Stages of iPhone Development

For any development we need a good code editing environment, debugging tools, performance tools and other tools like re factoring tool, source code management tool. This all are bundled in a single integrated environment called Xcode. Its simple to use with advanced facilities.

Xcode is a matured development environment and is used in Mac OS development for more than 2 decades. The Xcode for iPhone comes with templates which helps to start iPhone application development in a very limited time.

1. iPhone Management

2. Coding
The IDE provides a source code editor with easy access to your project. It shows all structure of the project and easy access to build setting, resource file etc. It also provide easy access to all the main actions like build.

Xcode supports snapshots, which captures the complete state of the project and will keep track of all the changes. This can be used to find difference between a previous version of file with current version. Snapshots will be taken when major changes like refactoring is done. It also SCM (Source code management) support. It can be bind to CVS, subversion or perforce. Xcode allows to browse, checkout your repository. This helps you to stay in Xcode for all the version control needs.

Xcode has a research assistant which helps as to view documentation of Api’s. Xcode comes with built in documentation which can be viewed from help menu. Xcode keeps this documentation uptodate with automatic update.

Interface builder in Xcode is a powerfull tool for graphical designing of interfaces.

3. Building and Debugging
Xcode allows to set break points. This heps in instant debugging of iPhone application. It also have a debugging option called datatips, which is similiar to watch in VB. It allow as to see values/details of any variable or object in scope. This helps in a better debugging of applications.

iPhone simulator is used to run your application on desktop, on an environment equavalent to the real device. Building the application for iPhone and installing it on a device is a simple task with Xcode. You can even run the application on real device and debug it, this is called on device debugging which is a great functionality of Xcode. This will help the developers to debug their application on a real device. Datatips, break points and debug console all are available with on device debugging which makes our job much easier.

4. Analysing iPhone Applications
Performance is a major aspect when developing mobile applications on any devices. Unoptimized code means more processor power and draining on battery of the devices. Xcode Tool called instruments helps in performance analysis. This instruments help to analyse memory usage, network activity, object allocation, CPU usage, memory leak, disk usage and so on. Some instruments used in iPhone development are Leaks, Sampler, Disk Monitor, Network activity, Object Alloc, Activity Monitor, Core Animation and OpenGL ES.

iPhone Apps for Ecommerce Merchants

Social Media Optimization (SMO): Social Media is a fantastic way to connect with your customers, encourage customer loyalty, and increase sales. Beyond that, the larger your social presence, the more likely you are to rank well in social search engines. Social media is all about keeping up with conversations, which can be hard when you’re away from the computer. This is why an iPhone app that keeps you connected is key. Below are the top 3 iPhone apps for social media optimization. Review them to determine which ones are right for you.

Meebo – This long awaited instant messenger app was jsut release yesterday, and now people have a great, all-in-one, iPhone app to keep up with chats on MSN, AIM, Yahoo, and Facebook. Many ecommerce merchants use IM as a way to chat with clients, and this app helps improve communication no matter where you happen to be. The Meebo app is FREE so try it today to see if it helps with your mobile productivity.

Tweetie 2 – There are numerous Twitter iPhone apps that all work in a similar way, but Tweetie 2 continues as one of the most popular Twitter apps. It allows you to keep up with multiple accounts and do basically everything you can do from your home computer, on your iPhone. This is a great app for $2.99 which can let you connect to your personal and business Twitter accounts from your iPhone while on the go.

Facebook – Most ecommerce sites have a Facebook fanpage to go along with their social media efforts. Having this FREE app is a great way to keep up-to-date with what your fans are saying about your ecommerce shop. This is a must have for any online store with a Facebook fanpage.

Source: zippycart & itgalary