Learning Cocoa With Objective-C

by Davidson, James D.

• ISBN13: 9780596003012
• ISBN10: 0596003013
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2002-10-01
• Publisher: Oreilly & Associates Inc

Summary

Learning Cocoa is written specifically for C and C++ developers who are interested in learning to program for Mac OS X using Cocoa's objective-C Framework. Significantly revised and expanded from the original edition, the book introduces readers to Apple's development tools and walks them through a series of example programs as a means of learning Cocoa's Objective- C API. This new edition includes important contributions from insiders at Apple Computer, and adds deep coverage of the text handling capabilities of Cocoa, a brief Class reference for both Foundation and AppKit, plus a listing of further resources for developers.

Author Biography

This book was contributed to by the technical writers, engineers, support specialists, and other professionals at Apple Computer, Inc., who are committed to making Mac OS X a superior platform for innovation, productivity, and enjoyment. These professionals have diligently collected, compiled, and edited the information in this books to ensure that it is a useful resource for Mac OS X developers.

James Duncan Davidson is a freelance author, software developer, and consultant focusing on Mac OS X, Java, XML, and open source technologies. He is the author of Learning Cocoa with Objective-C (published by O'Reilly & Associates) and is a frequent contributor to the O'Reilly Network online website as well as publisher of his own website, x180 (http://www.x180.net), where he keeps his popular weblog. Duncan was the creator of Apache Tomcat and Apache Ant and was instrumental in their donation to the Apache Software Foundation by Sun Microsystems . While working at Sun, he authored two versions of the Java Servlet API specification as well as the Java API for XML Processing. Duncan regularly presents at conferences all over the world on topics ranging from open source and collaborative development to programming Java more effectively. He didn't graduate with a Computer Science degree, but sees that as a benefit in helping explain how software works. His educational background is in Architecture (the bricks and mortar kind), the essence of which he applies to every software problem that finds him. He currently resides in San Francisco, California.

Table of Contents

Preface	xi
Part I. Cocaoa Overview and Foundation
Introduction to Cocoa	3	(17)
The Mac OS X Programming Environment	3	(2)
Cocoa Defined	5	(4)
The Cocoa Frameworks	9	(1)
Languages	9	(2)
The Foundation Framework	11	(5)
The Application Kit Framework	16	(4)
Cocoa Development Tools	20	(23)
Installing the Developer Tools	20	(15)
Interface Builder	35	(5)
Other Tools	40	(2)
Exercises	42	(1)
Object-Oriented Programming with Objective-C	43	(28)
Introducing Objects	43	(5)
Creating and Using Objects	48	(3)
Methods and Messages	51	(3)
Objective-C-Defined Types	54	(1)
Creating New Classes	54	(7)
Overriding Methods	61	(8)
Other Concepts	69	(1)
Exercises	70	(1)
The Cocoa Foundation Kit	71	(30)
Strings	71	(11)
Collections	82	(12)
Memory Management	94	(4)
Exercises	98	(3)
Part II. Single-Window Applications
Graphical User Interfaces	101	(25)
Graphical User Interfaces in Cocoa	101	(3)
Designing Applications Using MVC	104	(2)
Create the Currency Converter Project	106	(1)
Create the Interface	107	(11)
Define the Classes	118	(1)
Connect the Model, Controller, and View	119	(3)
Implement the Classes	122	(2)
Build and Run	124	(1)
Exercises	125	(1)
Windows, Views, and Controls	126	(25)
Windows and the Window System	126	(4)
The View Hierarchy	130	(2)
Coordinate Systems	132	(2)
Controls, Cells, and Formatters	134	(9)
Targets and Actions	143	(7)
Exercises	150	(1)
Custom Views	151	(15)
Custom View Creation Steps	151	(1)
Create a Custom View	152	(4)
Drawing into a View: Behind the Scenes	156	(2)
Draw Strings into a View	158	(3)
Draw Paths into a View	161	(4)
Exercises	165	(1)
Event Handling	166	(27)
Events	166	(4)
Dot View Application	170	(12)
Event Delegation	182	(6)
Notifications	188	(3)
Exercises	191	(2)
Models and Data Functionality	193	(28)
Protocols	193	(2)
Key-Value Coding	195	(4)
Table Views	199	(1)
Table View Example	200	(10)
Saving Data: Coding and Archiving	210	(5)
Using Formatters	215	(1)
Sorting Tables	215	(3)
Exercises	218	(3)
Part III. Document-Based Applications
Multiple Document Architecture	221	(16)
Architectural Overview	222	(5)
Building a Document-Based Application	227	(9)
Exercises	236	(1)
Rich-Text Handling	237	(22)
Cocoa's Text System	237	(2)
Creating a Rich-Text Editor	239	(4)
Enabling the Font Menu	243	(1)
Text Storage and Attributed Text	244	(6)
Enabling the Text Menu	250	(1)
Handling Embedded Images	251	(4)
Exercises	255	(4)
Part IV. Miscellaneous Topics
Printing	259	(8)
Printing a View	259	(2)
Using Print Operations	261	(4)
Setting Margins	265	(1)
Exercises	266	(1)
Bundles and Resources	267	(12)
Peeking Inside Bundles	268	(2)
Using Bundles	270	(8)
Exercises	278	(1)
Localization	279	(10)
Mac OS X Language Preferences	279	(1)
Localizing Resources	280	(4)
Localizing Nib Files	284	(3)
Localizing Strings	287	(1)
Exercises	288	(1)
Defaults and Preferences	289	(8)
How Preferences Work	289	(1)
Using Defaults	290	(3)
Command-Line Preferences Access	293	(2)
Using Unique Application Identifiers	295	(1)
Exercises	295	(2)
Accessory Windows	297	(11)
The Role of File's Owner	297	(1)
Making an Info Window	298	(9)
Exercises	307	(1)
Finishing Touches	308	(39)
Tidying Up the User Interface	308	(2)
Providing an Icon	310	(3)
Providing Help	313	(3)
Customizing the About Box	316	(2)
Tweaking Compiler Settings	318	(1)
Packaging for Distribution	319	(1)
Closure	320	(1)
Exercises	321	(4)
Part V. Appendixes
A. Exercise Solutions	325	(13)
B. Additional Resources	338	(5)
C. Using the Foundation and Application Kit API References	343	(4)
Index	347