I just purchased the RWDevCON 2016 Vault material. After looking at all of the great videos, tutorials, pdf book, and all of the sample projects/labs - I feel a little unsure as to where I should start.
Forgive me if this has already been discussed, but do you have a recommended learning path or plan of attack for consuming all of this information in a sensible manner/flow?
EDIT: Just to clarify - I see the “Tracks” that you can follow, but I still am unsure when I should be using the book, or watching the slides, or viewing the videos. What’s the best approach?
My question was more about the logistical path and less of a content path, but those are great questions too, that would do well answered/outlined in an introductory area of this product. Just my two cents.
@swooperz Thanks very much for your question, and my apologies for the delayed response.
This is a million dollar question you’re asking, and I’ll do my best to respond to it.
My approach would be similar to the WWDC videos:
Start with the keynote talk so you get a good introduction and overview of what is on the agenda for the year.
The conference is meant for everyone who is an iOS developer, so please don’t feel compelled to watch ALL the videos. Consider your areas of interest, as well as your areas of weakness, and determine which ones you want to watch.
I personally would suggest you put some emphasis on Swift, since that is a foundational skill that everyone needs to be familiar with. You simply can NOT be a good iOS developer without having a good foundation in either Objective-C and/or Swift.
I would look at core concepts like Auto Layout, Debugging, and Design Patterns. These are skills that would help anyone distinguish themselves from an intermediate developer into an advanced developer. The other benefit of these skills is that they are foundational, which means these skills are relevant regardless of what aspects of iOS development you decide to focus on, and will be around for years to come.
I would measure the difficulty level of some of the videos as well. I personally have a severe limitation on how much time I have, so while I’m NOT discounting the importance of some of the personal, inspirational stories that are presented, I would not give those videos as high a priority as those focused on developing hard skills. The thing also about the inspirational talks is that you don’t necessarily have to watch them, since they are not trying to “teach” or “demonstrate” something technical, so they can be listened to while you multitask with something else.
Try to balance some of the easier talks with some of the more complex talks, this way you don’t overwhelm yourself.
This may sound tacky, but consider the speakers as well. Do you have a favourite presenter/author on our site? The reality is, some people are able to connect better with some people than others. Some people have the gift to articulate in a way that some people are able to understand. When I was in university, not all professors were the same. Some were better teachers than others, and so naturally I would benefit more from a certain professor teaching a subject vs another professor teaching the very same material. So my advice is go with your heart. If there is a particular author/speaker whom you enjoy reading or listening to, find that person on the track, and by all means go through his/her material. Remember, this is about YOUR experience, so make sure you personalize it as much as possible. This is the only way you will benefit.
Finally, I would suggest that you choose topics that interest you, or catch your eye. One thing I try to encourage junior iOS developers is to find a specialty. There are so many areas of development in iOS that it’s simply impossible to be an expert on everything. However, you can focus on some areas, and be an expert, so do your best to carve a niche out for yourself
At the end of the day, this is my two cents, so please don’t feel that any of this is “gospel”
As a bonus, here is a link to the content from RWDevCon 2017 that is now available for free!
