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Before we pick apart any code, let’s be sure you are in the right place. Specifically, is devoting time to Objective-C the right decision and if so, do you have enough background in object-orientation or Swift to make the most of this accelerated course?
Teacher’s Notes
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0:00
[MUSIC]
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Hi, I'm Gabe, and I'm an iOS developer and teacher.
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In this course we'll take an accelerated look at the fundamentals of
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the Objective-C language as it relates to building iOS apps.
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Now before we wheel out a single line of code,
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let's get a couple of items squared away.
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The first is a biggie.
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Should you learn Objective-C at all?
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Well, that depends on a few things.
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Firstly, we need to know your objective.
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See, if you're going to just dabble and build an app or two, or
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try out iOS development, then Swift is the way to go.
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I wouldn't worry about Objective-C until you've got a really good handle on Swift.
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I hope you enjoyed our time together as much as I did.
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All right, I think they're gone.
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If you'd like to work in iOS professionally or
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you want a deep knowledge of iOS, you'll wanna know both Swift and Objective-C.
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There is and will continue to be mountains of code written in both languages, and
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that code will need to be maintained for a long time to come.
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So assuming you have a foundation in Swift, this is the right place for you.
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The last group this course is geared towards is developers already fluent
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in another object-oriented language.
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If you wanna learn about Objective-C but don't want to hear explanations about what
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instances and methods are, this is the place for you too.
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If you're still unsure as to whether or not Objective-C is
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something you want to learn, maybe a little more background will help.
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[SOUND] So first off, it's good to know that Objective-C is a strict superset
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of the C programming language.
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That means that it includes all of C,
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along with a bunch of other stuff added to allow for object-orientation.
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One reason that this is important is that C isn't just any old language.
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It's a really, really important language.
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You find it all over the place, and more importantly, it's the basis for
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Java, C#, C++, and lots more.
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That means that by learning Objective-C,
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you get a massive head start on learning those I just mentioned.
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They aren't exactly the same, of course, but the syntax and
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way of thinking is closely related and much of what you'll learn will transfer.
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If you're only familiar with more succinct modern languages like Python or
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Swift, and you want to add another language to your toolbelt,
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Objective-C makes sense from that perspective too.
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You'll be getting comfortable with a language that feels old.
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And that may serve you well down the line.
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Now assuming you've decided that you do wanna learn Objective-C,
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let's just be sure that this is the right course for you.
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I already mentioned that you should have some experience with either Swift or
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another object-oriented language.
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You should be very comfortable talking about classes, instances, arrays, methods,
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parameters, and the like.
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If you aren't, or you'd like to start right at square one,
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we have a much more in-depth Objective-C Basics course and
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a subsequent Object-Oriented Objective-C course, both of which are linked below.
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Now before we get into the meat of the matter,
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let's talk through how this course is structured and written.
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Firstly, in this course we're gonna cover a lot of ground quickly.
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It will be something like taking around ten hours of material and
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getting it down to about three or four.
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And yes, such an attempt at brevity for
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a course on Objective-C is ironic to say the least.
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Of course, that brevity will only be possible if we can leverage what we
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already know and we'll assume what we know is Swift.
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So when I start talking about a raise in Objective-C,
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I'll mostly just talk about how they differ between the two languages, groovy?
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I'll also be doing a lot of name dropping and
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first-level introductions to topics and then referring you to some other material.
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Some will be Treehouse courses, others will be external.
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I'd strongly suggest you let yourself go down those paths when you get the inkling.
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It should really flesh out your experience.
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There aren't as many quizzes and
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code challenges as you might be accustomed to, so
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again you may want to use this course as a hub rather than as your definitive path.
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In terms of structure, we're gonna begin here in stage one with an overview of
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Objective-C and how it's perceived in the community, then do a rapid-fire count down
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of Objective-C features and syntax that might trip up Swifties.
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[SOUND] From there, we'll move to basic structures and syntax in stage two,
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then on to object-orientation in stage three.
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For stage four, we'll touch on a few common intermediate topics in Objective-C,
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and then finally conclude in stage five where we'll see the language in action in
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iOS apps.
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All right, I think we've got all our disclaimers out of the way.
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Join me in the next video where we'll talk about the good, the bad, and
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the ugly of Objective-C.
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