Building Location-Based Applications for the iPhone

Knowing where a device is opens the door to all kinds of innovative applications—and the iPhone's Core Location framework makes discovering location simple.

Understanding User Interface in Android - Part 3: More Views

In the previous article, you saw the various basic views such as the TextView, EditText, Button, and how you can use them in your Android applications. In this article, we shall continue our exploration of another three categories of views - Picker views, List views, and Display views. The views discussed include: TimePicker view, DatePicker view, ListView view, Spinner view, Gallery view, ImageView, ImageSwitcher view, and GridView view

1-day XML Programming Course - 16 Oct 2009

XML is one of the key technologies used by all major software applications - from being used in configuration files to building complete user interface. It is thus an essential technology that developers have to get acquainted with.

In this 1-day workshop, you will learn all you need to know about XML - the rules and its accompanying standards, as well as learn how to program against XML documents using the various APIs available.

* You will use the C# language for all the labs in this course.

TOPICS

· What is XML

· The rules of XML - well-formed and valid documents

· Validating XML Documents using DTD and XSD

· Transforming XML documents using XSLT

· Manipulating XML documents using DOM and SAX

· XML Serialization

· XML Web Services

Date

• 16th Oct 2009

• 9am to 5pm

Venue

• To be confirmed

Fees

• S$399 (nett)

• Register before 9th Oct 2009 and get an early-bird discount of S$100.

For course registration form, please send an email to weimenglee@learn2develop.net.

iPhone Programming Course on 14-15 Oct 2009

Backed by popular demand, there will be another special run of the iPhone 3.0 Programming course on the 14-15 Oct 2009 (Wed-Thur).

If you want to get started with iPhone programming, this is the best time to get started!

Course fee is S$997 and a Mac will be provided during the course. As the number of Macs available is limited, it will be allocated on a first-come,first-served basis.

By the end of the 2 days, you would be well equipped with the knowledge to develop your next killer application!

Send me an email at weimenglee@learn2develop.net for the application form.

2-day Android Programming 12-13 Oct 2009

Android is Google’s operating system for mobile devices. Using the Android SDK, developers can develop applications on the Android platform using the Java Programming language. In this course, participants will learn the various techniques to program their Android devices.

Note: Covers the latest Android 1.6 "Donut" SDK.

This feature-packed course will show you how to get started in Android development, right from the start till deployment.

Topics

· Setting up the development environment using Eclipse

o Installing the ADT plug-in

o Configure the Android SDK

· Using the Android Emulator

o Configuring the emulator

o Tips and Tricks using the emulator

· Understanding Activities, Views, Intents, and Content Providers

· Building the UI of an Android Application

· Error Logging using the Eclipse IDE

· Using the Notification Manager

· Persisting data

· Using Google Maps

· Sending and receiving SMS messages

· Using the built-in camera

· Creating Services

· Downloading files using HTTP GET and POST

· Location based services using GPS and CellID

· How to deploy Android applications

Last call for iPhone Programming Course on 17-18 Sep 2009

This is the last call for joining us in the next iPhone programming class on the 17-18 Sep 2009. If you want to get started with iPhone programming, this is the best time to get started!

Course fee is S$997 and you would need to bring along your own Intel Mac. By the end of the 2 days, you would be well equipped with the knowledge to develop your next killer application!

Build Web Apps for iPhone using Dashcode

So far, much mobile developer attention has been fixated on the iPhone SDK released by Apple to build native iPhone applications. This is understandable, since with the SDK you can write native iPhone apps that take full advantage of the capabilities provided by the device, such as accessing the accelerometer, the camera, as well as obtain geographical locations using Core Location.

However, building Web applications for the iPhone has advantages too. For example, there is no need to wait for approval from Apple, as in the case of hosting the applications in AppStore. Also, the tools provided by Apple makes it very easy to build Web applications that look just like native iPhone applications. And when it comes to developers' skill-sets, developing Web applications is far easier than building native applications - all you need is some Javascript skills and you are ready to go!

