Whether you are targeting Mac OS X or the iPhone, at some point your Cocoa application is probably going to need to persist data. You could struggle with SQLite, generate XML, or create your own binary format. Or, you can save time and energy by taking advantage of Apple's Core Data API instead.
Core Data makes it easy for you to work with object graphs and to persist data-but there are plenty of pitfalls and issues to watch out for. This book shows you everything from versioning to integrating with Quick Look, Sync Services, and Spotlight. You'll see how to boost performance and work in multithreaded applications. You'll work with Core Data on both the desktop and the iPhone.
By the end of Core Data, you'll have built a full-featured application, gained a complete understanding of Core Data, and learned how to integrate your application into OS X.
As an extra bonus, you'll see numerous recipes that are useful in unusual situations, or even in places where you wouldn't have thought to use the Core Data API before. It will become another indispensable tool in your kit.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Marcus S. Zarra is the owner of Zarra Studios LLC and the creator of seSales and iWeb Buddy. In addition, he is a co-author of "Cocoa Is My Girlfriend," a wildly popular blog covering all aspects of Cocoa development. Marcus S. Zarra has been developing software since the mid-1980s and has written software in all of the major technological fields.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
41 of 42 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Word of warning: not one of the 5-star reviewers actually worked through examples in this book then reviewed it.
It's not a 5-star book. It's a 5-star topic, and sadly (very very sadly) it's the only book I know of actually on that topic.
I think the author's intentions are good, and there's a lot of useful info. I'm grateful to have it.
But all of that has to be balanced against the maddening b.s. of trying to actually follow his examples. You know, to actually do what you're supposed to do with a programming book.
Up to chapter 5, it's a pretty good book. If you download the code from the publisher's web site, you'll discover that he names some of his objects differently than you would if you follow his instructions strictly. This actually will create problems for you potentially when you try and troubleshoot problems in your own code, but they're minor. Annoying and needless, but minor.
Then you get to chapter 5, and it's really not so minor anymore. Grab the book (print version or PDF) and work through the examples in chapter 5, and you will have a broken program. Don't take my word for it. Check out the forums and the errata page on their website, and you'll see others reporting the same problem. There is a complicated data migration described. After walking us through a fairly trivial example, he then goes on to give us a much more complicated version. He leaves large portions of that to the reader, and just goes instead for code. The problem is that he doesn't even give us some of the most important code. He shows us a very important ObjC method to add to the AppDelegate... but never even mentions the major alterations you need to make in another method to make that new one get called.
Perhaps it's unreasonable to expect programming book editors to actually go through the examples to see if it works. Perhaps it's unreasonable to expect all books to be as well-done as Hillegass' book.
What's sad is that I've been waiting for this kind of book ever since Core Data came out. And there are some very nice ideas here. I'm gonna slog through the rest and hope it gets better, because the topic is really important. If you plan to buy this book and really work through the examples, I think I'd still recommend it (since there's nothing else). But word to the wise: it's gonna require a LOT more work than a properly written and edited programming book would have.
It's not a 5-star book. It's a 5-star topic, and sadly (very very sadly) it's the only book I know of actually on that topic.
I think the author's intentions are good, and there's a lot of useful info. I'm grateful to have it.
But all of that has to be balanced against the maddening b.s. of trying to actually follow his examples. You know, to actually do what you're supposed to do with a programming book.
Up to chapter 5, it's a pretty good book. If you download the code from the publisher's web site, you'll discover that he names some of his objects differently than you would if you follow his instructions strictly. This actually will create problems for you potentially when you try and troubleshoot problems in your own code, but they're minor. Annoying and needless, but minor.
Then you get to chapter 5, and it's really not so minor anymore. Grab the book (print version or PDF) and work through the examples in chapter 5, and you will have a broken program. Don't take my word for it. Check out the forums and the errata page on their website, and you'll see others reporting the same problem. There is a complicated data migration described. After walking us through a fairly trivial example, he then goes on to give us a much more complicated version. He leaves large portions of that to the reader, and just goes instead for code. The problem is that he doesn't even give us some of the most important code. He shows us a very important ObjC method to add to the AppDelegate... but never even mentions the major alterations you need to make in another method to make that new one get called.
Perhaps it's unreasonable to expect programming book editors to actually go through the examples to see if it works. Perhaps it's unreasonable to expect all books to be as well-done as Hillegass' book.
