Where to start?

[erichinchman@wo]

I have an idea for a Mac application that needs to be made and it doesn't exist yet. I know that there would be interest in it by others, just not sure how many. The main reason I want to build it is so that I can use it. Then, if there is interest in it, maybe make some extra $ on the side.

I've never made an application, so I'm not sure where to start. I've just downloaded Xcode Tools and joined ADC.

Basically, what I want to make is an app that takes a webpage that you've made, have it access a database of text links (URLS) or, images with URLS attached, then add 3-4 of those links to the top of the page, then save the .html file. It would continue to copy/clone this page, and save as additional .html files, until all links in the database have been used up.

Then next step would be that it would then have a interface to submit those pages to the corresponding websites in which the pages link to.

It would be web-based, or a stand alone app. I really don't care. Just wondering if anyone here would have an idea of where to start.

It's basically an auto-submit program for Mac. Many exist for PC users, but I have crawled to the edge of the net to find a program like this for Mac, and it does not exist.

 

[Viro]

I'm not saying this in a condescending way. First, you need learn to program. Doesn't really matter what language you use, Objective-C, C, C++, Java, C#, Python, Perl, doesn't matter.

That said, you might want to give Java a go. It's widely documented, fairly easy to use, very portable and suitable for web applications. C++ is another one that's high on the list. Very well documented, many people use it so it's easy to get help, and there's a high demand for C++ programmers. Objective-C is only useful in Mac circles. Even then, there isn;t really a need for it since there are so many other languages on the Mac.

For the problem you're talking about, all the languages I've listed might be overkill. you could just go with Python which is a simple to learn scripting language that should be able to do what you have in mind.