In this article, I will take you through the Dashcode tool provided by Apple (part of the iPhone SDK; hence you need to download it first) to build compelling Web applications for the iPhone.

iPhone Training in Bangkok

I will be in Bangkok in the week of 21 Sep 2009. If you are based in Thailand and your company would like to arrange for an in-house iPhone training, let me know and we can work out the details and logistics. In terms of hardware, you would need an Intel Mac for doing iPhone programming. No iPhone or iPod Touch required, as we will be using the iPhone Simulator.

Beginning iPhone SDK Programming with Objective-C

I am currently in the last lap of the race to complete my new book with Wrox - Beginning iPhone SDK Programming with Objective-C. This book is scheduled to be published in early January 2010. It is targeted at beginning iPhone developers who wanted to get started, but are overwhelmed by all the terminologies and jargons used by Apple. Armed with countless lab exercises, you will be up and running with your first iPhone app in the first chapter.

You can now pre-order a copy from Amazon.com.

iPhone Training on a Cruise Liner?

Fancy learning how to program your iPhone onboard a cruise liner?

For a long time, I have this dream of conducting the iPhone training course on board a cruise liner. But reality always come down hard on my dream.

"Are you crazy? My boss won't pay me to holiday!!!"

"Times are bad, I don't have the money to go for courses, let alone cruises!"

"Will we have the mood to study, or will we be too distracted by the activities on the cruise?"

Yes, I know these are the questions that are currently running through your heads now. And in this time of economic uncertainty, it is definitely something that takes very serious consideration.

And that's why I am polling your opinions on this. I have this in mind:

* plan your holidays with your family together with this course. That way, your family can holiday while you can also enjoy and learn at the same time. If you always wanted to come to Singapore, this is your perfect reason!

* the interesting thing about learning onboard a cruise liner is that it is fun! And we can stretch out the learning period flexibly. You can enjoy while learning at the same time.

* the ideal period is during the Nov/Dec period, where it coincides with the school holidays

Still not convinced of the viability of this, see this.

And so, send me your crazy ideas of whether this will work or not. All ideas are welcome!

Photos of "iPhone Developer University Program - Mobile Development for the Future Seminar" held at SMU

Here are some photos taken at the iPhone Developer University Program - Mobile Development for the Future Seminar, held on the 28th Aug 2009 (Friday) at SMU.

I have greatly enjoyed the sessions and I hope that the participants have too!

Source Code for Download for Apple's Event (28 Sep 2009)

For participants attending the iPhone Developer University Program - Mobile Development for the Future Seminar, you can download the source code and code snippets used for the seminar here.

Updated training Schedule

I have updated the training schedule for Sep 2009. In particular, I have added the Programming Mapping Applications (14 Sep) and rescheduled the Android course (22-23 Sep). Here is the training calendar for reference.

Programming Mapping Applications (14 Sep 2009)

1-day Programming Mapping Applications (S$399)

Google Maps and Microsoft Virtual Earth are two of the most popular mapping applications in use today. Besides using these two maps directly, you can also integrate them into your own applications using the APIs exposed by Google and Microsoft.

In this one-day course, you will learn how to incorporate mapping solutions into your own applications and how to implement interesting features such as geo-tagging and geo-tracking. In addition, you will also learn how to write location-based services using GPS and CellID technologies.

Understanding User Interface in Android - Part 2: Views

In the previous article on Android UI you saw the components that make up the UI of an Android application. The basic unit of the Android UI is the View. A View represents a widget that has an appearance on the screen. In this article (and the next two), you will learn about the various common views that you would likely use in your journey of Android development.

New run of iPhone Programming course - 3-4 Sep 2009

I have added another run of the iPhone 3.0 Programming course on the 3-4 Sep 2009. If you are interested to learn how to get started with iPhone 3.0 programming, be sure to join us in this course. 

