To build the applications in this book, you must have Xcode 11.4, which requires a Mac running macOS Mojave version 10.14.4 or later. Xcode, Apple’s Integrated Development Environment, is available on the App Store. Xcode includes the iOS SDK, the iOS simulator, and other development tools.

If you plan on shipping an app to the App Store, you will need to join the Apple Developer Program, which costs $99/year. In addition to being able to ship apps, you will also get access to beta OS releases and advanced app capabilities, among other benefits. If you are interested, go to developer.apple.com/​programs/​enroll/ to enroll.

What about iOS devices? Most of the applications you will develop in the first half of the book are for iPhone, but you will be able to run them on an iPad. In the early chapters, you will be focused on learning the fundamentals of the iOS SDK, and these are the same across iOS devices. Later in the book, you will see how to make applications run natively on both iOS device families.

Excited yet? Good. Let’s get started.