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Beginning Xcode (Programmer to Programmer)

Posted by Kathy Geissel on Monday 31 May 2010
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You this will be no surprise once you read the remainder of this review, but I'm going to just say it up front: this book is great. Being a seasoned Xcode user, I can tell you that having this book back when I was first switching over to Xcode would have hugely sped the transition.

The 'Programmer to Programmer' model that Wrox is known for is a an excellent style of reference. There are many benefits of targeting an existing programmer. When writing to an existing programmer there are terms and phrases that the writer can use that programmers will immediately understand, while a newcomer might not. These words and phrases allow the author to communicate to the reader in a rapid, concise and clear way.

The author introduces Xcode by devoting a series of chapters to different sections of the Xcode experience. Each chapter does an excellent job of introducing those little features that you might otherwise miss for a year, and then wonder how you got anything done without it. The chapters are filled with examples and pictures which I believe even a non programmer using the book as their first introduction could follow. I do believe though that a programming book would be a better first book and this book a second. The reason is that even though this book does a great job with simple explanations there are references made to terms which a new programmer wouldn't understand and also a new programmer wouldn't be able to relate to the features without a context. The new programmer says, "That's a great feature, but why and where do I use it?" The existing programmer coming to Xcode says, "Thats a great feature! Kind of like the ---- feature in my old ------ IDE but much more useful for ------."

The author even rounds off the survey of Xcode by addressing the powerful debugging and profiling tools that are included in the Xcode package. One section that I was extremely pleased to find was a section on remote debugging. Remote debugging is a method where one computer is used to run an application and another computer is used to monitor and debug. Remote debugging is a useful feature in general, but I find it indispensable when working on games or other full screen applications that take control of the entire screen. I was pleased to find this section included since I had a difficult time getting it to work the first time I tried to set it up. Again, having this excellent book at my side would have saved me enough time to justify purchasing the book.

I was also pleased with the author's coverage of Shark -?the performance profiling app included in Xcode. I have had wonderful results with using Shark to determine areas of my code that are malfunctioning or just plain poorly written with respect to time efficiency. The book does a wonderful job of explaining the function of usage of all the menu's windows in the application. Another feature that I thought was very useful that fits will with the "Programmer to Programmer" method is the "How it Works" sections that give a good description of why you are doing something, what Xcode is really doing as a result and how it does it.

I think that this book is incredible. I only have one recommendation to someone who's considering purchasing it. Buy it, but also purchase a book that covers the cutting edge Apple made technologies, like Carbon, Cocoa, Foundation, Core Foundation, Core Image, Core Data, Quartz, ect. The reason for this recommendation is that Xcode is built for and integrates well with these technologies and I believe that it would be beneficial to have a book to give an in depth introduction to these technologies, while this book gives an in-depth introduction to the IDE used to develop them. I have not had a chance to examine the book, but it's quite possible that Michael Trent and Drew McCormack's "Mac OS X Programming" also by Wrox is that perfect companion book.

Beginning Xcode (Programmer to Programmer) Features



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Beginning Xcode (Programmer to Programmer) Overviews

Xcode is a powerful suite of free development tools from Apple Computer that will allow you to create Macintosh applications, plug-ins, web components, applets, and more using languages such as C, C++, Objective-C, Java, and AppleScript.

What you will learn from this book:

  • Control window layout to match your development style.
  • Master source file organization.
  • How to access a source control management system, right in the Xcode interface.
  • How to quickly navigate to files, symbols, bookmarks, declarations, and definitions within your project; find reference documents and instantly access API documentation.
  • Harness Xcode’s smart editing features, such as auto-indent, code completion, and text macros.
  • Discover how easy it is to browse class information and create dynamic class diagrams.
  • Get started using Xcode’s Interface Builder and Data Modeling design tools.
  • Learn to customize target build phases, add your own compilers, write your own build processes, and integrate Xcode with other build tools like Ant and gnumake.
  • How to create and integrate unit tests into your projects.
  • Harness the full power of the debugger with smart breakpoints and custom data formatters. Learn how to change variables, and even fix bugs, while your program is still running.
  • Start using Xcode’s suite of performance analysis tools to find problems and accelerate your code.
  • Customize scores of hidden, and often undocumented, Xcode features. Learn how to remap keyboard commands, create your own project and file templates, and even add your own commands to the Xcode menus.

Instead of "cookbook" projects specific to a particular language, developer James Bucanek details each Xcode feature with step-by-step instructions that can be applied directly to your projects. Example projects that demonstrate a single concept make it easy to explore each feature.


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Customer Review


Book comparison - John Love - Marquette, Michigan USA
I'm looking for a comparision between this book, "Beginning Xcode" (which I already have) and Fritz Anderson's "Xcode 3 Unleashed" (which I don't have).

