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So I have been diving into mobile app development lately and so far it has been pretty fun. I've jumped around and learned a good bit of native Android and iOS (Swift of course) as well as Ionic (hybrid, cordova) apps. I want to master one of these, but I'm not sure which.
Native iOS development has been fun. The Swift language seem really great. I love the tooling options available as well.The problem here is two things. #1 I HATE Objective-C, but it still seems necessary to know. #2 is the cost. I have to have a Mac, a developer licences, and will want and iPhone and potentially other hardware. I can get the money, but not for a good few months. Also, I feel like there are so many good iOS developers my age, so I would saturate the field.
Native Android is cool too. Google services and tooling are awesome too. Android, however, has too many developers my age ranging from really good to really bad. Also, I fell that everyone has an i-device, and that I would loose so many potential users mastering Android development. Plus I'm fearing that Android is going to switch off of Java soon and that half of the tooling will be obsolete.
Ionic has been really fun too. In fact, a friend and me were able to push out a good looking PoC in about a week. It is really easy since my background is a web developer, but it seems that Hybrid gets left out when it comes to tooling and services. I also feel that if I can't / don't develop for watch's in a few years, I won't be very useful. Cordova can integrate with watch devices, but it is very ghetto. I also feel like Cordova and Hybrid apps will be obsolete in 10 years or so.
I know that I always could go and master all three, but it would probably end up being too much work and not worth it in the end. Which of these do y'all think I should go and master.
i cri evry tiem
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James_Parsons wrote: know that I always could go and master all three, but it would probably end up being too much work and not worth it in the end. Which of these do y'all think I should go and master.
jack of all trades, master of none.
You CAN'T possibly 'master' all of them. I'd pick the one you like the most and stick with it, because if you really like it, then it's not really work.
And oh, your age is irrelevant. I'm 50, been coding for 30 years, and I'm still at it. Learning something new is a daily experience.
Code on!
If it's not broken, fix it until it is
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Kevin Marois wrote: Learning something new is a daily experience
Damn right! 
The day you stop learning, is the day you die - either mentally or physically.
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
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Not true. My kids know it all and they're still kickin!!
If it's not broken, fix it until it is
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Ah, I remember when I was that young, and thought I knew it all... 
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
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Kevin Marois wrote: jack of all trades, master of none.
You CAN'T possibly 'master' all of them. I'd pick the one you like the most and stick with it, because if you really like it, then it's not really work.
And oh, your age is irrelevant. I'm 50, been coding for 30 years, and I'm still at it. Learning something new is a daily experience.
I'm 58 and have been coding for 40 years and agree 100%! 
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ClockMeister wrote: Kevin Marois wrote: jack of all trades, master of none.
You CAN'T possibly 'master' all of them. I'd pick the one you like the most and stick with it, because if you really like it, then it's not really work.
And oh, your age is irrelevant. I'm 50, been coding for 30 years, and I'm still at it. Learning something new is a daily experience.
I'm 58 and have been coding for 40 years and agree 100%!
See my sig. Do them all, don't master any. 
Ok, I know this wasn't too helpful. 
Jack of all trades, master of none, though often times better than master of one.
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Quote: will be obsolete in 10 years or so.
A lot sooner than that I expect.
I have been programming lots of different things over my 39-year career to date from mainframes, through home computers (non-PC), PCs, robots and other weird devices. I have lost count of the systems I have used and languages I have learned and (some) forgotten. I have never done Apple or iOS though.
You need to be prepared to learn something for a lifespan of 1 to 5 years and be happy about it. With that said, pick whichever you enjoy best that doesn't cost you an arm and a leg and go with that.
- I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.
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Forogar wrote: You need to be prepared to learn something for a lifespan of 1 to 5 years
I started programming C in 1987 or 88 and was still doing it professionally when I left my last company in 2006. In the intervening 10 years I have done some more for fun. Similar story for Java, although I did not start using it until the late 90s.
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I was also doing C in 1987-ish. I still do some occasionally. I also did some Java as well in the late 90s - but not very much as I was doing a lot of C++ instead at the time. I have been doing C# since version 1.0 and am still doing it.
- I would love to change the world, but they won’t give me the source code.
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I think that hybrid apps are the future for simple app, but when it gets tricky you need native support.
Because I know C# good I would stick to Xamarin.
Objective-C can be tricky, but also simple and very powerful. It is often the problem to find the right way. I like diving into the Apple sample code and dig into Stackoverflow. The biggest mess is the Interface Builder. 
Best to choose is:
1. what YOU really like or
2. if you have an interesting job opportunity.
Press F1 for help or google it.
Greetings from Germany
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Every skill set you learn will become obsolete. This is a fact. Embrace it.
