By Story # 1: About things, but mainly about starting iOS development
Actually it is not very structured bunch of words spoken on not native language.
So…once upon a time in one spiral galaxy on 3-d planet from star one big international bank decided to quit it’s consumer business in several countries. Why it could worry me? Because I’m supporting IT infrastructure right in that bank in one of mentioned countries on 3-d planet from star in one spiral galaxy. All those things Windows computers, calls from internal clients with questions “Why I can’t send email?” and “Where is that button?”, “Which request to write?”, bit of Cisco routers and switches, telephony, ATMs, etc. as a small addition, just because I’m only IT person in that city for this firm. (Sorry for spelling by the way, if it is wrong, English — is not my native language)
This worry led to the thought that “Something needs to be done.” Local labor market in my field in this city and even country just sucks, even compared to salary I’m having now in this firm (not a lot at all). To be bit more clear it is right on that least poverty line from US statistics (1 there) https://aspe.hhs.gov/2020-poverty-guidelines , “gross”, if convert from local currency now. But local market in city almost twice lower usually.
So I decided to become aspiring app developer. Luckily (and it is not advertising, not payed at least), want to hope, that luckily, I was enrolled to online iOS development bootcamp from those guys https://www.appbrewery.co/ with corporate access couple month ago. And finished it just now.
Here I am, and my “Wannabe project”. And it’s not my fault, it is all bank, which closing consumer business, and those guys from “Appbrewery”, who made bootcamp. Will keep a diary here. Which app aspiring iOS developer should build first? Of course fitness, or workout app. It’s almost like “Hello World” of app development, I think. And base of portfolio may be.
The idea to make it as simple as possible, but still have timer there, to count time between sets, and kind of schedule for each exercise with targets(more reps each next workout day). Next - make training schedule editable (may be later in payed version), so user could add, and remove training schedules himself. That’s it for starting.
Day 1:
Is here possibility to add photos? Already made app wireframe on piece of paper.
found! Actually was laughing on it, while upload. )
And bit of mockup, just to stop laughing.
Got up at 3:00 AM and did next mockup screen
Will make some tea now…
Did you read Roger Joseph Zelazny by the way, yep, fiction:
“Now everyone knows that some machines make love, beyond the metaphysical writings of Saint Jakes the Mechanophile, who posits man as the sexual organ of the machine which created him, and whose existence is necessary to fulfill the destiny of mechanism, producing generation after generation of machinekind, all the modes of mechanical evolution flowing through man, until such a time as he has served his purpose, perfection has been reached, and the Great Castration may occur. Saint Jakes is, of course, a heretic. As has been demonstrated on occasions too numerous to cite, the whole machine requires a gender. Now that man and machine undergo frequent interchanges of components and entire systems, it is possible for a complete being to start at any point in the mech-man spectrum and to range the entire gamut. Man, the presumptuous organ, has therefore achieved his apotheosis or union with the Gaskethead through sacrifice and redemption, as it were. Ingenuity had much to do with it, but ingenuity of course is a form of mechanical inspiration. One may no longer speak of the Great Castration, no longer consider separating the machine from its creation. Man is here to stay, as a part of the Big Picture.
Everyone knows that machines make love. Not in the crude sense, of course, of those women and men who, for whatever economic purposes may control, lease their bodies for a year or two at a time to one of the vending companies, to be joined with machines, fed intravenously, exercised isometrically, their consciousness submerged (or left turned on, as it would be), to suffer brain implants which stimulate the proper movements for a period not to exceed fifteen minutes per coin, upon the couches of the larger pleasure clubs (and more and more in vogue in the best homes, as well as the cheap street-corner units) for the sport and amusement of their fellows. No. Machines make love via man, but there have been many transferences of function, and they generally do it spiritually.
Consider, however, an unique phenomenon which has just arisen: the Pleasure-Comp-the computer like an oracle, which can answer an enormous range of inquiries, and will do so, only for so long as the inquirer can keep it properly stimulated. How many of you have entered the programed boudoir, to have enormous issues raised and settled, and found that time passes so rapidly. Precisely. Reverse-centaur-like-i.e., human from the waist down-it represents the best of two worlds and their fusion into one. There is a love story wrapped up in all this background, as a man enters the Question Room to ask the Dearabbey Machine of his beloved and her ways. It is happening everywhere, always, and there can often be nothing quite so tender. More of this later.”
Day 2:
Well…after some research, should admit, that planning that “edit exercises by user, like add new custom training plans, with ability to share them in form of files between each other” feature into app was too ambitious for me yet. So I’ll back to concept with “fixed” set of exercises, broader set in payed version, and narrow — in free. Leaving more complex thing for later.
Or…may be can, just need to put some constrains, so…we would not have ability to store “dynamic recipes of healthy food with timers, etc.” here, only exercises, which consists from sets.
Anyway, I’m starting to code right now! In midnight. We embed backward compatibility till iOS 10.2 by the way (hint for XCode 11 here https://fluffy.es/allow-app-created-in-xcode-11-to-run-on-ios-12-and-lower/), just because I have old iPad, and want it to be able to work with my app. And because I saw that guy in the bus today with iPhone 4s in his hands.
Seems I don’t have much time for it, though did first screen in code, bit changed design there, because found cool way to dynamically change appearance while coding (spent almost two days on it :))
Day 3
Didn’t do any code today. Busy with job till 8 pm (still working here anyway), and visited doctor.
Day 4
After bit of though removed one of layouts from first screen, and added Summary screen for each exercise (mean one, reusable for exercises) on tap from main screen.
Need to elaborate Summary screen now…
Here should be “paging” view with number of reps in each set, current day, etc. according mockup, designed earlier.
Day 5
Finished summary screen with scroll and paging…looks cute as I think ).
Day 6
Worked hard at main job and did nothing with theme of this story.
Day 7
Did exercises page at night:
Day 8
And timer in it, with sound at the end of countdown of course (all at same night):
Day 9
Do you know, that ideal time for slice of pizza in microwave oven — 30 sec.? Well in case of my microwave oven at least. Now you know.
Working my main job yet, and thinking on small improvements in this app…
Ok..well. Some days later I completed core functionality and found that NIKE stole the name of my app…about 15 years before I created it ) (My app name was “Just Do It”. I never was fan of Nike, end..yes never heard that slogan-trademark, I mean (swear!). Colleague noted that it is “NIKE’s property” already, when I showed app.) Damn…returned to initial name just..I mean “Do It”.
Day … many days later.
Well I’v finished it.
Payed version here finally https://apps.apple.com/us/app/do-it-sp/id1574028335
It all started 24.04.2021 according to first commit, and published to App Store 28.06.2021.
Sadly there is no sales yet ), so I’m doing free version with google AdMob and restrictions in exercise number in hope to attract some attention.
By the way nobody told me that I need something like this https://sites.google.com/view/doitsp/home to be able publish app in AppStore.
And Apple finally approved free version, after uploading 5 build versions.
(There was Google AdMob, mainly because of it)
Here it is free: https://apps.apple.com/app/do-it-with-ads/id1574221873
