Objective-C Pocket Reference (Paperback)

~ Andrew Duncan (Author)
Key Phrases: object lifecycle, runtime errors, archiving objects, Pocket Reference, Elements of the Language, Runtime Environment (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Objective-C is an exciting and dynamic approach to C-based object-oriented programming; it's the approach adopted by Apple as the foundation for programming under Mac OS X, a Unix-based operating system gaining wide acceptance among programmers and other technologists. Objective-C is easy to learn and has a simple elegance that is a welcome breath of fresh air after the abstruse and confusing C++. To help you master the fundamentals of this language, you'll want to keep the Objective-C Pocket Reference close at hand. This small book contains a wealth of valuable information to speed you over the learning curve. In this pocket reference, author Andrew Duncan provides a quick and concise introduction to Objective-C for the experienced programmer. In addition to covering the essentials of Objective-C syntax, Andrew also covers important faces of the language such as memory management, the Objective-C runtime, dynamic loading, distributed objects, and exception handling.

About the Author

Andrew Duncan started programming on Control Data 6600 hardware in 1974 and progressed on to Mac OS X. He holds a Bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from the California Institute of Technology, and a Masters in mathematics from the University of California at Santa Cruz. He is now on leave from doctoral work on compilers at UC Santa Barbara. He currently works at expertcity, designing the core class libraries.

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: O'Reilly Media; 1st edition (December 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0596004230
• ISBN-13: 978-0596004231
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #63,271 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #3 in	Books > Computers & Internet > Programming > C > Objects
  #5 in	Books > Computers & Internet > Programming > C > Language
  #22 in	Books > Computers & Internet > Apple > Mac OS X

• This item is part of The O'Reilly Pocket Guides Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic Fantastic Fantastic, January 28, 2003

By	mr3flowers - See all my reviews

I have three different books for objective C programming, which by the way are very hard to find. This book, which was published just recently, is the best objective c book I have read yet.

Objective C is a great language for all platforms, not just the Mac OS, and this book leads you to it. It gives you both Cocoa and standard C information. If you are interested in learning Objective C, this is the book for you! It's inexpensive, small concise and packed with information.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Handy, well written Objective-C Reference!, November 14, 2003

By	moofahoof "moofahoof" (Pittsburgh, PA) - See all my reviews

Andrew Duncan's Objective-C Pocket Reference is just the book that budding Cocoa programmers should have on their desk. It is well written, well indexed, and succinct enough to read in an evening if desired.

After reading it cover to cover, I think this will be a valuable resource for looking up any Objective-C related questions I have.

Note, you should have an understanding of C before trying to read this book. Also - it will probably make more sense to you if you already have some experience with Cocoa. This is a quick reference - probably not the best way to learn the language. However, the book contains a list at the end which recommends other books and websites which are more thorough.

I'd say it's well worth the cost.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great resource for digging deeper into Objective-C, September 29, 2003

By	Christopher Culver - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

O'Reilly's OBJECTIVE-C POCKET REFERENCE follows in its line of slim booklets designed for quick reference while at the computer. I found it a very helpful book.

While titled "a pocket reference", the book is not something that should be put on the shelf right away and merely consulted from time to time. For a beginning Objective-C programmer, reading the book straight-through can be very enlightening. The basics of Obj-C are easy to grasp, and an Obj-C beginner can immediately start constructing solid applications without knowing about categories, protocols, or root objects. But O'Reilly's book is the best place to start becoming familiar with these obscure topics that might just help one solve a particularly tricky problem.

I have only a few complaints about the book. One is that it talks about the #import preprocessor directive, but nowhere does it mention the advantages of using #ifndef guards. Another problem is that in some parts it is Cocoa-specific; I would have preferred that it concentrate on the OpenStep standard in general so that other OpenStep implementations might not be left out (but the book does occasionally mention GNUstep, which is great).

O'Reilly proves itself the best publisher for developers again with this book, and any Objective-C programmer should invest in it.