8 posts tagged tutorial
Mac App Storm published a short article on some of iCloud’s hidden features that’s definitely worth a read. One trick I’ve never heard of is the Mobile Documents folder:
Once you’ve signed in with an Apple ID on your Mac, inside your Library you’ll find a folder called “Mobile Documents”, simply right click it to create an alias and and drag it to wherever you like.
With Adobe’s recent announcement that Flash will no longer be developed for mobile devices, now is a great time to take another look at what’s possible with HTML5 audio and video tags. Luckily, the folks over at NetTuts published a great tutorial last year on the subject. Here’s a link to their post.
In addition, A Book Apart’s HTML5 for Web Designers discusses audio and video in HTML5 along with several other HTML5 techniques that you can use today.
I haven’t tried using the library mentioned in this tutorial, but it looks promising.
In preparing for my beginning iOS development workshop last month and the upcoming Web Design for Mobile devices course (fall 2011), I’ve been accumulating links to various resources that I think will be helpful for new mobile developers. Currently the list of resources is more geared towards native app development, but I will be adding mobile web resources to the list as I continue to develop the course. if you know of a resource I should add, please feel free to leave a comment below.
Graphic Resources
Update: The UT Federal Credit Union mobile application that I discuss in this article was removed from iTunes in September 2011 so that the bank could go with a third-party vendor for their mobile initiatives.
As you may have read, my first iPhone application is now available in the app store! I have been interested in creating apps since I purchased my first iPhone about a year and a half ago. However, I don’t have much of a programming background – just HTML/CSS/PHP and a bit of action scripting from my days teaching Flash workshops. I bought a few books on Objective-C and the iPad SDK, learned the basics, and even started writing my first couple of apps. I eventually discovered the TapLynx framework and decided to develop my first app using a combination of the framework and some custom plugins I wrote to extend the core functionality. I decided using the framework would be a great way to supplement my own development skills. Below is a quick review of my experience using TapLynx.
According to the website, TapLynx allows you to “rapidly develop iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch Apps without learning Cocoa.
Although it is free to download and test the framework on the simulator, you will need to purchase a license ($599) before submitting to the app store or testing on a real device.
I found TapLynx to be incredibly easy to use and have to say that it saved me even more time than I had thought it would. To get a basic app setup, you’ll only need to create a few graphics, grab the RSS feeds you want to use in the app, and edit a .plist file. I found the support wiki provided most of the necessary information to get my app off the ground. When I did experience a problem that I couldn’t answer by browsing the wiki or searching the Google group, an email to the framework’s developers was always met with a quick and thorough response.
One aspect of the framework that I really like is that you can extend its functionality by writing your own code. In my app, I added 3 view controllers that are responsible for displaying branch information, dialing important phone numbers, and launching a mobile banking site. I had actually written the code before I discovered TapLynx and was relieved that I was able to easily import all of my hard work.
In fact, my only negative experiences in the whole process had to deal with submitting my app for approval in the iTunes store and setting up ad-hoc distribution for beta testing – both of which have nothing to do with the TapLynx framework. These steps are actually done using Apple’s tools and procedures, and can be a little confusing for the first-timer. For that reason, I think a basic familiarity of the Xcode development environment would be a great idea …otherwise you may find yourself scouring the discussion forums for help building and submitting your app for approval.
In conclusion, I would definitely encourage anyone interested in creating a data-driven app to at least take a look at TapLynx – I am certainly glad that I did. My one wish for the framework would be some sort of multi-app license because $599/app can be a bit pricy, especially if you’re interested in creating apps for non-profits or educational institutions. That being said, the amount of time that the framework saves is still worth the price of admission!
Have you used TapLynx or other app framework? I’d love to hear your experiences. Feel free to leave a comment below!
