Certificate in iOS and Mac Application Development

Programming in Objective-C and the Cocoa Framework, Classroom, Downtown Seattle, Winter 2012

This course teaches desktop application development for Mac OS X and lays the foundation for the courses in application development for the iPhone OS and more advanced topics in Cocoa. In this course, you'll develop a solid understanding of the Objective-C programming language and the Cocoa frameworks used in both iPhone/iPad development and OS X development. You will use Xcode (Apple's integrated development environment) to write a series of Objective-C programs of increasing complexity to learn the Objective-C language, gain skill with the development environment, develop excellent Cocoa programming style and understand the components of a well designed and well engineered Mac desktop program.

Upon completion of this course, you will:

• Be fluent in the Objective-C language, the structure of a Cocoa program, Cocoa naming standards and memory management in reference-counting (retain/release) mode. Understand how to define and extend an Objective-C class with inheritance, categories and protocols.
• Be familiar with the basic Apple development tools and documentation and be able to write and debug a basic Mac desktop application.
• Understand fundamental Cocoa design patterns: model-view-controller, delegation, key-value coding, key-value observation, target-action, the responder chain, preferences, bindings and blocks.
• Understand the mechanics and esthetics of Mac OS X desktop software design; know how to use the most common graphical user interface components; be able to apply the principles in Apple's Human Interface Guidelines.
• Have a basic facility with Core Data APIs and datastore design.

Developing with the iPhone SDK, Classroom, Downtown Seattle, Spring 2012

This course teaches an experienced Mac OS X programmer how to develop software for the iPhone OS (including both iPhone and iPad devices), using the Cocoa Touch framework. The course assumes you are fluent in Objective-C, have solid proficiency in Xcode and Interface Builder and are well versed in all basic Cocoa design patterns, including model-view-controller, delegation, key-value coding, key-value observation, target-action, the responder chain and preferences. You will use Xcode (Apple's integrated development environment) to build and enhance three different projects through the course. By completing these projects, you will have worked in all major areas of iPhone OS technology.  

Upon completion of this course, you will:

• Have a mastery of Cocoa design patterns.
• Be familiar with advanced Apple development, debugging and profiling tools.
• Understand the usual building blocks for a Cocoa Touch application. Be able to write and debug a full-featured iPhone or iPod Touch application, using whatever APIs are appropriate to the task.
• Be able to plan and lead all aspects of designing, developing, testing and shipping an iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch application.
• Have a working knowledge of Core Animation and layer-backed views.

Advanced Cocoa Development for Mac OS X and iPhone OS, Classroom, Downtown Seattle, Summer 2012

This course teaches programmers familiar with OS X development and iOS development how to write complex network-based applications with multiple components, how to design and tune their applications for best performance on iPhone/iPad or Mac Desktop hardware and how to get the most out of the development tools. You will participate in development projects that combine and synthesize your skills and which incorporate multithreading, network communication and schema migration. You will master Apple's advanced tools for debugging, performance analysis, static analysis and crash log analysis. You will learn to customize and extend the Xcode development environment to incorporate external libraries, multicomponent applications, localization, build automation, source code management and custom GUI tools. You will use advanced graphics technologies including Quartz drawing, Core Image, Core Animation and Image Kit. You will practice using libraries for animation, security, system configuration and advanced iPhone/iPad functions.

Upon completion of this course, you will:

• Have an in-depth knowledge of advanced topics in OS X development that will equip you to be smart, savvy and efficient
• Understand how to use available tools to maximize personal development productivity and performance of applications
• Apply best engineering and design practices to produce fast, correct, maintainable code and pleasing, functional user interfaces
• Understand the process of and best practices of submitting applications to the App Store

Prerequisites: