Introduction
Here you are, reading a book about designing iOS apps with HTML, CSS, and JavaScript that you can distribute or sell in the iTunes App Store. This must mean that you are a web designer and have some interest in designing native apps for the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad.
It might also mean that you’re ready to take a leap of faith and start reading about something that sounds too good to be true. After all, I had a workshop attendee tell me last summer, “The only reason I signed up for your workshop is because I didn’t believe it was possible.”
Which, roughly translated into English, means, “I came here thinking you were a liar who wanted to rip me off.”
But here’s the thing: It is possible. And you’re now holding the book that I wish I had about two years ago: It doesn’t require you to learn how to program in Objective-C, which is really nice for people like me (and perhaps you) who do not think of ourselves as programmers.*
So how does this work, and is this book really a work of nonfiction?
It is indeed. But let’s get a few other things straight first.
This book is...
• An introduction to using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to design native applications for Apple’s iOS devices.
• An introduction to using the NimbleKit Objective-C framework, a fabulous collection of library items that allow you to design the Objective-C apps that Apple requires, without having to write any Objective-C yourself.
• A comprehensive guide to visualizing, planning, designing, building, and distributing your iOS apps.
• A manual for designing several types of content-based apps with native iOS interfaces.
• A textbook for anyone teaching iOS app design and content formatting principles to students who want to successfully design their first app before they become grandparents.
• A resource to help app design teams create functional wireframes for sample app navigations and screens.
So that’s what this book is. However, it’s also important to understand what this book is not.
This book is not...
• A manual for programming in Objective-C. There are plenty of other books that do this. And remember, NimbleKit already contains all the Objective-C you need—it’s written already!
• A step-by-step workbook for designing any app you can think of. There may be apps you can think of that web standards and NimbleKit do not support very well. In that case, you should consider other options, some of which I mention in Chapter 10.
• The complete guide to NimbleKit. NimbleKit is big enough that one reasonably sized book cannot teach you all of it (and yes, I wanted to keep this book reasonably sized so that it wasn’t expensive and could be read relatively quickly).
• A collection of the world’s best HTML, CSS, and JavaScript code examples. There is usually more than one way to solve a design problem with code. Sometimes I show you more than one way, and other times I just show one. When I choose one, it’s either an easier way or just the way I know. If you have another way (and especially a better way), feel free to tell me via this book’s website at http://iosapps.tumblr.com. If you submit code that I can test successfully, I will share it with other readers via the website.
• An advocate for Apple’s iOS devices or its App Store. Although I am a fan of Apple and its commitment to design and user experience, I didn’t write this book from a fanboy’s perspective. I’m simply telling the story that I know, and teaching you what I can; both happen to focus on mobile applications for iOS devices.
• An up-to-the-minute reference. Chances are, now that this book is printed, something in it is already out of date. But I’m with you for the long haul: To get updates (and download code samples featured in this book), visit http://iosapps.tumblr.com.
If you’re a designer who is familiar with Web Standards, my goal is to open up an exciting new opportunity for you. I hope that reading this book and trying out the examples will lead you to design your own iOS apps, consult with larger design teams on mobile interface and user experience goals, and teach others how to design and format content for use on mobile devices. I also hope that this book is just the beginning. Ideally, it should equip and encourage you to eventually learn much more than what is contained between these covers.
So good luck, and happy reading ... and designing!