Sams Teach Yourself Cocoa Touch Programming in 24 Hours Review

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Sams Teach Yourself Cocoa Touch Programming in 24 Hours ReviewI was intrigued that Sams brought out two similar books together. I think they may be cannibalizing their own market share. There is no well known difference that I'm aware of between iPhone App Development and Cocoa Touch - one implies the other. So which one would you buy?
This books covers a lot of the same ground as their "iPhone Application Development" book, though now I see huge differences. Despite the back cover saying "Beginning-Intermediate" there is no way I would ever recommend this book to a beginner. In marked contrast to the other Sams book this seems to have been given a free editorial rein, such that it wanders all over, goes from beginner to very deep in the same chapter, and doesn't seem to have a cohesive aim for each chapter.
I have no problem with deeper material but a lot of it is not covered very well. For Cocoa design patterns see Buck and Yacktman; for Cocoa at a more basic level see Hillegass; for iPhone app dev in a more structured way see Ray/Johnson (Sams), Mark/LaMarche (Apress), or the Pragmatic Programmers book; for Obj-C see Kochan or the Apress title; for advanced iPhone apps see the Apress iPhone Cool Projects book.
For the intermediate or advanced developer there are some nuggets in here that I'm sure will be quite useful. There is no doubt the author is a knowledgeable person and he's covered a lot of material, some of which may not be covered elsewhere (notwithstanding my comments above). It's a book to dip into when you have a reasonably thorough knowledge of Obj-C and the Cocoa Touch frameworks, but as for teaching yourself in 24, cohesive, programmed, well thought out chapters then go to the other Sams book by Ray and Johnson.
(I don't know if it's coincidence but nearly all the best iPhone dev books seem to be co-authored. Perhaps the authors keep each other on track...)Sams Teach Yourself Cocoa Touch Programming in 24 Hours OverviewIn Full ColorCode samples are syntax highlighted as in Xcode!!In just 24 sessions of one hour or less, learn how to build powerful mobile applications with Apple's Cocoa Touch technology for the iPhone and iPod touch! Using this book's straightforward, step-by-step approach, you'll master every skill and technology you need, from handling user interaction and building effective user interfaces to accessing the Internet, playing media, and using the iPhone and iPod touch's incredible sensing capabilities. Each lesson builds on what you've already learned, giving you a rock-solid foundation for real-world success!Step-by-step instructions carefully walk you through the most common Cocoa Touch programming tasks.Quizzes and Exercises at the end of each chapter help you test your knowledge. By the Way notes present interesting information related to the discussion. Did You Know? tips offer advice or show you easier ways to perform tasks. Watch Out! cautions alert you to possible problems and give you advice on how to avoid them.Write simple, efficient code that reflects a clear understanding of how Cocoa Touch works and why it works that wayBuild great iPhone/iPod touch user interfaces from the ground upDisplay tables and provide for clear navigationAccess the Internet and networks and show web pagesSave and retrieve data, including user preferencesUnderstand how the Cocoa Touch runtime loop interacts with your applicationDraw and manipulate imagesCreate complex animations such as Cover Flow Build applications that play and record media Use the iPhone's built-in accelerometer, GPS capabilities, and WiFi supportShare data via custom URLs, emails, and other techniquesFind and fix common Cocoa Touch software bugs, fastAvoid the performance bottlenecks that affect Cocoa Touch code

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Beginning Windows Phone 7 Development Review