Maybe it's just me, but I have found "Beginning Xcode" to be difficult to follow and I am searching for another Xcode book that's equal in depth, but significantly easier to follow.

=====
For example, my challenge today is I have an external framework which is incorporated under "Linked Frameworks" of my main app Project.

Currently, if I re-build this external framework, I then have to re-build my main app.

What I wish to do is every time I re-build my main app, I want the external framework to be re-built automatically .. in short, 1 step, rather than 2.

I have been told that my answer is in "Unleashed"; however, I just can't find it in "Beginning".
=====

My current challenge notwithstanding, I do see an advantage in that "Unleashed" is based on Xcode 3, versus "Beginning" dating back to Xcode 2 (2006). I also see raves for both books .. but I still welcome any additions *only* because I already have "Beginning" and "Unleashed" may not have sufficient added merit to warrant the $$$.

Thanks very, very much in advance.


IT SUCKS BIG TIME -- DO NOT BUY!!! - J. Tran - Colorado
This is simply the worst of all xcode books. it should be called xcode document! instead of Beginning... It has no sample or practice page at all. NONE! ZILT! ZERO! if you want to learn xcode from examples this is NOT for you but if you just wanted to read what xcode means! then by all mean waste your money on it. I wish I could call the author and ask him for a full refund now! After reading the above 2 reviews, I decided to buy. Well I don't know what they were smoking when wrote the review. I would give it a negative 2 stars if I could. STOP! DO NOT BUY!



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iPhone for Programmers: An App-Driven Approach (Deitel Developer Series)

Posted by Kathy Geissel on Sunday 30 May 2010
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As a former programmer who hadn't done any significant programming in several years -- and that largely in COBOL, to boot -- when I decided to start looking into creating apps for the iPhone/iPod, this was the first book I bought. That turned out to be a mostly-good, slightly-bad decision.

First, the bad:
The "bad" in this case has not so much to do with the book as with the way I used it. This book was my first-ever introduction to Objective-C, Xcode, Interface Builder, and iPhone programming in general. My only exposure to that entire world was in using an iPod Touch my wife got me for my birthday. You can use this book that way, but if, like me, you are a complete novice in the Apple world, you might want to consider taking advantage of some of the free education you can find on the web before you dive into "iPhone for Programmers." At least get a sense of how the SDK components fit together and what is meant by outlets, connections, and so on. It might not be a bad idea to order the book from Amazon and start learning from the web while you're waiting for it to arrive.

Now, the good:
Most programming books illustrate the concepts with which they are concerned by using trivial, totally useless examples and out-of-context code snippets. That may work sometimes with very basic stuff, but it doesn't do a lot for trying to put everything into context. This book is not like that.
Here you get actual usable -- and useful -- apps, along with step-by-step instructions as to how to put them together and get them to run. You get to see how to add components in Interface Builder and how to add them programmatically. You get explanations of developer conventions. You get downloadable code you can check against the code you type in when you have problems. In short, you get code with a point.

Organization of the book is fairly straightforward. It begins with explanations of how to register as a developer and acquire the SDK. You then get a very handy walkthrough of how the App Store and submissions to it work. Then you switch over to coding. That too is presented in a logical progression; you start with fairly simple but complete apps and work your way up to more complex ones. The authors do a decent job of tying the "what" of how you code with the "why" of how it all fits together.

If you thrive on examples as opposed to simply exposition, this is the book for you.

iPhone for Programmers: An App-Driven Approach (Deitel Developer Series) Features

  • ISBN13: 9780137058426
  • Condition: NEW
  • Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.



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iPhone for Programmers: An App-Driven Approach (Deitel Developer Series) Overviews

The professional programmer’s DEITEL® guide to iPhone app development using iPhone SDK 3.x, Xcode®, Objective-C® and Cocoa®

More than 1.5 billion iPhone apps were downloaded from Apple’s App Store in just one year! This book gives you everything you’ll need to start developing great iPhone apps quickly and–once you’ve joined Apple’s fee-based iPhone Developer Program–to get them up and running on the App Store. The book uses an app-driven approach–each new technology is discussed in the context of 14 fully tested iPhone apps (7700 lines of code), complete with syntax shading, code walkthroughs and sample outputs. Apps you’ll develop include:

  • Welcome
  • Spot-On Game
  • Route Tracker
  • Tip Calculator
  • Cannon Game
  • Slideshow
  • Favorite Twitter® Searches
  • Painter
  • Voice Recorder
  • Flag Quiz Game
  • Address Book
  • Twitter® Discount Airfares
By Chapter 3 you’ll be building apps using Xcode®, Cocoa® and Interface Builder. You’ll learn object-oriented programming in Objective-C® and build apps using the latest iPhone 3.x technologies including the Game Kit, iPod library access and more.

iPhone for Programmers include practical, example-rich coverage of:


