I think the content could be made a little more dense and less childish.

Find the book at http://oreilly.com/catalog/9781449387822/

Disclaimer: I have joined the O’Reilly Blogger Review Program (http://oreilly.com/bloggers/). It means that I receive free books that I review. I am not forced to write nice things, so this review is an honest one.