UI Prototyping tool

I think drawing the UI of the application we want to build is a good idea. It helps have a better understanding of the final product and how the user will interact with it.

Interface Builder is often mentioned as a UI prototyping tool but so far, I don't think so. I remember in my old days of Macintosh programming, I was using a tool called "Prototyper" which allowed me to draw my UI and make link between interface elements to build the interactive behavior the UI. Interface Builder, as far as I know, won't allow that.

I decided to create a very simple UI prototyping tool. This is a Keynote document with most of the iPhone UI elements (widgets) each as single objects. Simply copy those base objects to build a specific screen or page of the application UI. You can even create complete screens and have interaction by building hyperlinks within the Keynote document to simulate the behavior of the UI. Tell me what you think.

You can download this document here: http://files.me.com/jfmartin67/8krn3g.key.zip

Stay tuned, I will be uploading new versions of this file in the future.

Done reading this one

OK, I'm done reading Apple's "iPhone Development Guide". Good introduction to the development environment (Xcode), running applications, using the iPhone simulator, managing devices, tuning applications. There is also a section on involving external testers so they can get my application for testing on their devices. Not there yey though!

Next, Apple's "Application Programming Guide". Now we're getting into the details.

Apple removes old customer reviews

I wonder if this removal of old user reviews from the App Store has an effect on the average star rating also... I guess so. Maybe by doing that, the number of stars will reflect more the actual quality of the product. This could be the case because over time, quality of the software titles in the App Store as evolved in both directions (good and bad) and this could make it reflect the actual state of the quality.

Article at MacRumors.com

Please review this application ! Please.

Suppose you have an application for the iPhone that is ready to go to market. How do I get someone well place to review it ? Which sites does this ? How am I presenting my application so they accept to give it a look ? 

Another good reading today. MobileOrchard.com publish an article about getting review sites to actually accept reviewing your application that is about to enter the market. I'll try to return to this article myself when my first iPhone application is ready (I mean, ready, not nearly ready!). 

Stepping back for a while

Today, I was thinking about the many concepts presented in the book "iPhone SDK - Application Development" by Jonathan Zdziarski. I feel a bit overwhelmed. I need to step back and go to the basic first. I'm talking about Objective-C for sure but also to more general concepts regarding the iPhone applications design. So, I went to the Apple developer site again to have a look and decided to download and print these three documents before returning back and continue reading the Zdziarski book:

• iPhone Application Programming Guide
  
• iPhone Development Guide
  
• iPhone Human Interface Guidelines
  

I'll feel better, I know. 

Reading "iPhone SDK - Application Developement" book...

I started reading the "iPhone SDK - Application Development" by Jonathan Zdziarski last weekend. I'm in the middle of chapter 3 right now (UI Kit introduction). I must say that I was surprised by the foreword on the book. First, I didn't know the author came from the iPhone hacking community which existed long before the official Apple SDK came out or was even announced to the public. So he knows about what he is talking about. Second, in the very first paragraph, there is this sentence "Apple's iPhone SDK adds some very nice high-level functionality to cleanup an otherwise hideous mess.". He was trying to summaries his mind about how he feels about the Apple iPhone SDK. Ouch. Things are not so ugly though.

So far I think this guy is pretty critical about the iPhone SDK and the level of APIs Apple is allowing us to use. He maybe right, I don't know. Yet. But, this kind of introduction tells a little bit of what was coming in the first chapters. What I like so far is that he likes to get off the main road to explain things. He tries to come out with the underlyings of the iPhone SDK which helps better understand what is really happening under the hood. So that ok with me. His knowledge of the untold story of the iPhone software innards gives him credibility.

MyDevNotes now online!

My personal developer notes web site is now online (MyDevNotes). This kind of personal wiki should grow as my findings are accumulating. You can even add your comments to each section. Keep an eye on this !

Good point! I might add...

Smart developers update often. I always like his blog posts. I would add:

• Smart developers should get involved in UI design or get in touch with people who likes to design UIs;
• Smart developers don't let the market opportunity to be more important than the goal;
• Smart developers stay focused;
• Smart developers don't reinvent the rules but build upon them;
• Smart developers are problem solvers because of their empathy to the user's problems they try to solve;

Preparing my dev notes web site

I'm in the process of completing a web site where you'll be able to find all my personal notes and references regarding the development of iphone apps. Everything from Objective-C quick notes to Interface Builder gotchas should find there way on this web site. Stay tuned. 

Others are blogging too!

Just found out this list of other bloggers on Cocoa... http://www.cocoablogs.com/