3D Programming in Objective-C "Only"

[I'm going to be interviewed for a position, and I don't want to oversell myself...]

I can do just about anything in Objective-C (some things need a lot of code) in 2D, but I haven't actually learned any C fundamentals (except as related to Obj-C). For instance, if an Array is not an NSArray I don't know how to work with it. That said, I feel comfortable doing 2D animations in Objective-C using UIView animations or using Core Animation directly.

Without knowing C, is it possible to work in 3D (or even do 3D ga开发者_高级运维mes) on the iPhone? I think I'm asking about OpenGL ES, but that might not be the only option...?

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Learning 3D graphics programming is an entirely separate issue from learning basic C. Yes, learning basic C will help you to become a better Objective-C developer, but it will not help you learn 3D programming. What is more important is that you have a good understanding of topics like 3D geometry and linear algebra.

This thread provides a great breakdown of the challenges of moving from 2D to 3D. It is geared towards making games, but many of the points covered are relevant to 3D programming in general.

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In addition to what Justin Ardini said, I must say that 3D programming on an iPhone passes through OpenGl ES or a Graphic Engine like Irrlicht or SIO2.

Now, not knowing anything about C will make it almost impossible to accomplish: consider that OpenGL relies on C and Irrlicht and SIO2 on C++ (and C++ is derived to C even if it is not a strict superset of it like Objective-C is) as far as I know. Add to this that an array is the basic data structure (along with a struct) that C/C++ and Objective-C use.

Let me add two point on why to learn C.

• Learning a language with supports the imperative programming paradigm is in some way useful in understanding one that supports OO. And the lowest code you can write, assembly, supports only it.
• Objective-C as said before is a superset of C so everything written in C is legal in your obj-C code. You can understand it better and try to use it in some impressive ways (by calling the correspondent C functions sometimes for instance), and you may be able to make your code really efficient for some heavy duty tasks (and you'll find a lot in 3d programming)