For pricing and course brochure, download application form here.

iPhone Programming Fundamentals - Outlets and Actions

An understanding of outlets and actionsis one of the first things you will need for iPhone programming. For someone coming from the .NET background, this is a concept that requires some time to get used to - the concepts are similar, but it is a different way of doing things.

And so, in this article, I am going to show you what outlets and actions are. At the end of this article, you will have a solid understanding of how to create outlets and actions, and be on your way to creating great iPhone apps.

iPhone Programming Fundamentals: Understanding View Controllers

One of the first things you will learn about when you begin programming iPhone projects is view controllers. Beginners often get intimidated by the amount of work they need to get a simple application going. However, you do much of the UI management in iPhone programming with view controllers; therefore, understanding what they do and how they work is critical to successful iPhone programming. This article explains the concepts and use of view controllers in iPhone programming. By the end of this article you should have a solid understanding of view controllers and be on your way to creating some great applications.

2-day Windows Mobile 6.1 Programming - 24-25 Sep 2009

This course will introduce to participants the various techniques to program their Windows Mobile 6 devices. This feature-packed course will show you how to get started in Windows Mobile development, right from the start till deployment.

Topics

Part 1 – User Interface Design in Windows Mobile

• Building Screen Orientation and Resolution Aware Applications

• Basic User Interface and Controls

• Setting the Input Modes

Part 2 – Communicating with the Outside World

• Intercepting Incoming SMS Messages

• Implementing a Call Manager using SMS Messaging

• Using Web Services

• Transferring Binary Data using Web Services

• Location-based Services using CellID and GPS

Part 3 – Persisting Data

• File I/O (Text)

• File I/O (Binary)

• Database Access using SQL Server Compact Edition

• Creating a SQL Server Compact Database Programmatically

• Using XML for Storage

• Using XML Serialization

Part 4 – Data Capturing

• Capturing Signature

• Barcode Scanning

Part 5 – Deployment

• Creating CAB File for Deployment

• Creating a Setup Application

For pricing and course brochure, download application form here.

3-day C# 3.0 Programming - 9-11 Sep 2009

Since the release of the Microsoft .NET Framework in July 2000, the C# programming language has gone through a few revisions, with the latest version 3.0. Over the years, the C# language has gained a lot of followers, partly due to its familiar syntax to Java and C. The clear syntax of the language made it easy to learn, and is a popular choice for beginning programmers.

The latest version of C# 3.0 comes with .NET Framework 3.5. It contains many new features that make the language more intuitive and powerful. Coupled with Visual Studio 2008, Microsoft’s flagship development environment, developing applications using C# is now available to a wide audience. In this fast-pace 3-day course, attendees will gain a solid foundation in C# programming and learn the various new features in C# 3.0.

Topics

• Basics of the .NET Framework

• C# language foundation

• Class and Objects

• Interfaces

• Inheritance

• Delegates and Events

• Strings

• Generics

• Threading

• Files and Streams

• Exception Handling

• Arrays and Collections

• Language Integrated Query

• Assemblies

• Projects

For pricing and course brochure, download application form here.

2-day iPhone Programming - 17-18 Sep 2009

In this 2-day workshop, you will learn the basics of iPhone programming. As the iPhone SDK uses the Objective-C language, the first part of this course will provide a crash course in learning the language. It then dives into the details of programming the iPhone using the Apple’s iPhone SDK. For this course, attendees are required to bring their own Intel Mac.

Topics

• Getting Started with Xcode

• Using the Interface Builder

• A crash course in Objective-C

• Building different types of iPhone Applications: Utility Applications, Tab Bar applications, Navigation-based applications, and View-based applications

• Using Table Views

• Application Settings and Data Persistence

• Multi-Touch Programming

• Location-Based Services

• Simple Animations

For pricing and course brochure, download application form here.

2-day Android Programming - 1-2 Oct 2009

Android is Google’s operating system for mobile devices. Using the Android SDK, developers can develop applications on the Android platform using the Java Programming language. In this course, participants will learn the various techniques to program their Android devices.

