Lately there has been a flurry of model-based approaches to mobile-app development, including projects based on Eclipse. Like Itemis' impressive "Applause" DSL, most of these aim for cross-platform support. Many build GUIs using the native UI components for the "real feel".
But when it comes to the details, there is no way around actually diving into Objective-C and the Cocoa Touch frameworks. Details are important, especially so on the iOS platform. Users expect the best possible user experience. If subtle animations help usability, there is no reason not to use them. Or say you need a catchy interactive GUI element like a wheel of fortune; it surely should rattle and decelerate realistically. This is where model-based, one-size-fits-all approaches invariantly arrive at their limit; some earlier, others later – but eventually they all do.
This talk gives you an idea of how developing for the iOS platform is different from the Eclipse development we all know and love. Different, but not bad, or worse, or scary. Words like dynamic typing and monkey-patching can sound intimidating, but in the end it's really no less scary than "abstract public static void ViewPortAdvisorFactoryManager"…
