Cocoa Programming for Mac OS X

I currently am a Web App Developer who uses C# & Visual Studio. I have been using macs forever & wanted 2 learn how 2 code 4 the iPhone & figured this is the best place 2 start learning Objective-C. This book is very good at explaining Objective-C & how 2 write code 4 it. I am at the eighth chapter & already am writing my own code. I downloaded the examples in the book & the way I approach it is, read the chapter, copy the example code (not from the clipboard!) then read the chapter again. The book has a bunch of great examples & is fun 2 do. I look forward 2 writing native mac apps!

This book is amazing. It covers everything you need 2 know, in depth, very easy 2 read & understand, & very quick 2 digest. It is THE Cocoa Bible.

If you plan 2 write 4 Mac OS X, & have some programming experience, this book is a MUST HAVE. This is by far the best introductory book I have ever read on any language.

If you DO NOT have programming experience, I would still recommend this book. There are some spots where the logic might be hard 2 grasp, but Aaron Hillegass walks you through it.

In either case, but more so 4 beginners, I would also recommend Programming in Objective-C (Developer's Library). The less experience you have, the more strongly I would suggest reading this book first. It will walk you through the basics of straight Objective-C & then start you off using frameworks in OS X. If you are a Windows user & do not have a Mac, Programming in Objective-C (Developer's Library) will show you how 2 write & compile Objective-C in Windows.
(Look 4 the new version of this book which uses Objective-C 2.0)

I come from Windows development, having programmed in VB 6, VB.NET, C (and variants), & java. Aaron Hillegass takes you right into the heart of the Mac OS X development environment & gives you a guided tour. Showing you the basics of both Cocoa & the X Code development environment. Pick the book up & you won't regret it. This is a walkthrough tutorial style book. It is not a reference book. Apples online documentation is the best reference 4 Cocoa.

There are a lot of resources out there 4 Cocoa programmers. If you are looking 4 more help with Cocoa, check out the free podcasts that are available on iTunes. "CocoaCast" is a 'screen cast' that actually follows this book & may help you if you have trouble. Other podcasts that i find easy 2 listen 2 come from the Mac Developer Network such as "Late Night Cocoa" & "The Mac Developer Roundtable". They also have a great community that you can join by visiting www.mac-developer-network.com. They have video classes on some great topics which are very helpful.

Through this book you get a good introduction 2 Objective-C as you delve into Cocoa. At first, I was worried that I would need a supplemental Objective-C book 2 understand the concepts, but this was not the case. The examples & explanations are sufficient & can stand by themselves without need of other materials or knowledge.

Sometimes as I'd read through the chapters, I'd have questions about certain concepts that seemed 2 be glossed over. Yet, as the author will state, keep reading. Normally the concepts will be explained in full, within a few pages.

Excellent book & reference 4 developing on the Mac. Note that this is NOT 4 someone looking 2 learn Objective-C, but rather someone looking 2 learn the ins/outs of the Cocoa Frameworks & development process with XCode 3.

My only wish is that they include some iPhone specific sections in the next edition.

Apple's Cocoa framework & tools are indispensable 2 every developer who wants 2 take full advantage of Mac OS X's features & performance, & get applications 2 market rapidly. However, Cocoa has a steep learning curve, & the official documentation leaves much 2 be desired. Now, Cocoa insider Aaron Hillegass presents the first start-to-finish guide 4 serious Cocoa development. In this book, Hillegass leverages his experience as the creator of the world's first independent Cocoa training course, anticipating the questions that real-world developers ask about Cocoa -- & offering deep insight into the design patterns that give Cocoa its extraordinary power & elegance. He begins with an overview of Cocoa's goals, capabilities, & toolset. Learn how 2 use Cocoa's Project Builder 2 track all of your application's diverse resources, edit code, & compile & run applications. Master the Cocoa Interface Builder: leverage the full capabilities of Mac OS X's breakthrough Aqua interface, then go beyond "windows & widgets" 2 create classes & edit their attributes.Hillegass gives experienced C & object-oriented developers all the skills they need 2 use Objective-C, the preferred language 4 Cocoa development. Coverage includes: custom views; responders & keyboard events; fonts & NSString; pasteboards; categories; compilation with the GNU C (gcc) compiler; debugging with the GNU debugger (gdb); & much more. The book includes extensive code examples; most in Objective-C, some in Java.

Suitable 4 anyone with a little C/C++ programming experience who wants 2 create software 4 the newest Mac platform, Cocoa Programming 4 Max OS X provides a slickly packaged & approachable tutorial that will get you started creating state-of-the-art Mac programs.

The smart presentation style & easy-to-understood code examples help make this text an excellent resource. (It also helps that Aaron Hillegass is a truly engaging writer.) He first explains how the legacy NeXTSTEP platform has evolved into Cocoa on the Mac OS X. Beginning with short examples illustrating the actual Cocoa tools in action, the author gets you started with simple programs 4 a random-number generator, a raise calculator, & other comprehensible examples. Rather than just listing APIs & classes, the emphasis is on hands-on Cocoa development. An early standout section provides a nice tour of essential Objective-C features you'll need 2 know 2 use Cocoa effectively.

This book covers the several dozen built-in Cocoa controls, from basic text & buttons 2 more advanced widgets (including lists & tables). Subsequent sections look at user interface design (using the Interface Builder 2 create nib files) & how 2 add programmatic processing behind the visual layout. Along the way, the author introduces coverage of essential Cocoa APIs 4 strings, arrays, & dictionaries. Later chapters look at saving & loading documents (and user defaults) & how 2 tap the powerful graphics abilities available in Cocoa. (Besides image & basic drawing, there are short sections on PDF support & printing.)

More advanced user interface features get their due by the end of the book, including cutting & pasting data through the Cocoa pasteboard & also adding drag-and-drop support. Final sections look at creating new controls 4 use with the Interface Builder palette, and, briefly, how 2 use Java with Cocoa (an option that the author doesn't necessarily recommend). Throughout this text, the author provides more advanced, challenging problems at the end of each chapter 4 the "more curious" reader. This approach keeps beginners from getting lost in the details of Cocoa development, but gives the more advanced reader something more 2 do.

While there are comparably fewer books on Mac OS X compared 2 other platforms, readers are lucky 2 have this one available. Anyone who wants 2 get onboard with Cocoa development will be well served by this title. It's a fine tutorial that earns high marks 4 its approachable, clear examples & an excellent presentation by an author who knows his stuff and, better yet, knows how 2 teach it 2 others. --Richard Dragan

Topics covered: Brief history of the Mac platform (from NeXTSTEP 2 Mac OS X), basic Cocoa development in Objective-C, using Project Builder & Interface Builder tools, tutorial 2 Objective-C (instances, variables, using classes, arrays & other containers, custom classes), the Objective-C debugger, basic Cocoa controls (building user interfaces), tables & data sources, event handling & delegates, archiving documents (encoding & decoding, saving & loading documents), Nib files, window panels, saving & retrieving user defaults (including using dictionary classes), notifications (observers & more on delegates), alert panels, localization (including string tables, a English & French example, the nibtool utility), custom views & drawing, drawing images & mouse events (plus coordinates systems & autoscrolling views), responders & keyboard events, fonts & strings (including attributed strings & PDF support), pasteboards & nil-targeted actions, using Objective-C categories (a code reuse feature), drag-and-drop support, timers, sheets & drawers, formatting strings, printing support, on-the-fly menu updating, text editing with text views, basic tutorial 4 using Java with Cocoa, & custom Interface Builder palettes (and inspectors).