Comments about O'Reilly Media Head First iPhone and iPad Development, 2nd Edition:

As CA said, there are way to many errors in the book. While early in the book most errors can be easily identified by Xcode errors or warnings, or will not prevent compiler or runtime errors, beginning with Chapter 8, it is impossible to follow along with as you are dealing with Core Data models that don't match. Even getting the latest errata and code updates from Git will not help.

Overall it was an OK introduction, but in typical head first fashion the reader is left with very elementary knowledge of iOS programming by repetition but does not have the knowledge or understanding to tackle development head first and there are no references for further studies.

With it's elementary approach and depth, and the constant errors, I definitely do not recommend this book to anyone.

Comments about O'Reilly Media Head First iPhone and iPad Development, 2nd Edition:

I was thinking of purchasing this book, but after ready CA's comments I'm a little reluctant!

I'm really surprised that no one from O'Reilly has chipped in and replied to any of the comments made!

DaveP

Comments about O'Reilly Media Head First iPhone and iPad Development, 2nd Edition:

I'm an experienced C# developer who is looking to get into iOS development.

I started with Programming iOS 4 by Matt Neuburg.
That book is very (very) good, but it's too comprehensive for a total beginner.
I found it frustrating that I was many chapters into the book before I'd written any code.
To coin a phrase, it's like drinking from a fire-hose.

I was looking for a more gentle introduction, something to get me started and I'll go back to the other book when I need to dive deeper into a particular subject.

The Head First book definitely does that.
It gets you writing code from the first chapter and it's comparatively fun.
As with other Head First books the style is light hearted.

Now for the bad news...

I only deal in eBooks these days, so I was a little disappointed that the only electronic format of this book is PDF.
Having said that I purchased it anyway.

Now for the really bad news...

The book is littered with errors, and I mean tons of them.
Yes O'Reilly provide an errata link but who wants to spend their day cross-referencing a book they purchased against a list of errors.

It's only a PDF, how hard can it be to fix?

The errata page only lists a handful of the actual errors, again, who ever actually reports these things?

Initially I wondered if the errors were in-fact deliberate mistakes, some are so obvious.
I wondered if this was part of the Head First cognitive learning theory.
Forcing you to think harder about the subject because you're having to fix the authors mistakes.
As the book unfolds though I've reached the conclusion it was simply a rush job with little care or attention to detail.

On the whole it is a good book, but it could have been so much better.

Sharpen your pencil is a phrase Head First books often use, perhaps they should take their own advice.

CA

Comments about O'Reilly Media Head First iPhone and iPad Development, 2nd Edition:

Head First iPhone and iPad Development (second edition) takes you, again, on a great journey across iPhone development related topics. What you get here is a gentle introduction into iOS programming.

Book covers most common issues you will definitely face during iPod development. It starts with introduction to XCode (iOS devoted IDE). What's worth mentioning here, it covers XCode version 4 (most recent one). Then it presents how to develop simple "hello world" like application. This way, you can fell what coding for iPhone/iPad is in practice. Apart from that, you will be taught how to use multiple views (very common use case for iPhone applications), how to access data (both via plists and Core Data), how to use tab bars, and some of the iOS frameworks. In general, this is very gentle introduction to iOS related development. And it's written like any other Head Firsts series book. It uses simple language, simple examples and good analogies. This way, you don't have to pretend that you are an expert with the topic before you start to read it.

If you are new to iOS and Mac world you will definitely notice that Objective-C is something totally different than Java/C++/C#. Here, Dan provides you with the very basics of the Objective-C. However, these basics are tightly bound to UI related development. You won't get detailed syntax explanation here. If you want to get it, you will have to look somewhere else anyway. This is not that big disadvantage after all. In fact, most of the iOS development related books lack good explanation of Objective-C.

I have read Head First iPhone Development (first edition) some time ago. In fact, this had been one of the books I have learned to program iPhone from. I think it was a good choice at that time. I'd recommend it to all the people who are at the very beginning of the journey. If you know something about iPhone development already. It might be that this book will cover topics you already know. In that case, deciding for iOS 4 Programming Cookbook or Concurrent Programming in Mac OS X and iOS might be a better idea for you.

Comments about O'Reilly Media Head First iPhone and iPad Development, 2nd Edition:

Head First iPhone and iPad Development (Second Edition) provides an extremely accessible and approachable guide for those new to using tools such as Xcode to develop apps for iOS. As with other Head FIrst books, the approach is extremely graphically enhanced and takes the reader through a series of hands-on tutorials. General approach and processes are introduced and grounded through detailed and thorough discussion of real examples of apps worked through in each of the chapter sections. The section on Natural interfaces is a unique and intriguing addition to the discussion - exploring real world UX questions through a discussion format. The complete cycle of user-centered design is demonstrated and promoted including Core Data and the integration of how to plug into the data streams provided as part of the iPhone or iPad hardware suite. Thinking of and using cameras and gps as part of innovative solutions are integral and well-handled as part of the demonstration app in this manual.

The crosswords are great. What a useful little way of turning the learning into games. The use of exercises and then walk throughs the solution to these ties up the chapters particularly well and makes for a solid learning solution.

This book is aimed at novices to iOS development. However, it does require some basic exposure in the use of Object C, which is beyond the scope of this book. Nonetheless, it approaches the start to finish development of iOS apps and does so in such a lyrically informal and fun way that this is definitely a recommended start for anyone considering getting into this booming area.

Comments about O'Reilly Media Head First iPhone and iPad Development, 2nd Edition:

Well what can I say. I have looked at quite a few books out there in iPhone development. I must take my hat of to the authors and editors involved in this version of the book. My knowledge of Objective C is minimal. Although through reading quite a few books and trying different tutorials I have started to pick things up.

I am from a basic background old school and never did C, C++ or Java, but i knew enough to know that variables and the like were universal. This book is aimed at the novice and works well at explaining what to do and the reasoning behind it.

Anyone starting out on iPhone and iPad development will find this book is what they need. After this, you will only need to use what Apple provide for free, no need to buy other books or tutorials. It is an excellent ground work book, thanks.

Tony Ward.