• iPhone SDK 3.x, XCode®, Interface Builder

• Object-Oriented Programming in Objective-C® and Cocoa®

• Collections, GUI, Event Handling

• Controllers, Application Templates

• UIView, Multi-Touch™

• Core Audio, Core Animation, NSTimer

• Tables, UINavigationController

• Map Kit, Core Location, GPS, Compass

• Photos, iPod Library Access

• Serialization


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Customer Review



Complete examples, no explanations - Gary Bisaga - Leesburg, VA USA
I am not sure what I am missing that all these other reviewers are getting, but I found this book extremely frustrating. Though I looked at the book in the bookstore and was turned off by it, on the strength of the reviewers I went and bought it anyway. I sorely regret doing so. By the way, I am not a newbie programmer: I've been a strong developer for 30 years, most recently writing J2EE enterprise applications since 1996.

On the plus side, there are (as other reviewers have said) complete examples of applications, all of which you can download from the book publisher's web site. You can - after spending hours poring through the code examples - find many of the details of how to hook up the pieces into real applications.

However, for me, this advantage was completely wiped out by providing very little explanation of what is going on. Beyond the first chapter or two, explanation of what's going on in the Interface Builder is non-existent. When the application (which there was also no explanation for) doesn't work, you're left trying to figure out what you didn't hook up in the Interface Builder (which wasn't explained). Also, there is no categorized explanation of what you're dealing with - just code examples. If an interface method is not in a particular code example, you have no idea that the method exists. Just page after page of code, with textual explanations that are very little better than the code comments themselves. I could never imagine using this book beyond the initial learning curve - there's nothing you could call a "reference." Finally, the page after page of method listings are not in any way connected together: you have to keep flipping back and forth to figure out what class a given method belongs to. And at least one sample app (the Address Book) does not build for me.

I think the Interface Builder problems point out the overall weakness of this book. Code examples might be ok for a purely code-based system, but developing iPhone apps is not - at least, the way it's presented in the book - a code-driven approach: it all starts in the Interface Builder. More coverage of that tool might have pulled the pieces together.

All in all, good context of its examples, but did not at all work for me to learn iPhone programming. I've been much more impressed with iPhone App Development: The Missing Manual.



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Professional Xcode 3 (Wrox Programmer to Programmer)

Posted by Kathy Geissel on Saturday 29 May 2010
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Professional Xcode 3 (Wrox Programmer to Programmer) Features

  • ISBN13: 9780470525227
  • Condition: NEW
  • Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.




Price : $49.99
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Professional Xcode 3 (Wrox Programmer to Programmer) Overviews

A solid guide that responds to the active interest in Apple's Xcode tools

Apple's Xcode tools are a collection of applications and frameworks that are used to develop, test, and optimize applications primarily written for Mac OS X or the iPhone. The steady increase in sales of Apple computers has triggered a strong interest in gaining a thorough understanding of Xcode and its tools and what they have to offer. This book provides you with an inside look at the array of Xcode tools from top to bottom.

You'll go beyond the basics and dive into such in-depth topics as installing the latest version of Xcode tools, customizing the look and behavior of Xcode, creating and managing projects, using the built-in class browser to model complex applications and structures, and more.

  • Offers you a solid foundation for getting the most out of Apple's Xcode tools, a collection of applications and frameworks used to develop, test, and optimize applications written for Mac OS X or the iPhone
  • Includes clear, comprehensive lessons for installing the latest version of Xcode tools, customizing the look of Xcode, creating and managing projects, testing your interfaces, and building and debugging your projects
  • Explains analyzing performance, optimizing your application, working with shared sources, creating your own custom file templates, and customizing the interface builder

With this book, you'll be able to take full advantage of the range of tools included with Xcode.

Note: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of eBook file.


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Cocoa Design Patterns

Posted by Kathy Geissel on Friday 28 May 2010
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Cocoa Design Patterns Overviews

“Next time some kid shows up at my door asking for a code review, this is the book that I am going to throw at him.”

 

–Aaron Hillegass, founder of Big Nerd Ranch, Inc., and author of Cocoa Programming for Mac OS X

 

Unlocking the Secrets of Cocoa and Its Object-Oriented Frameworks

 

Mac and iPhone developers are often overwhelmed by the breadth and sophistication of the Cocoa frameworks. Although Cocoa is indeed huge, once you understand the object-oriented patterns it uses, you’ll find it remarkably elegant, consistent, and simple.

 

Cocoa Design Patterns begins with the mother of all patterns: the Model-View-Controller (MVC) pattern, which is central to all Mac and iPhone development. Encouraged, and in some cases enforced by Apple’s tools, it’s important to have a firm grasp of MVC right from the start.

