Have You Written iphone or Android Apps?

I don't have any experience with the Iphone or the Android, but a couple of years ago I did some very basic app development for the Palm- mostly personal use stuff, not commercial. The key is having a well designed, well documented SDK (software development kit), and an active development community that is willing to share ideas. I suspect you will discover that there are a number of features of each system that are poorly documented. Understanding the hardware you are writing for is the most critical aspect. Actually coding the app is not all that difficult, if you have any programming experience at all (I was writing my apps in c and in Forth- I doubt these would be the languages of choice for the current flock of devices).

I've found writing iPhone apps difficult and fun. No, I've not yet submitted one, but I figured that since I've been programming since the languages of choice had all capital letters, and since I've managed VB- and C++-based projects / teams, that picking up yet one more "programming paradigm" would be easy. * It hasn't been. If an elder statesman of the programming world had shared his insights with me a couple months back, this is what I wished he had told me. 1=Read the HIG. 2=Read, mark, and inwardly digest the HIG. Look and feel is one thing. The way Apple wants their UI to look is a whole 'nother animal. 3=Download every tutorial you can find (there are jillions of them!), run it, tweak it. 4=OJT, paying dues, puttin' in the time, and generally, as our kindred across the pond say, "mucking about," as a path to mastery is dumb. Buy books. Lots of books. If you can slog through the Mark & LaMarche one, you'll spare yourself immeasurable frustration. 5=Have I mentioned comply with the HIG? * The reasons I beat on the HIG are twofold. First, the "Aha!" After the "Aha!," making programming and design decisions is not merely easy, it is intuitive. I like intuitive: it's fast and painless. Second, user acceptance. I'm testing my apps now. The most consistent response is "Cool, I need this! But it doesn't work quite like all the other ones I've seen. Can you make it .... " Dang. And I thought I was being so-o-o consistent. * When you read in the paper that someone bought Jamaica with his iPhone commissions, that'll be me. * Good luck!

Roger: Your best resource is Apple. Just join their developer program for iPhone. The entry fee is $99 and you have access to tutorials, the IDE [Xcode] and much more. Apple supplies all the tools, a simulator, a lot of code snipits, and APIs [Interface Builder] and a lot more - videos, Reference Library, Coding Resources etc etc. And all of this is 'Free for $99' btw - that is a lot less than you will pay for third party texts and 'How-T0' books. Start here:http://developer.apple.com/iphone/program/

In addition, Stanford University has an online iPhone Development course that is available free as a PodCast.

Yes - Apple insists that you follow their Human Machine Interface [HMI] guidelines but that is an asset not a problem. It is why applications in the Mac World have a similar look and feel and everything just works. Also some developers complain about Apple's opaque approval process. It is getting better but Apple values their IP and yours - so patience is the key word here.

One other word of advice - or maybe 3. Before you run off and start developing the next 'Killer App' spend some time in the AppStore reviewing what has already been done. With over 100,000 apps now available it is not a trivial task. You will find plenty of apps that just seem to do the same thing. Don't get caught in that trap and good luck!!

I am writing applications across all three platforms (you forgot BlackBerry ).

In order of increasing difficulty, Android is the easiest to develop for, then BB and iPhone is probably the hardest.

The first 2 use Java and have plugins for the Eclipse IDE. iPhone uses a proprietary language derived from C (not C++) called Objective-C.

Documentation from Apple ranks very high (but you pay to be in the program), BlackBerry is second best, and Android comes last. However, even the latter is very usable. All in all you will find what you are looking for.

Each platform has its own operating system and frameworks. They are very different from a programming stand point, but functionality is similar.

For all 3 the development SDK comes with simulators that support most (but not all) of the functionality of the real device.

Overall it all comes down to the market you are aiming for.

BB is business-oriented while iPhone is catering more to the individual/entertainment market. Android falls somewhere in-between.

In my case, I develop the same Apps for all 3. These are commercial and there is potential in all markets.

The hardest part is the engineering of the solution as a whole, the implementation on a specific platform requires simply following the recipes. Once you get familiar with the idiosyncrasies of each platform, it is fairly straightforward.

Good luck and have fun!

Thanks for your response. My interest is to create an app that launches and displays a website. I'd like to limit the things displayed from the website to keep the appearance of the website clean. I've seen there are some "app maker" programs out there. Do you have any opinion of those programs?

No, not really.

In general I am very suspicious of application generators.

I understand you're reservations regarding App generators. Is there a code repository where I can....lets call it "borrow"....large segments of code to get what I have to get done done? (I'm sure I'm not the only person in the world building an app to display a webpage).

Not one, but many. I would not know where to start.

I suggest you Google around, you will have multiple hits. It will not surprise you if I recommend forums (yes, like this one) you stumble upon.

From the top of my head:

www.­iphonedevcentral­.­org

http://www.blackberryforums.com/developer-forum/

http://developer.android.com/index.html

... and many more

Thanks for your help. I'll check them out.

Roger