Cocoa Programming for Mac OS X

Amazon.com

There's a reason that a large slice of the open-source movement has defected from running Linux on its laptops to running Mac OS X. The reason is the Unix core that underlies Mac OS X, and the development tools that run on that core. Cocoa makes it easy to create very slick Mac OS X interfaces for software (as well as to create applications in a hurry), and this new edition of Cocoa Programming for Mac OS X does an excellent job of teaching its readers how to put a Cocoa face on top of code (Objective-C code almost exclusively). If you know something about C and/or C++ programming and want to apply your skills to the Mac, this is precisely the book you want.

Author Aaron Hillegass teaches a Cocoa class, and his book reads like a demonstration-driven lecture in a computer lab. That is, the book takes a heavily example-centric approach to its subject, beginning with simple announcement windows and proceeding to cover the more advanced controls and object-oriented features of Cocoa and Objective-C. Throughout, he hops back and forth between descriptions of the goal to be accomplished, listings of the code that does the job, and instructions on how to use the Mac OS X development tools to speed the development process. --David Wall

Topics covered: How to write software for Mac OS X in Objective-C and, especially, with Cocoa. The new edition shows how to use NSUndoManager, add AppleScript capability to an application, do graphics work with OpenGL, and use Cocoa under Linux using GNUstep. As well, all the basic controls and design patterns are covered. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Book Info

The most comprehensive guide to developing Cocoa available. For the developer new to Cocoa, it provides an excellent introduction that will lead to success with the world's best object-oriented development tools. Softcover. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Back Cover

The practical guide everyone says you need!

"The most comprehensive guide to developing Cocoa available. For the developer new to Cocoa, it provides an excellent introduction that will lead to success with the world's best object-oriented development tools. For those familiar with Cocoa, the excellent organization and presentation make the book invaluable as a reference tool."

--Bill Bumgarner, Cofounder, CodeFab

With the arrival of Mac OS X, Apple now has a modern operating system that calls for advanced programming capability. To take full advantage of the exciting and innovative features of OS X, Apple recommends a development framework known as Cocoa. Cocoa is a powerful collection of object-oriented tools and libraries that makes developing applications a much faster process. Mastery of Cocoa is absolutely essential for anyone doing serious development work for the Macintosh.

"Mac OS X and Cocoa are going to revolutionize the world of software development in the coming years... Aaron Hillegass's book is without a doubt the best aid to learning this technology."

--Erik J. Barzeski, Editor, CocoaDevCentral.com

New technologies often have a steep learning curve and do not always come with complete instructions on how to get started or how to overcome common obstacles. Enter Cocoa(R) Programming for Mac(R) OS X, which shows you precisely how to put Cocoa to work.

"Reading this book is the absolute best way to learn how to harness the power of this amazing technology."

--Andrew Stone, President, Stone Design, www.stone.com

Guiding programmers through the key features of Cocoa, this book emphasizes design patterns that enable you to predict the behavior of classes you have never used before. Using a tutorial format, it takes you, step-by-step, through five applications and an InterfaceBuilder palette. Each project introduces several new ideas, and as each concept or technique is discussed, the author, drawing on his own extensive experience, shows you the advantages of working with Cocoa in object-oriented software development environments.

0201726831B11262001 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

With the arrival of Mac OS X, Apple recommends that all new applications be written using Cocoa. Cocoa is a powerful collection of tools and libraries that will make writing new programs a much faster process.

The increased speed does not, however, come for free. The new technologies have a steep learning curve, and Apple's documentation leaves much to be desired. This book will guide you through the ideas and techniques that separate the great Cocoa programmers from the wanna-bes.

This book is written for programmers who already know C++ or Java and are curious about Cocoa. The reader is not expected to have any experience with Mac programming. It is a hands-on book and assumes that the reader has access to Mac OS X and the developer tools.