What's sad is that I've been waiting for this kind of book ever since Core Data came out. And there are some very nice ideas here. I'm gonna slog through the rest and hope it gets better, because the topic is really important. If you plan to buy this book and really work through the examples, I think I'd still recommend it (since there's nothing else). But word to the wise: it's gonna require a LOT more work than a properly written and edited programming book would have.
18 of 22 people found the following review helpful
By A. Donoho
Format:Paperback
I wanted to learn how to use Apple's Core Data technology in my iPhone applications. I was deeply disappointed by this book.
"Core Data" leaves out a discussion of NSPredicate, the query language of Core Data. This is basically the same as leaving a discussion of the WHERE clause out of a SQL book. For the record, "Core Data" actually does cover NSPredicate -- for 3/4 of a page. And then it references Apple's documentation. Before I bought this book, I had already read Apple's docs and found them wanting. Apple's lame documentation was a motivating factor in my choice to purchase "Core Data".
If you need to make queries on the Core Data object graph, then do not buy this book. It doesn't help you learn Apple's different query language.
"Core Data" leaves out a discussion of NSPredicate, the query language of Core Data. This is basically the same as leaving a discussion of the WHERE clause out of a SQL book. For the record, "Core Data" actually does cover NSPredicate -- for 3/4 of a page. And then it references Apple's documentation. Before I bought this book, I had already read Apple's docs and found them wanting. Apple's lame documentation was a motivating factor in my choice to purchase "Core Data".
If you need to make queries on the Core Data object graph, then do not buy this book. It doesn't help you learn Apple's different query language.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
By R. Keniger
Format:Paperback
Core Data is one of the denser, more complex APIs in the Cocoa framework and Marcus' book does a great job of introducing you to the concepts and terminology. The sample application that is built throughout the book is a sensible choice and easy to understand. Some sections such as the import/export example I found incredibly useful after struggling on my own through the same issues before I bought the book.
The only thing I found missing was much discussion of NSPersistentDocument and document-based apps, there is only an in-passing reference to this type of application but since Apple already has a great tutorial on this in their documentation it's not a major issue.
If you want to get up to speed quickly with Core Data I'd highly recommend this book. It is a much easier read than the official Apple documentation and covers all the bases. If nothing else, the Apple docs will be much easier to wrap your head around once you've worked through this book first.
The only thing I found missing was much discussion of NSPersistentDocument and document-based apps, there is only an in-passing reference to this type of application but since Apple already has a great tutorial on this in their documentation it's not a major issue.
If you want to get up to speed quickly with Core Data I'd highly recommend this book. It is a much easier read than the official Apple documentation and covers all the bases. If nothing else, the Apple docs will be much easier to wrap your head around once you've worked through this book first.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars
You won't learn Core Data with this book
Core Data undoubtedly is a great framework. It greatly simplifies how you handle data in your app (in fact, often you don't need to handle it all, because Core Data will take care... Read more
Published 22 months ago by Dmitry
1.0 out of 5 stars
Feedback
I found it very hard to follow through on this book. The author did not stay on topic or point! The author jumped from subject to subject, and made to many assumptions. Read more
Published on December 19, 2010 by Bob
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not for the faint of heart
This book is definitely for advanced programmers who wish to incorporate core data into their work. I am still learning Cocoa and Mac programming after a long hiatus. Read more
Published on June 7, 2010 by Scott A. Henderson
5.0 out of 5 stars
A top reference for any in-depth computer library
CORE DATA tells how to move from Core Data basics from Apple to advanced configurations, covering all aspects of a full-featured application based on the Mac OS X Core Data API. Read more
Published on February 20, 2010 by Midwest Book Review
4.0 out of 5 stars
Challenging to follow examples
A great introduction to Core Data but not very easy to follow. Some chunks of code are just thrown in apropos (sorting, for example) of nothing and other things simply don't work. Read more
Published on January 6, 2010 by Peter J. Neame
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good on theory, not all that helpful for iPhone developers
There are some very good explanations in this book and, for desktop OS X use, I think it's probably a very useful book (4-5 stars). Read more
Published on November 25, 2009 by ddd
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great book!
This is a great book if you are planning to do something with Core Data on the Mac or iPhone. If you think Core Data is not useful for your project, read this book and discover... Read more
Published on November 7, 2009 by M. Borsten
5.0 out of 5 stars
Nice walkthrough, Smelly book
So far I've read thru chapters 1-2 and followed the tutorial on creating a functional recipe database app using core data. Chapter 2 is a quick walk-through on the tutorial. Read more
Published on October 30, 2009 by Amigalander
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