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I'm a self-taught programmer who jumped into Python as my first language about 7-8 months ago. I'm fairly solid at making things work, though my foundational knowledge is limited thanks to my questionable choice in college to not study computer science.

Beyond Python, I'm not really familiar with C or other lower level languages.

I would like to teach myself Objective C as a foray into programming iPhone apps (as a hobby initially). I initially want to create relatively simple utility apps (I think they are relatively simple, at least).

Could any one give me a guess as to how long it might take me to pick up Objective C and actually produce a semi-decent app? If time is of the essence, should I just scrap it and go with HTML5?

I pick things up fairly fast but, again, my background in Comp Sci is really limited.

Sorry if this question is a bit too general and thanks for any insight!

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    You really should learn C before learning Objective-C. Learning the fundamentals of Objective-C isn't too bad. It took me about two weeks to get a very basic understanding but that's because I knew a fair amount of C. Apple sometimes include C code within their Objective-C (C is perfectly valid in Objective-C), so if you are going to be serious about it, you will need to be able to comprehend it. Commented Jul 12, 2011 at 15:16
  • thanks Tyler. I read that you didn't strictly have to know C to use Object-C and I hoped that would hold, though I suspected not :( Commented Jul 12, 2011 at 15:39

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You may take some time once you do not have experience with C. The "C way" is very important to understand Objective-C. You can learn Objective-C without C as well but you will find a lot of C pitfalls in your way.

Said that, I started a project in Objective-C some time ago after giving up Python with Cocoa. I find Objective-C pretty easy to learn - in one month I had made most of my application. I bet you will take a bit more of time because you are not used to C but it is not impossible to learn Objective-C in a relatively short time - let us say, two or three months.

If you have a very restrictive time, you may try HTML5, however. HTML5 uses JavaScript, whose semantics is closer to Python. At least you'll not get segmentation faults with HTML5 :) Also, JavaScript syntax is closer to C so it can be of a little help to learn Objective-C.

Anyway, I have found this great book, Become an XCoder, which seems to be focused on non-C programmers learning Objective-C. You can start by it.

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thanks brandizzi. I know a decent amount of JS, so you've given me some added confidence about HTML5
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I really can't tell you how long it will take you to produce a decent app, but I can definitely recommend Stanford's iOS Development class on iTunes U for learning Objective-C. Once you finished all lessons, you are pretty good to go for your first app. It is really good.

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I've heard good things about this class, thanks for confirming Sascha
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You should learn both, Objective-C and HTML5. HTML5 isn't very difficult to grasp even if you don't have any experience.

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I had to learn objective-C a couple of months ago to make an app for an internship. I had experience with C/C++, and learning Obj-C wasn't difficult at all. What was difficult was learning to use the SDK. Granted, I had next to no experience with using something like it before, but it was a significant learning curve to get a handle on actually putting the app together using Apple's tools. If you're in the same boat, that's something that will probably add to the time it takes to produce a finished app. (I finished the app in about a month.)

I agree with other posters that there are some great Stanford tutorials on iTunes, but as a reference I found Kochan's Programming in Objective-C very valuable. He states in the intro that he does not expect prior C knowledge from readers, and doesn't think it's necessary -- might be a good book for your situation.

Depending on the complexity of the app you want to build, I think you could build something decent in a month or two.

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Well when i started progamming for Objective-c i was well known in Java, but nothing close to C/Objective-c. It took me around 1 month to learn the basics (using tutorials etc).

There are some really good tutorials on iTunes (search for Objective-c seminar). I also used a couple of pdf's to use them as backup while making my first app. That helped alot!

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Would you say 1 month of casual learning or 1 months of balls to the way, 14 hour days (or somewhere in between)?
it was around 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. (At my internship)

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