Learn Objective-C on the Mac - Mark Dalrymple [5]
Download the Source Code
In addition to downloading and installing Xcode, you’ll also need to download the sample projects that go with this book. You can find the code archive on the Apress Learn Cocoa on the Mac web page: http://www.apress.com/book/view/1430218592
You’ll find the source code archive in the Book Resources area on the left side of the page. Click the link, download the .zip archive, and move the Learn Cocoa Projects folder to a location in your Documents folder.
You’ll also find a link on the Apress Learn Cocoa on the Mac web page, in the Book Resources area, that lets you submit and view errata. If you find an error in the book (much as we’d like to think otherwise, all books have errors) please do take a moment to report the error. This will help us make the book better in subsequent printings. We thank you in advance.
Getting Help
As you make your way through the book, you’ll no doubt have some questions you’d like to get answered. Fortunately, there is a great community you can join, designed specifically for this series of books. Check out: http://learncocoa.org
Register with the site, find the appropriate book forum and post your questions. You are sure to find other folks who can answer your questions and, who knows, after a while you might find yourself answering questions for other folks as well.
What You Need to Know Before You Begin
This book assumes that you already have some basic programming knowledge. You should be comfortable with the concepts of loops, variables, pointers, and linked lists. This book also assumes that you understand the fundamentals of object-oriented programming and are familiar with the Objective-C programming language. Starting with Mac OS X Leopard 10.5, a new version of the language was introduced, called Objective-C 2.0. Don’t worry if you’re not familiar with the more recent additions to the Objective-C language. We’ll be sure to highlight any of the 2.0 language features we take advantage of and explain how they work and why we are using them.
NEW TO OBJECTIVE-C?
Here are a few resources that will help you get started.
New to programming? Check out Learn C on the Mac, 4th Edition, written by our own Dave Mark: http://www.apress.com/book/view/1430218096
New to Objective-C? Check out Learn Objective-C on the Mac, an excellent and approachable introduction to Objective-C 2.0 by Mac programming experts Mark Dalrymple and Scott Knaster: http://www.apress.com/book/view/9781430218159
Next, navigate over to the Apple iPhone Development Center and download a copy of The Objective-C 2.0 Programming Language, a very detailed and extensive description of the language and a great reference guide: http://developer.apple.com/Mac/library/documentation/Cocoa/Conceptual/ObjectiveC
Are You Ready?
The Mac is a great computing platform, and Cocoa is the best tool to use to build your Mac applications. If you are coming to the Mac from another platform, you may find it a bit disorienting working with Cocoa and Objective-C. Even though you might find it hard to get your bearings at first, as you make your way through this book, we’re confident that you’ll soon start to wrap your head around the “Cocoa way” of doing things. With a little perseverance, it will all start to make sense.
One thing you should keep in mind is that the exercises in this book are not simply a checklist that, when completed, grant you Cocoa developer guru status. Every step of the way, make sure you understand what you just did before moving on to the next project. Don’t be afraid to make changes to the code. Experiment and observe the results. That’s one of the best ways to wrap your head around the complexities of coding in an environment like Cocoa.