Excerpt
If you are developing applications for the Mac, or are hoping to do so, this book is just the resource you need. Does it cover everything you will ever want to know about programming for the Mac? Of course it doesnt. But it does cover probably 80% of what you need to know. You can find the remaining 20%, the 20% that is unique to you, in Apples online documentation.
This book, then, acts as a foundation. It covers the Objective-C language and the major design patterns of Cocoa. It will also get you started with the three most commonly used developer tools: Xcode, Interface Builder, and Instruments. After reading this book, you will be able to understand and utilize Apples online documentation.
There is a lot of code in this book. Through that code, I will introduce you to the idioms of the Cocoa community. My hope is that by presenting exemplary code, I can help you to become not just a Cocoa developer, but a stylish Cocoa developer.
This third edition includes technologies introduced in Mac OS X 10.4 and 10.5. These include Xcode 3, Objective-C 2, Core Data, the garbage collector, and CoreAnimation.
This book is written for programmers who already know some C programming and something about objects. You are not expected to have any experience with Mac programming. Its a hands-on book and assumes that you have access to Mac OS X and the developer tools. The developer tools are free. If you bought a shrink-wrapped copy of Mac OS X, the installer for the developer tools was on the DVD. The tools can also be downloaded from the Apple Developer Connection Web site (http://developer.apple.com/).
I have tried to make this book as useful for you as possible, if not indispensable. That said, Id love to hear from you if you have any suggestions for improving it.
Aaron Hillegass
[email protected]