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

Scott Knaster (Author), Mark Dalrymple (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 7, 2009 | Series: Learn Series

Take your coding skills to the next level with this extensive guide to Objective–C, the native programming language for developing sophisticated software applications for Mac OS X. Objective–C is a powerful, object–oriented extension of C, making this book the perfect follow–up to Dave Mark’s bestselling Learn C on the Mac, Mac OS X Edition. Whether you’re an experienced C programmer or you’re coming from a different language such as C++ or Java, leading Mac experts Mark Dalrymple and Scott Knaster show you how to harness the powers of Objective–C in your applications!

• A complete course on the basics of Objective–C using Apple’s free Xcode tools
• An introduction to object–oriented programming
• Comprehensive coverage of inheritance, composition, object initialization, categories, protocols, memory management, and organizing source files
• A brief tour of Cocoa’s foundation framework and AppKit
• A helpful “learning curve” guide for non–C developers

What you’ll learn

• Learn Objective–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 native applications in Mac OS X, including developers new to the Mac, developers new to Objective–C, or students entirely new to programming.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Scott Knaster is a legendary Mac hacker and author of such bestselling books as Hacking Mac OS X Tiger and Macintosh Programming Secrets. His book How to Write Macintosh Software was required reading for Mac programmers for more than a decade.

Mark Dalrymple has been a Mac developer since 1985 and a Unix programmer since 1990. Over the years, he has worked on projects ranging from cross-platform development tool kits to high-performance web server software servicing hundreds of millions of hits per day, medical applications, and video products for Hollywood. He is the coauthor of Core Mac OS X and Unix Programming and Advanced Mac OS X Programming.

Product Details

• Paperback: 360 pages
• Publisher: Apress; 1 edition (January 7, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1430218150
• ISBN-13: 978-1430218159
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 0.7 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (56 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #208,192 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #16 in Books > Computers & Technology > Programming > Languages & Tools > C > Objects
  • #29 in Books > Computers & Technology > Programming > Languages & Tools > C > Tutorials
  • #70 in Books > Computers & Technology > Apple > Home Computing & How-to > Mac Computers & Hardware

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

47 of 53 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Very useful and a fun read January 8, 2009

By S. Looker

Format:Paperback

I recently started reading this book. I should start by saying I am an experienced Objective-C programmer, but I usually find a useful new tidbit or two in a new book.

I have been enjoying this book immensely, because the tone of the book is much more light-hearted than the normal technical tome. Instead of hundreds of lines of passive voice text, droning on and one with massive repetition of the same stuff to pad the page count enough, this book flows right along. It moves from topic to topic with a nice amount of detail, but without padding and fluff. Examples are written with a slightly humorous touch that makes the reading a pleasure and keeps your interest focused on what is being said.

Explanations of areas such as memory management are nice and straight forward. New items found in Objective-C 2.0 are covered, and a modern version of Xcode is described.

This book presumes (and states upfront) that you are expected to at least know C or similar programing language, so if you don't know how to program already, don't start with this book.

This book is about using Objective-C, but also includes looks at some important parts of Cocoa. Both the writers and the publisher make the assumption that you are intelligent enough to know how to use the internet to find resources instead of listing detailed URLs in the text, which I really liked. It lets me focus on the content being presented, not the mechanics of how to do auxiliary things I already know how to do.

I am definitely recommending this book to anybody new to Objective-C, as well as suggesting that it is a good quick reference to have handy even for experienced programers.

28 of 32 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Good intro for Mac or iPhone programming January 4, 2009

By Timothy T. Hume

Format:Paperback

This book provides a really good intro to Objective-C. It also gives some info on Xcode and Cocoa. It is geared towards programmers that have some experience, but want to learn to program for the Mac or iPhone. I think even intermediate and experienced Mac programmers can find some useful information in here. There is enough information here to really get going. The information is also concise enough to not be overwhelming. I wish I'd had this book when I was starting out.

50 of 62 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing February 21, 2009

By A Friend

Format:Paperback

I had high expectations for this book, based on my experience with other books in the Apress series for learning programming on the Macintosh. However, while the authors of this book are obviously knowledgeable about their subject, I don't think they have a handle yet on how to present their knowledge in book form. My impression is that the authors took transcripts of a seminar on Objective-C that they led and then gave it to someone else to put into book form.

Also, the book is full of typos--even in the source code examples! In one case, it is obvious even to a beginner that a source code example could not have produced the sample of program output shown, because the output is in a different order than the print statements in the program. In another case, the text of the book refers to a line of program code that is missing from the code example. This kind of sloppy proofreading is inexcusable in a programming text.