Learn Cocoa on the Mac

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xxiii

   PDF

2. Must Love Cocoa

   • Jack Nutting, Peter Clark

   Pages 1-4

3. Hello, World

   • Jack Nutting, Peter Clark

   Pages 5-25

4. Lights, Camera … Actions! (and Outlets, too)

   • Jack Nutting, Peter Clark

   Pages 27-45

5. The First Call to Action

   • Jack Nutting, Peter Clark

   Pages 47-65

6. GUI Components

   • Jack Nutting, Peter Clark

   Pages 67-101

7. Using Table Views

   • Jack Nutting, Peter Clark

   Pages 103-124

8. Cocoa Bindings

   • Jack Nutting, Peter Clark

   Pages 125-151

9. Core Data Basics

   • Jack Nutting, Peter Clark

   Pages 153-188

10. Core Data Relationships

    • Jack Nutting, Peter Clark

    Pages 189-208

11. Search and Retrieve Core Data with Criteria

    • Jack Nutting, Peter Clark

    Pages 209-223

12. Windows and Menus and Sheets

    • Jack Nutting, Peter Clark

    Pages 225-252

13. Document-Based Applications

    • Jack Nutting, Peter Clark

    Pages 253-269

14. Exceptions, Signals, Errors, and Debugging

    • Jack Nutting, Peter Clark

    Pages 271-293

15. Drawing in Cocoa

    • Jack Nutting, Peter Clark

    Pages 295-314

16. Advanced Drawing Topics

    • Jack Nutting, Peter Clark

    Pages 315-340

17. Working with Files

    • Jack Nutting, Peter Clark

    Pages 341-356

18. Concurrency

    • Jack Nutting, Peter Clark

    Pages 357-374

19. Future Paths

    • Jack Nutting, Peter Clark

    Pages 375-387

20. Back Matter

    Pages 389-398

    PDF

The Cocoa frameworks are some of the most powerful for creating native OS X apps available today. However, for a first-time Mac developer, just firing up Xcode 4 and starting to browse the documentation can be a daunting and frustrating task. The Objective-C class reference documentation alone would fill thousands of printed pages, not to mention all the other tutorials and guides included with Xcode. Where do you start? Which classes are you going to need to use? How do you use Xcode and the rest of the tools?

Learn Cocoa for the Mac, Second Edition, completely revised for OS X Mountain Lion and XCode 4, answers these questions and more, helping you find your way through the jungle of classes, tools, and new concepts so that you can get started on the next great OS X app today. Jack Nutting and Peter Clark are your guides through this forest; Jack and Peter have lived here for years, and will show you which boulder to push, which vine to chop, and which stream to float across in order to make it through. You will learn not only how to use the components of this rich framework, but also which of them fit together, and why.

Jack Nutting’s approach, combining pragmatic problem-solving with a deep respect for the underlying design philosophies contained within Cocoa, stems from years of experience using these frameworks. Peter Clark will show you which parts of your app require you to jump in and code a solution, and which parts are best served by letting Cocoa take you where it wants you to go. The path over what looks like a mountain of components and APIs has never been more thoroughly prepared for your travels. In each chapter, you’ll build an app that explores one or more areas of the Cocoa landscape. With Jack’s and Peter's guidance, the steep learning curve becomes a pleasurable adventure. There is still much work for the uninitiated, but by the time you’re done, you will be well on your way to becoming a Cocoa master.

Jack Nutting has been using Cocoa since the olden days, long before it was even called Cocoa. He has used Cocoa and its predecessors to develop software for a wide range of industries and applications, including gaming, graphic design, online digital distribution, telecommunications, finance, publishing, and travel. When he is not working on Mac or iOS projects, he is developing web applications with Ruby on Rails. Nutting is a passionate proponent of Objective-C and the Cocoa frameworks. At the drop of a hat, he will speak at length on the virtues of dynamic dispatch and run time class manipulations to anyone who will listen (and even to some who won t). Nutting is the primary author of Learn Cocoa on the Mac (Apress, 2010) and Beginning iPad Development for iPhone Developers (Apress, 2010). He blogs from time to time at Nuthole.com.