Packetfury.net

I stated my programming live with DevPac on the Amiga. 68k assembly language was fun, but as a first development experience, it isn't the easiest thing ever. Most of the programming languages that I have tried since have been significantly easier than assembly. After a few years, I settled for C/C++ development, with a touch of Java and some other common languages here and there. Today, I've been presented with something new - Objective C. I've known of Objective C for some time now, it is the programming language that is used for NextStep and other using the OpenStep standard. I've never really done anything OpenStep, but I've seen some source code, without really noticing. Today, things have changed. I've been told to learn Objective C, and the faster the better. PA isn't leaving me alone to figure it out with Google (even if I probably could); he has bought some online training videos, projects, some good litterature and is throwing every training element I could think of my way. More importantly, time. If ever I need anything, if I have questions or if I want to watch someone code something in Objective C, someone is always there to help.

The main objective to learning this language is for COCOA programming, mainly for iPhones. The "Hello, World!" application that comes with Xcode is a 2 minute job, literally. Fire it up, add a button, add some text, compile, hello world. I've rarely seen something that easy and quick, and I'm even considering leaving GTK alone for a while. My only regret is that I don't have a Mac, and I don't have MacOS at home, even on a VM. I'd love to be able to play around a bit more with this at home, but for the time being I can't, so the lunch break is spent mainly fiddling around with Xcode. The more I play with Macs, the more I love them.

Objective C is, theoretically, a thin layer on top of C, like a glass of freshly squeezed C with a hint of Smalltalk. Interfaces and implementations changequite a bit, and I really like the fact that you don't call a procedure, but you send messages to it. and as for the dynamic typing... Wow! Send an object a message that is not specified in its interface... Who cares? No one is there to listen, no exceptions, no warnings, no problem. At the same time, it does mean that the developer needs to be careful, and I know that I'll make a few mistakes here and there, but I'll get there. I'm thrilled by the possibilites of Objective C, and this is one language I'm going to love! I've already spend all weekend learning it, and I can't wait for the next chapter.