Learn iOS Development for Free from Stanford at iTunes U

Ever wanted to develop iPhone and iPad apps but didn't know how to program? It may be a little easier for you to go about doing it now because Stanford University is now offering its iPhone and iPad application development course online, and for FREE!

Keeping the fact in mind that the first iPhone apps course that came from Stanford in 2009 was downloaded more than a million times in about seven weeks, you might not want to miss it this time! iPhone Application Development is out now on iTunes U, from where you can download lectures and slides regarding the art of coding iOS apps.

Instructor Paul Hegarty attributes the course popularity to the appeal of Apple products and the instant gratification of creating apps for mobile devices. "There's something about developing for the iOS platform that's really exciting and fun because it runs on devices that everybody has in their purses or pockets, " he said.

"There aren't a lot of courses you can take that when you get to the end, to your final project, you can take it out of your pocket and show your friends."

Hegarty said that his students develop a wide array of applications for the iPhone and iPad, including many that improve or automate their daily lives. Those include apps that manage laboratory experiments, keep track of food choices at campus eateries, or access the works of Shakespeare. Games and social networking applications are also popular.

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The university source points that there are two pre-requisite courses that need to be taken before attending the iPhone and iPad Development course, for complete understanding - namely Programming Methodology and Programming Abstractions, both of which are available on iTunes U.

Moreover, to be able to understand the course and be able to develop iOS apps, you need to learn Objective-C language as the core programming language, where as the regular Stanford students do equip themselves with object oriented programming techniques before enrolling to the iPhone and iPad application development course.

Willing to take the free course at Stanford and develop iOS apps? Here's the iTunes link! Get, set, code!

The original post was published on Simon Blog