Chefs use recipes from cookbooks to create appetizing culinary dishes. At some point in their career, they internalize or memorize a favorite recipe and then evolve it to create a new and wonderful gastronomic delight.

The same approach can be equally useful in the field of technology, specifically for the development of software for mobile devices. This metaphorical cookbook concept can provide instructional guidance for an experienced programmer, encouraging and supporting experimentation through the use of structured single-task recipes.

As with any cookbook, a cautionary note is necessary on the importance of matching the user’s level of experience and expertise to the text. When taking an experimental approach to better understand Apple’s iOS 6, previous experience and familiarity with iOS 6 and the Objective-C language is not just recommended but required to maximize the usefulness of the book. Another cautionary note: don’t think of this cookbook as simply a tutorial or a reference guide, or even an in-depth manual on any one specific topic, but as a broad collection of single-task recipes with varying complexity, subtlety, and obscurity.

The author provides single-task recipes covering the most relevant issues for iOS 6 developers, including “laying out interface elements, responding to users, accessing local data sources, and connecting to the Internet.” The book contains 13 chapters in which the author fully explains both the “how” and “why” of advanced and specialized iOS 6 development.

In chapter 1, the author outlines those single-task recipes associated with accessing basic device information necessary for device-specific development. The single-task recipes in chapter 2 deal with documents and data sharing on the device. Chapters 3 through 5 cover working with strings, drawing, and credential handling related to useful single-task recipes for core text, geometry, and networking.

In chapters 6 through 10, the author turns to device capabilities and common interaction scenarios using images, cameras, audio, location, and the address book. The single-task recipes in this set of chapters cover image processing and filtering; recording and playback of audio; useful handling of core location services and application of geo-fencing; and searching, adding, and removing contacts from the address book.

The author saves the best for last in terms of complexity, subtlety, and obscurity. Chapters 11 through 13 contain the more interesting single-task recipes, including gaming, commerce, and notifications. All are complex and tricky, and lack comprehensive documentation from Apple.

For example, enabling interaction with Apple’s Game Center through the use of Game Kit can be a bit challenging for developers new to mobile gaming. The same goes for using Store Kit to interact with Apple’s App Store to establish a storefront and access the in-app purchase mechanism. Yet another example involves the steps necessary to provision push notifications to users from a web-based service.

I recommend this cookbook to iOS 6 mobile software developers for the proven solutions, best practices, working code, and concise single-step recipes that are easy to understand and adapt to daily situations. Recently, Apple released iOS 7 with additional capabilities, extensions, and opportunities. Having a fresh understanding of the ins and outs of iOS 6 will help readers master the experimental approach to iOS 7 development and beyond.

More reviews about this item: Amazon