How I Made My First App
I recently built my first app and launched it on the App Store.
I built the app is because I was looking for an easy way to calculate cash flow for commercial property, taking into account mortgage repayments. I looked online and none existed. I had some time, so I decided to build it myself.
If it is of interest, a link to the app is here:
And an article explaining the app in more detail can be found here:
Building an app for iPhone was not as hard as I thought it would be
I have to say, building the app wasn’t as hard as I first thought it would be.
I think this is partly because the coding language/program made by Apple to make apps for iPhone and iPad is quite forgiving for beginners. It’s easy to learn without any prior knowledge of coding. And XCode, the program that allows you to create apps, is user friendly and has a heap of drag-and-drop features.
Another reason that I think the particular app that I made wasn’t too difficult was that it wasn’t a very complex app with a lot of different functionality. It is just a straightforward calculator.
Resources I used to learn how to code
The majority of the information I needed to make the app came from a single source: Code With Chris.
Code With Chris is run by Chris Ching and he has Youtube videos and other online content that teach you how to build apps step by step.
His website and YoutTube channel are here:
For anyone interested in making an app, the video I would recommend starting with is this one:
It gives a brief overview of the entire process from start to finish. Obviously you’ll need more details in parts, but this is a great place to start.
I also completed the learn to code tutorials in Playgrounds, which is a free app on the Mac App Store. These were helpful to learn the different types of code and logic functions that exist within the apple programming language. The lessons start off basic and build in complexity.
From there, I just googled any specific questions or issues I came across that weren’t in the above resources.
If you are thinking about doing something similar to this, I would recommend jumping in and starting. The learning curve is definitely not as steep as I thought it would be.
