The iPhone is revolutionary. A "game-changer". The killer-app. Whatever. All I know is that it's a fun (and complex) platform to work with.

No developer will get by without using the iPhone official developer site and device portal. Depending on when you read this, not long ago or a long time ago I taught a simple iPhone for Dummies class to some friends using this presentation.

Here's some useful links for developers:

• information on how to do on-device testing
• general iPhone debugging info from Apple, information on using the Shark performance and optimization tool (here's a quick intro to using it - note that Shark DOES NOT WORK WITH iOS 4), and OS X debugging magic.
• how to use NSZombieEnabled to find messages to deallocated objects (i.e. double "releases"). If you enable this, you'll get messages in Console.app that look like:

  *** -[HelpBubbleView setDelegate:]: message sent to deallocated instance 0x16b5940
  

• an introduction to playing and recording audio.
• a useful JSON framework for those who find XML too cumbersome to parse and build.
• suggestions for dealing with expired development certificates.
• IUI, a toolkit to make iPhone websites look like native apps.

Applications

• Sigalert (screenshots)
• Quokka (screenshot)
• Yiqyaq V0 - no longer supported (screenshots)
• Yiqyaq V1 - no longer supported (screenshot)
• RadioWeave - BETA App Store
• Soundbiter/NowHearThis - BETA App Store Screenshots
• Router - BETA App Store App Info/Support Page
• Soundbingo - BETA App Store

Setup

First, you need to send me your device ID, a 40 character hex string that looks like "49ef653f59f8e107f1c9bd6beebdd1eaab166416". You can get it from iTunes by clicking on the "Serial Number" label in the device's "Summary" tab. Then copy it using CMD-C (or CTRL-C on Windows - I haven't verified this part). After I update the provisioning file, continue with the installation instructions below.

Installation instructions

• Start iTunes
• Download this provisioning file (or the one that I sent you via email) and drag it into iTunes' Library/Applications.
  
• Download one of the above apps (app_name.ipa or app_name.zip) or the one that I sent you
• For ZIP files:
  • On Macs: Double-click on the file to unzip it - this will generate something called app_name.app. This is actually a folder containing multiple files, but looks like a single file.
  • On Windows: Double-click on the file to open it in Winzip or Windows Explorer's compressed folder view. Extract all of the contents (preserving folder names - in Winzip, this option is called Use Folder Names) to your desktop or other location. This will generate a folder called app_name.app and a folder called __MACOSX. You can delete __MACOSX.
  • Drag the app_name.app file/folder into iTunes' Library/Applications.
• For IPA files:
  • Drag the app_name.ipa file into iTunes' Library/Applications.
• Sync with the device (right-click on the device's name in iTunes' explorer pane)
  
  • If the app doesn't appear on your device, you may need to enable it in your device's application list. Click on your device's name in iTunes' explorer pane, select the "Applications" tab and make sure that there is a check by the application's name if you are only syncing selected applications. If it wasn't, check it then try again.

  • If you get an error message, you may need to uninstall a previous version (by pressing the app's icon on the iPhone for a few seconds until everything starts to wiggle and you see an [X] on the icon. Press the [X] to uninstall the app, then try again).

  • If that doesn't work or you're not upgrading, you may need to reboot the iPhone - hold down the power button (on the top) for 5 seconds until you see the "slide to power off" message. Power on the device and try again.