Build a Self-Destructing Message iPhone App

Hi, any word on when the UI and UX parts of the tutorial will be out? I've finished the rest and waiting on that one.

They are in post-production now! We revamped a few things for iOS 7 and are just about ready. I should have a release date very soon.

Looking forward to it - thanks Ben!

Can't wait! Do you think Parse is in a way a 'stepping stone' to learning how to setup your own web backend, or would Parse be a satisfactory backend even for major projects? I was reading that, seeing that it's entirely JSON encoded data, it would be fairly easy to set up a backend that does everything that Parse does, it would just be heavily time consuming. Do you, personally, think it is worth it?

I honestly think Parse (or similar services) is a fantastic solution for many real-world apps. There are three main reasons I can think of for building your own backend:

1. You need custom functionality that isn't available from Parse. They have a pretty comprehensive system, but you just might need full control for some reason.
2. The cost of Parse at some point might be higher than building your own. I have to think this would be a very high break point as Parse is very affordable for LOTS of transactions, but if your app is hugely popular then you might end up paying a lot.
3. You want to learn how to build the backend. This is a great learning exercise, but certainly not required!

I plan on using Parse as much as possible for my apps. I've worked on backend systems and I'm glad to know how to implement them, but I enjoy the front-end stuff better and I enjoy working with Parse. That has been working for me lately. :)

Thanks. I have found the same thing, and continue to use Parse when I develop apps. I do think it can be helpful, however, to have basic JSON parsing knowledge, I found this recently. Also, on the content roadmap for the second part of the self-dest. message app, there is a link (https://teamtreehouse.com/ios-development/build-a-selfdestructing-message-iphone-app), however it is broken. Just thought I'd let you know...

Thanks for the tip! The UI project is finally almost here! It grew into four stages. :)

Self-inflicted scope-creep? ;)

Hahaha - totally! Originally it was all going to come out before iOS 7, but once we got close to the date, it made sense to redo this half for iOS 7 so it would have a much longer shelf-life. :)