iPhone Apps: Roll your Own ?

[Robert E. Seastrom]

John Teller <jsteller at spottydog.us> writes:

> I've had a crash course (OJT) in Objective C and really don't
> understand why they didn't just use C++.  I suppose it's like
> Microsoft and C#. 

They didn't do it just to be different; it's the result of over 20
years of software development going back to NeXT.  Being reasonably
facile in both (and finding both lacking when compared to real OO
programming languages like Lisp and Smalltalk), I have to say I prefer
Objective C.

> The development environment is actually quite nice,
> and except for the fact that the key press sequences I'm used to using
> in Windows and Linux are completely different in Mac space, I like it
> a lot.

This one will sneak up on you - in the Mac developer community there's
a reasonably fascist human interface guidelines contingent, which will
actively hunt you down and humiliate you if you don't use the standard
command key shortcuts.  As a result, they tend to be identical across
different software by different authors.  Not so with Windows or
Linux, though in the past few years Windows has gotten a lot better on
that count.  Then again, they had nowhere to go but up.

> For the most part the development is pretty similar to any other GUI
> based system.  The one new concept I did learn from this experience is
> the Model-View-Controller architecture the whole system is based on.
> It's a good system, and does a pretty good job preventing the code
> from glomming together like so much of the Windows code I used to work
> on.

Well, yes.  And to be fair, it's not C++.  That helps.
http://flinflon.brandonu.ca/dueck/1997/62285/stroustroup.html

> And despite the draconian efforts Apple goes to in order to limit
> applications, there are plenty of alternate venues.

Apple's not perfect, but as they say, it sure beats the alternatives.

-r