This feature-packed course will show you how to get started in Android development, right from the start till deployment.

Topics

· Setting up the development environment using Eclipse

· Using the Android Emulator

· Understanding Activities, Views, Intents, and Content Providers

· Building the UI of an Android Application

· Error Logging using the Eclipse IDE

· Using the Notification Manager

· Persisting data

· Using Google Maps

· Sending and receiving SMS messages

· Using the built-in camera

· Creating Services

· Downloading files using HTTP GET and POST

· Location based services using GPS and CellID

· How to deploy Android applications

For pricing and course brochure, download application form here.

Next run of the iPhone training - 17 and 18 Sep 2009

We had a good time during the last run of the iPhone training at Epic Centre @ ION Orchard.

If you have already downloaded the iPhone SDK but do not know how to get started, you are not alone. I have been through this cycle and I have given up two times before I finally realized that hey...iPhone programming can be fun...if you know what you are doing and how to get started!

The next run of this course has been scheduled to run on the 17-18 Sep 2009. Hope to see you there! For registration, simple send me an email and I will email you the registration form.

Date: 17-18 Sep 2009

Time: 9am to 5pm (tentative and subject to location)

Venue: Singapore

Fee: S$997 (nett)

C# Course (5-7 Aug 2009)

Just a reminder that the C# 3.0 course is on the 5-7 Aug 2009. Come join us and learn all the features in C# that you need to write effective .NET applications. All participants will get a copy of my C# 2008 Programmer's Reference book (WROX). Download application form here.

iPhone Course this week (30-31 July 2009) @ ION Orchard

I am excited to announce that the iPhone course this week is being held at the Epic Centre at ION Orchard. This is an ultra modern Apple store and while you attend the course you can also shop for your next MacBook Pro and iPhone accessories.

I will be using the iPhone SDK 3.0 and you have not not registered for the course yet, please do so quickly as spaces are limited.

Windows 7 Up and Running now in Rough Cuts version

Rough Cuts version of my "Windows 7 Up and Running" book is now available at: http://my.safaribooksonline.com/9780596806422.

Check it out!

I am now on Twitter!

I am now on Twitter. ;-)

Follow me at: http://twitter.com/weimenglee

New Training Schedule for July

I have published my upcoming training course schedules in Google Calendar. You can view it below. In particular, there are three courses in July:

* iPhone Programming - 30-31 July 2009

* Android Programming - 23-24 July 2009

* Programming Mapping Applications - 17 July 2009

You can also subscribe to my training calendar here.

Download course application form here.

Programming Mapping Applications - 19th June 2009 (Fri)

This 19th June 2009 (Fri), I will be running the Programming Mapping Applications course.

For the course, I will cover the following:

* How to programming Virtual Earth and Google Maps using JavaScript (through web browsers)

* How to obtain geographical data using GPS and Cell IDs (C#, Windows Mobile and Windows Forms)

* How to translate Cell IDs into Lat and Lng (C#) through a secret Google Maps API

The objectives of this course are:

* to get participants acquainted with the map APIs such as Google Maps and Virtual Earth

* to learn the various techniques to obtain GPS data and Cell IDs

* to learn how to use location data to build interesting apps

Fee

* S$399

For registration, please email me at weimenglee@learn2develop.net.

C# 3.0 Programming Course (SINGAPORE) 22-24th June 2009

This is your last chance to enrol for the upcoming C# 3.0 Programming (22-24th June 2009) course.

Besides learning all the fundamentals of C#, this course will introduce several technologies that would be of interest to a C# developer:

* Developing and deploying smart clients using ClickOnce
* Developing AJAX web applications
* Developing and consuming Web services

Participants will also receive a copy of my latest book - C# 2008 Programmer's Reference (S$69) free of charge.

For quick registration, please email me at:weimenglee@learn2develop.net.