ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

OVER THE PAST YEAR OR SO, the development landscape of Apple's iOS has changed greatly. The successful iOS is now in its fifth iteration, and the Xcode IDE has transitioned to a much easier-to-use version 4, with a tight integration of Interface Builder. I have received a lot of feedback from readers of the previous edition of this book, many of whom appreciate the hands-on approach that it takes. I also have received feedback from readers who are stumped by the changes that have occurred between Xcode versions 3 and 4; but such confusion epitomizes the rapid pace of change that all developers experience.

This new edition of the book was revised to cover both new technologies and the various feedback I have received. I had a thorough relook at the exercises readers were having issues with, to ensure that they can be easily followed and achieve the effect I intended. I also took this opportunity to revise all the examples using Xcode 4, which is the IDE included with iOS 5. Of course, this book covers new iOS 5 features — notably, the new iCloud feature that ships with iOS 5. I have also added some topics that would interest most iOS developers, such as how to import and export documents from within your application, programming the various sensors in iOS, and using JSON web services.

Writing a book is always exciting, but along with the excitement are long hours of hard work, straining to get things done accurately and on time. I would like to take this opportunity to thank a number of people who helped to make this book possible.

First, I want to thank my Executive Editor Robert Elliott, who started off as a stranger, but is now my good friend. Robert is not the usual AE, disappearing after the contract is signed. He has been involved throughout the entire writing process and is always ready to help. I can't say enough good things about Robert, so I will just say thank you, Robert!

Next, a huge thanks to Ami Sullivan, my project editor, who is always a pleasure to work with. Ami is the force behind the scenes, who makes the book appear on time on shelves in the bookstores! Thanks, Ami!

I also thank copy editor Luann Rouff and technical editor Trenton Shumay. They have been eagle-eye editing the book, ensuring that every sentence makes sense — both grammatically as well as technically. Thanks, Luann and Trent!

Last, but not least, I want to thank my parents, and my wife, Sze Wa, for all the support they have given me. They have selflessly adjusted their schedules to accommodate my busy schedule when I was working on this book. My wife, as always, has stayed up with me on numerous nights as I furiously worked to meet a deadline, and for this I would like to say to her and my parents: “I love you all!” Finally, to our lovely dog, Ookii, thanks for staying by our side. Now that the book is done, sorry ... daddy needs to write another book...