Any skill set may hang in there for decades, but it will dwindle in market share (e.g., jobs will become fewer and fewer), and you will be best served by learning something new. In fact you should make it a point to learn something new every year.
Like others, I've been coding for decades. I dug out my "comprehensive" resume and laughed at the number of things I learned and completely forgot about. As we gain experience, the tools and technologies become less important, while the skills we learn and breadth of experience we gain come to the fore.
Look at the experienced people -- we don't get hired because we're the best programmer in "X" (whatever X is). Some kid out of college will know X better than we do. We get hired because we solve problems in an effective and timely manner.
[I like working with new grads, they have an infectious enthusiasm, but little experience. I teach them while they teach me. ]
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Absolutely no reason you need to learn Objective C to program iOS. Almost all new tutorials that are coming out now are in Swift, which is a fantastic language.
You don't need an iPhone, but if you do want a device, an iPad mini is pretty cheap. All you need at the start is a Mac mini or similar.
If you are trying to get a job, Swift is much newer than Objective C therefore there is less competition. As it is way better, companies will migrate to Swift pretty quickly creating demand.
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Agreed.
I'm an Objective-C developer who recently started to learn Swift; I don't see any reason why you need Objective-C at all. Most of the frameworks, if not all, have been Swift-ified by now. On SO most newer answers contain Swift rather than Obj-C. Apple tutorials example code is in both Swift and Obj-C, and most new tutorials coming out are Swift only.
As for devices, I'm pretty sure you can get some 2nd-hand ones for reasonable prices. Nice thing about Apple hardware is the quality is exceptional, and I've seen many threads here where people mention developing (for Windows) on 5 - 10-year-old MacBookPros and similar.
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Quote: Apple tutorials example code is in both Swift and Obj-C
That's debatable.
i cri evry tiem
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I kid you not!
Search Apple's tutorials and framework documentation. There's a tab at the top of every code example that gives you the option to view it as Objective-C or Swift. I was amazed!
Okay, maybe not all the old documentation, but most of what's new or updated.
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But not for long.
After 8 years, 6 months, and a few weeks I am going to be leaving this place tomorrow.
Spent the afternoon packing up all my personal stuff, got to come in tomorrow morning for an exit interview, and then down the pub at lunchtime to indulge those who think they shall miss me.
Most of those I shall miss have left over the years, moved on to other jobs, or died, the people in charge have changed and things have not changed for the better.
I am very much ready to not be working here anymore.
The biggest thing I shall miss, as I realised this morning, is taking my daughter to school. At the moment I am able to drop her off at 9 then get to work around half past. It has been that way since she started school around seven and a half years ago. Today was the last time I shall do that until I don't know when as I shall be leaving home around 7 in the morning from now on.
None of this is interesting, but I have nothing else to do now.
Not quite true, I'm still waiting for them to do the testing on the final bit of development I have done so it can go live.
They're cutting it a bit fine.
Some men are born mediocre, some men achieve mediocrity, and some men have mediocrity thrust upon them.
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Well if they don't get round to it for a few more days, you can fix it at contractor's rates! 
Bad command or file name. Bad, bad command! Sit! Stay! Staaaay...
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I understand you.
I was in the same situation 1 1/2 years ago after being in the same place for exactly 10 years.
And just like you seem to feel now, I did not have any regrets leaving the place as most of the people I cared about had already left and the company was getting more and more worse...
...I never looked back, and never regretted leaving.
I wish you all the best, you close a chapter and open a new one.
Cheers!
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Their loss! And ... you're probably getting paid more to boot!
Decrease the belief in God, and you increase the numbers of those who wish to play at being God by being “society’s supervisors,” who deny the existence of divine standards, but are very serious about imposing their own standards on society.-Neal A. Maxwell
You must accept 1 of 2 basic premises: Either we are alone in the universe or we are not alone. Either way, the implications are staggering!-Wernher von Braun
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Congrats to the new job !
chriselst wrote: I shall be leaving home around 7 in the morning from now on
Because you got to get earlier there, or because it is further away from home ?
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A bit of both.
And a lot of what Oz suggested.
Some men are born mediocre, some men achieve mediocrity, and some men have mediocrity thrust upon them.
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Crap. Thought you were starting a little poem.
Here I sit, broken hearted
Tried to sh!t
But only farted.
Michael Martin
Australia
"I controlled my laughter and simple said "No,I am very busy,so I can't write any code for you". The moment they heard this all the smiling face turned into a sad looking face and one of them farted. So I had to leave the place as soon as possible."
- Mr.Prakash One Fine Saturday. 24/04/2004
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..which is so much more helpful and logical than using the systems' settings..
Bastard Programmer from Hell 
If you can't read my code, try converting it here[^]
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