Objective-C Programming: The Big Nerd Ranch Guide (Big Nerd Ranch Guides)

Want to write applications for iOS or the Mac? This introduction to programming and the Objective-C language is the first step on your journey from someone who uses apps to someone who writes them.

Based on Big Nerd Ranch's legendary Objective-C Bootcamp,¿this book covers C, Objective-C, and the common programming idioms that enable developers to make the most of Apple technologies.

This is the only introductory-level book written by Aaron Hillegass, one of the most experienced and authoritative voices in the iOS and Cocoa community.

Compatible with Xcode 4.2, iOS 5, and Mac OS X 10.7 (Lion), this guide features short chapters and engaging style to keep you motivated and moving forward. At the same time, Aaron’s determination that you understand what you’re doing—or at least why you’re doing it—encourages you to think critically as a programmer.

Mark Fenoglio has over 12 years of experience in database and web-based application development in technologies ranging from SQL Server and PostgreSQL to PHP, Ajax, Cocoa, Objective-C, and ASP. He was hired by The Big Nerd Ranch in September 2005 after asking too many annoying questions at the Cocoa Bootcamp that March. To support his PHP development efforts, he has crafted his own PHP application framework. Aaron Hillegass, CEO of Big Nerd Ranch, has more than 18 years of experience as a software engineer and trainer. He is author of Cocoa Programming for Mac OS X, the definitive Cocoa programming guide.

1. Introduction to Cocoa

  -Exercise 1. Variables and Primitives

  -Exercise 2. Decisions

  -Exercise 3. Repetition

  -Exercise 4. Functions

  -Exercise 5. Arrays

  -Exercise 6. Typedefs

2. Extensions to C

3. Introduction to Object-Oriented Programming

4. Inheritance

5. Composition

6. Organizing Source Files

7. Foundation Toolkit

8. Memory Management

9. Object Initialization

10. Categories

11. Protocols