Check out my tutorial on "How to read iOS Documentation". Everyone in class: "Teacher? Question: How do I do this and that and this? I can't figure it out!" This happens usually several times during the day. "Read the documentation". "It' explained in the documentation!". And then everyone starts pulling out their hairs in frustration, because HOW do you read the f****** documentation?
In the beginning it very hard to figure out how to use the documentation correctly to actually figure out what you need to do to in order to make "things" happen in your app. It is written in English, but it might as well have been written by Klingons. So therefore you end up using sites such as StackOverflow a lot search for solution. Which can help sometimes, but in the end, knowing how to read the documentation will get you a lot further! So this tutorial is my approach to reading and using the iOS Documentation. I am not saying this is the right way, the best way or the smartest way. It' just my way to make sense of the Documentation.
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The App Academy Bootcamp is a great way to get into the app making business. It provides a solid foundation of Swift and iOS in order to prepare you for a career in app development. Its 12 weeks of hard work, so here are some advice for the future students of the iOS Bootcamp with The App Academy. The time spent in front of a computer You will spend hours and hours in front of the computer, sometimes happy, often frustrated, then exhilarated and then at the end of the week just done with it. And after the bootcamp this will, hopefully, be your daily life at work. So its important to establish proper routines to take breaks from the computer screen in order to clear your head. Luckily the instructors will force you to take breaks every two hours, which will sometimes feel frustrating when you are in the middle of something. But if you have struggled with a problem, you´ll find that some fresh air and a clear head will often result in you coming up with a new way around the problem. The stress from struggling with problems There are some things that are certain in life: there will always be some problems in your life to handle, you will get frustrated, you will want to pull out your hair at times and you will want to quit. Thats life. Then you decided to take this bootcamp and become an app developer. Well, increase those frustrations and problems tenfold and you´ll get what is a typical day of programming. But that is also what is the essence of being an app developer. You are there to solve problems, to build something to help other people with their problems, whether that is to find the fastest route to the nearest Febo or how to quickly organise a neighbourhood volunteer group in search of a lost cat. So how to deal with these frustrations when they come? Remember that you are learning something completely new. You are not supposed to know everything yet, and thats okay. Thats the whole reason why you are taking this course right? So take it easy on yourself if you feel like nothing is working. You´ll get there! Remember to use the instructors and other classmates for help. There is no shame in asking for help. Our instructor tried hammering this into our brains multiple times every single day; they are explicitly paid to answer questions you might have, day and evening. So be nice to them and let them do theirs jobs, that way they will be less frustrated as well. Step away from the computer, watch something funny on youtube or do something completely different than looking at code if you get really stuck and frustrated. Remember that this is not supposed to be easy, otherwise everyone would do it. And most important of all, and I know this is very cliche; like most obstacles in life, you will overcome in the end (with the help of the instructors and fellow classmates). Remember that this is not supposed to be easy, otherwise everyone would do it Finishing homework It would not be a proper bootcamp if you would not also have homework in the evening to further teach yourself how to code. The trick to managing these homework are to start early and to ask the instructors for help if you need it. They are available during the evening and weekends to answer any questions you might have. Their workday stops around 22.00 in the evening, so pester them as much as possible to be able to finish your homework. Don´t let them get paid for just sitting at home drinking beer and watching TV. Working with a team The bootcamp is usually made up of very different people, with different backgrounds, different personalities and different experience levels. Some will learn quick and some will learn slower. And then these people need to work together in a group. Which can be challenging at times for sure. But the key is to remember that everyone is there to learn. Be careful to choose tasks to do that will help the group move forward, but that also will give you the opportunity to learn valuable coding skills. In the end you want to end up with a great app, but the learning you with the group and the work you do during the teamwork is more important than having a flashy app. Keeping yourself motivated
It can be daunting thinking of adding all the features to the app that is needed for it to work, and the short time-frame you have to finish it. It can quickly become stressful to think about everything that needs to be completed. Therefore it is helpful to break those features down into smaller tasks that will in the end get you where you want to be. Having a checklist to check off each new class, function or feature that you complete is a great way to keep motivated and to see that you are making progress. And its important to share these moments with the rest of the team as well. Yelling “YES, I made it work” will motivate not only you but also the rest of the class. And its important to remember that everyone is in the same boat as you, learning something new, making progress and enjoying and being frustrated over the challenges the code if front of you brings. During class we are using a lot of tutorials to help us learn how to code. These are both from the two books we are using (The Big Nerd Ranch) and from internet.
One excellent resource for iOS tutorials (and others) are Ray Wenderlich. There are many tutorials here that explain easily what you should do and what is happening. If you want to have a start to look into iOS programming, or if you are already programming, this is a very good website to check out! |
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