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Beginning Windows Phone 7 Development ReviewBeginning Windows Phone 7 Development by Lee and Chuvyrov is aimed at developers new to the Windows Phone 7 platform (which is probably most of us). This book expects a basic understanding of C#, the .NET Framework and XAML so if you have no prior programming experience, an introductory text is a pre-requisite. .NET developers without Silverlight or WPF experience shouldn't find the content too challenging as it is either explained sufficiently by the authors or fairly easy to grasp in its own right.
Part 1, The Essentials of Windows Phone 7 Application Development, starts with a high level introduction to the Windows Phone 7 platform and then drills into some examples ranging from the obligatory Hello World through to a thorough Windows Azure-based cloud services end-to-end scenario. There are plenty of step-by-step instructions and loads of screenshots in these five introductory chapters making them a easy read.
Part 2, Using Windows Phone 7 Technologies, comprises the remaining fourteen chapters and the vast majority of the book. The meat of the book is in these chapters and provides a reasonable grounding for developers looking to discover the breadth of the Windows Phone 7 platform without getting bogged down in too much detail.
The book is organised reasonably well and covers the material well enough for someone new to the platform to become productive relatively quickly. The tone of the book is light without trying too hard to be humourous, which I was thankful for. However, I have two complaints to make, resulting in a less than perfect score.
First, there are a number of inconsistencies in the example code printed in the book. For example, in Chapter 2, the book refers to a TextBlock called textBlock1 in the description of the subsequent code but then goes on to use a TextBox called txtMessage in the actual code listing. There are plenty of similar errors in this section. Its easy enough to understand where the book has gone wrong and correct for it but it may be frustrating for beginners.
Secondly, and far more annoying for me, was the volume of grammatical errors. The authors' command of English is obviously good but between the frequent errors, odd turns of phrase, and some repetitive wording, I found the writing to be a distraction (there's something about code being referred to as codes that really irritates me). Thankfully I perservered through to Part 2 of the book where either the writing improved or I became too desensitised to care anymore.
The book is fine as a survey of the important areas of Windows Phone 7 which will likely require your attention as a developer. If you don't mind the occasional superficial inconsistencies in code examples or if the quality of the writing doesn't get in your way, you could do far worse. Some work by the editors at Apress should result in a much improved second edition as it really only needs polishing rather than a rewrite.
Beginning Windows Phone 7 Development Overview
Microsoft'sWindows Phone 7 handsets have injected a new vibrancy into the smartphone marketplace and provided bold new opportunities for the Microsoft development community. Now in its second edition, Beginning Windows Phone 7 Development has been written to help you identify those opportunities and to learn the skills you'll need to harness them. It covers the very latest developments in the field, including the extended APIs offered in Microsoft's automatic platform update, so you'll have timely, accurate information at your fingertips. Beginning Windows Phone 7 Development, Second Edition starts with the basics, walking you through the process of downloading and setting up the right development tools, including Visual Studio, Expression Blend, Silverlight SDK, and Windows Phone SDK. It then takes you step-by-step though the development process as you build and deploy a working application, complete with a sophisticated user interface. Finally, you'll receive step-by-step instructions on selling your applications through the Windows Phone Marketplace.

What you'll learn
How to create effective networked applications
How to leverage your phone's GPS capabilities from within your application
How to interact with the phone's built-in functionalities (camera, contacts, maps, accelerometer, video and web browser to name but a few)
How to construct highly graphical and responsive user interfaces quickly and easily using these features
How to package and distribute your applications for bothpersonal distribution and commercial sale via the Windows Phone Marketplace

Who this book is for
This book is for anyone interested in developing applications for the Windows Phone 7. You might be an existing .NET developer looking for a new creative angle, or perhaps an iPhone or Android developer looking for a new opportunity. If you have an understanding of basic .NET coding practices, then this book is for you.

Table of Contents
Introducing Windows Phone 7 and the Windows Phone Platform
Building Windows Phone 7 Applications
Using Cloud Services As Data Stores
Catching and Debugging Errors
Packaging, Publishing, and Managing Applications
Working with the Accelerometer
Application Bar
WebBrowser Control
Working with Controls and Themes
Integrating Applications with the Windows Phone OS
Creating Trial Applications
Internationalization
Isolated Storage
Using Location Services
Media
Working with the Camera and Photos
Push Notifications
Reactive Extensions for .NET
Security


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