Learn C on the Mac (Learn Series) [Paperback]

Dave Mark (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 12, 2008 | ISBN-10: 1430218096 | ISBN-13: 978-1430218098 | Edition: 1

Considered a classic by an entire generation of Mac programmers, this popular guide has been updated for Mac OS X. Don’t know anything about programming? No problem! Acclaimed author Dave Mark starts out with the basics and takes you through a complete course in programming C using Apple’s free Xcode tools. This book is perfect for beginners learning to program. It includes Mac OS X examples!

• Provides best practices for programming newbies
• Written by the expert on C–programming for the Mac
• Presents all the basics with a pragmatic, Mac OS X-flavored approach
• Includes updated source code which is fully compatible with Xcode 4

What you’ll learn

• Master C programming, the gateway to programming your Mac or iPhone
• Write applications for the Mac OS X interface, the cleanest user interface around
• Understand variables and how to design your own data structures
• Work with the file system
• Connect to data sources and the Internet

Who this book is for

For anyone wanting to learn to program in Mac OS X, including developers new to the Mac, developers new to C, or students entirely new to programming. For anyone who wants to learn how to program their iPhone, this is also the core language primer.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Dave Mark is a longtime Mac developer and author who has written a number of books on Mac and iOS development, including Beginning iPhone 4 Development (Apress, 2010), More iPhone 3 Development (Apress, 2010), Learn C on the Mac (Apress, 2008), The Macintosh Programming Primer series (Addison-Wesley, 1992), and Ultimate Mac Programming (Wiley, 1995). Dave loves the water and spends as much time as possible on it, in it, or near it. He lives with his wife and three children in Virginia.

Product Details

• Paperback: 376 pages
• Publisher: Apress; 1 edition (December 12, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1430218096
• ISBN-13: 978-1430218098
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 0.8 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 40 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #622,254 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #79 in Books > Computers & Technology > Programming > Languages & Tools > C > Tutorials

More About the Author

Dave Mark is a long-time Mac developer and author and has written a number of books on Macintosh development, including Learn C on the Macintosh, The Macintosh Programming Primer series, and Ultimate Mac Programming. His blog can be found at www.davemark.com. Jeff LaMarche is a longtime Mac developer, and Apple iPhone Developer. With over 20 years of programming experience, he's written on Cocoa and Objective-C for MacTech Magazine, as well as articles for Apple's Developer Technical Services website. He has experience working in Enterprise software, both as a developer for PeopleSoft starting in the late 1990s, and then later as an independent consultant.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 45 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Great beginning programming book for C and Mac programming January 3, 2009

By J. Tarrant

Format:Paperback

This is a great book for learning C and for software development on the Mac. The pace is very manageable for a person new to programming, the examples are clear, the downloaded code samples compile and run without error.

This books is different than almost any other that I have read in that it provides additional reference material and sources to let the reader explore more about C, programming, XCode, Mac development and follow one's own curiosity.

All in all, this is the best beginning programming book that I have ever read. I felt empowered and capable after reading it instead of bewildered and wondering how all of the pieces fit together, which has been the case with some other C books.

My only ding on the book (and the reason that I've only given it 4 stars) is that there are not a lot of coding exercises. This may not be entirely necessary if you work through the examples in the book (and there are very many good ones) but it would be an improvement to have some more meaty exercises as I think that this is a method to have readers internalize what they have learned.

21 of 24 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Place to Start Programming! January 18, 2009

By Colin Anderson

Format:Paperback

Dave Mark has done an excellent job of presenting the material in this book! Most introductions to C programming are either dry and boring or ridiculously silly (in a failed attempt to be fun). Dave managed to find a balance, teaching the concepts in a tone that can best be described as conversational. The easier sections of the book really do feel like fun, while still maintaining the integrity demanded by the subject; the more difficult sections are rather comforting and instill the confidence that the reader will be able to master the hard concepts.

Another reason why the presentation is so successful is that Dave does not overwhelm the reader with too much information. He tells you only what you need to know in order to get your programs to work, but also provides sources to find the information you don't need but may want.

Of course, being written specifically for Mac computers is a major selling point, and rightfully so! In addition to learning the C programming language, the reader will become familiar with the Xcode development environment, the arena where Mac and iPhone/iPod development takes place.

The place where Learn C on the Mac stands out above the rest (in my opinion) is that it leaves the reader confident that he/she not only knows what the concepts are, but also understands how to use them. There are many books and websites out there that are great at teaching the theory, but lack and explanation of the practice. What good is it to know what a pointer is if you don't know how it would fit into a program?

I highly recommend this book for anyone looking to begin programming on the Mac!

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Short and sweet! April 6, 2009

By AeroEngrB787

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I had read that using "Learn Objective-C on the Mac" required some experience with C, so I read this first. I had used C ever so briefly in an intro to programming class in engineering school back in the mid 90's.

If you have any programming experience, it may be just a tad too basic. I've been programming heavily in recent years in VB.Net, C#, Matlab, and Fortran. For me, learn C provided the syntax variations I needed, but added nothing new to my understanding of programming concepts. I would've liked more in depth programming examples that made use of lesser known concepts, but I can't complain too much as I understood it was a beginner book going in. I actually breezed through all 300+ pages in 5 days.

"Learn C on the Mac" would be an excellent book for any beginning programmer. It is clear, concise, and to the point. It also may be good for any Windows developer moving to Mac as it does provide some basic information about XCode.