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What does it take to create an app for iPhone?

How long will it take to build an iPhone app with limited programming experience?

  • I have an idea for an app I'm looking to build. It seems like the best way to make this happen is to just build it myself. I'm trying to get a sense for how realistic this is before I dive in. Based on the details below, I'm wondering if any Quorans out there might be able to help me get a rough sense of how many hours* such an undertaking might take. * I say "hours" not because I think it will take something low like 15 hours, but because if I say days or weeks, it will be unclear whether we're talking 4-hour days, 10-hour days, etc. ________________________ Some details: Me • No CS background, but somewhat CS-minded • Know fundamental Python and OOP App • Medium functionality- more than a couple of buttons, but less than Instagram • Will require merging at least two APIs • Requires mapping technology (presumably google maps API) From what I can tell, this is what this would require • Learn to Program - Learn basic elements of C - Learn Objective-C - Learn Cocoa • Create App - Write app - Bug test - Get it into app store Thank you!

  • Answer:

    From what you wrote it looks like you are planning to build a server for your service and the iOS app would be a client for this web service (maybe using APIs from other services too). You would need: 1/ To learn enough iOS development to build such an app - my estimate would be at least 30 full-days of studies/work to reach such a state since you already have a general development background. 2/ Build the backend (server ?) and front end (iOS app?). This kind of client-server app is usually the most complex to built and most important test and debug. It is very difficult to give an estimate with so little information, but I would expect from 60 to 180 (yes!) full days of work... I would strongly suggest that you use an Agile development methodology (even if you are alone) to go step by step from a minimal prototype to getting closer to your final app. If you try to do everything at once you might never end, or worse, you might get something that nobody would use. Going step by step you can test your app iterations with real people...

Ary Tebeka at Quora Visit the source

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This is rather hard to assess, as people learn at different rates, and as the details you've revealed about your app are vague, in order to protect your idea. The emergence of Apple's new language, Swift, complicates things further, as learning it will, going forward, be an advantage, but doing so will add to your load, as some knowledge of C and Objective-C will be necessary for understanding Cocoa and iOS programming, at least for now. If you're a fast learner and have few obligations (e.g. jobs, school, work, children), you could probably knock this out in three to six months. If you are a regular human being with obligations that take up a lot of your time, or if learning this sort of thing takes you more time, I'd budget six months to a year of your spare time. If you end up taking on this project, track your time and report back. Your experience will make a useful data point for others considering this path.

James Martin

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