 

The book’s midsection is a catalog of the essential design patterns you’ll encounter in Cocoa, including

  • Fundamental patterns, such as enumerators, accessors, and two-stage creation
  • Patterns that empower, such as singleton, delegates, and the responder chain
  • Patterns that hide complexity, including bundles, class clusters, proxies and forwarding, and controllers

And that’s not all of them! Cocoa Design Patterns painstakingly isolates 28 design patterns, accompanied with real-world examples and sample code you can apply to your applications today. The book wraps up with coverage of Core Data models, AppKit views, and a chapter on Bindings and Controllers.

 

Cocoa Design Patterns clearly defines the problems each pattern solves with a foundation in Objective-C and the Cocoa frameworks and can be used by any Mac or iPhone developer.


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A+ Certification Study Guide, 3rd Edition

Posted by Kathy Geissel on Thursday 27 May 2010
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A+ Certification Study Guide, 3rd Edition Overviews

The Only Classroom-Based Training and Self-Assessment System!

The third edition of the A+ Certification Study Guide offers 100% coverage of all exam objectives and more than 220 challenging practice questions. On the CD, you'll get CertTrainer interactive tutorials and lab simulations, new CertCam animations which provide expert visual instruction, and new ExamSim adaptive practice exam software.


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Xcode 3 Unleashed

Posted by Kathy Geissel on Monday 24 May 2010
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I needed a clear description of how to get xcode working with SVN. The chapter on SVN stepped me through it. Not every instruction was precisely correct, but it was close enough for me to get it working pretty easily.

Xcode 3 Unleashed Features

  • ISBN13: 9780321552631
  • Condition: NEW
  • Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.



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Xcode 3 Unleashed Overviews

Apple’s new Xcode 3 is the most powerful Mac development suite ever created. In Xcode 3 Unleashed, renowned Mac developer Fritz Anderson has written the definitive guide to making the most of Xcode 3 to build any Macintosh or iPhone application.

 

Anderson leads you through a simple project that covers the entire Xcode 3.x development lifecycle. You’ll walk through building and debugging command-line tools, creating Mac OS X user interfaces, modeling data, localizing languages, compiling applications, and much more. Along the way, he introduces each of Apple’s remarkable development tools from the latest version of Interface Builder to Instruments—a powerful new tool for analyzing and optimizing your code.

 

Anderson shows how to manage your source code in any environment, whether you’re working solo or participating in a worldwide team. He thoroughly illuminates Xcode 3’s build system and shows how to make the most of Apple’s performance tools, led by the deep and powerful Shark statistical profiler.

 

Systematically updated for Xcode 3.x, this is a comprehensive revision of Anderson’s previous bestseller, Step into Xcode. Its breadth, depth, and practical focus will make it indispensable to every Mac developer: experienced programmers upgrading from Xcode 2 or migrating from CodeWarrior; UNIX/Linux programmers moving to Mac OS X; even new programmers.

 

Detailed information on how to…

  • Succeed with every stage of the Mac OS X application lifecycle
  • Make the most of Xcode 3’s core tools for editing, debugging, testing, and compilation
  • Get the most from new improvements to Interface Builder
  • Create robust applications using the Model-View-Controller paradigm
  • Utilize dynamic libraries and frameworks
  • Build Universal Binaries to run on both Intel and PowerPC Macs
  • Add Spotlight searchability to data files
  • Profile memory, I/O, graphics, and threading in real-time
  • Accelerate both your applications and your development processes
  • Leverage new improvements to the Xcode documentation system
  • Avoid header ambiguity, disappearing links, and other Xcode development pitfalls

Introduction 1

 

Part I: The Life Cycle of a Mac OS X Application

Chapter 1: Kicking the Tires 11

Chapter 2: Simple Workflow and Passive Debugging 19

Chapter 3: Simple Active Debugging 29

Chapter 4: Compilation: The Basics 39

Chapter 5: Starting a Cocoa Application 47

Chapter 6: A Cocoa Application: Views 63

Chapter 7: A Cocoa Application: Controllers 75

Chapter 8: Version Control 93

Chapter 9: Property Lists 117

Chapter 10: Libraries and Dependent Targets 141

Chapter 11: File Packages and Bundles 153

Chapter 12: Unit Testing 167

Chapter 13: Creating a Custom View 181

Chapter 14: Dynamic Libraries and Frameworks 203

Chapter 15: Documentation in Xcode 221

Chapter 16: Using the Data Modeling Tools 243

Chapter 17: Cross-Development 267

Chapter 18: Spotlight (or, How to Build a Plug-in) 281

Chapter 19: Finishing Touches 301

 

Part II: Xcode Tasks

Chapter 20: Navigating an Xcode Project 331

Chapter 21: Xcode for make Veterans 353

Chapter 22: More About Debugging 373

Chapter 23: Xcode and Speed 395

Chapter 24: A Legacy Project 403

Chapter 25: Shark and the CHUD Tools 421

Chapter 26: Instruments 437

Chapter 27: Closing Snippets 461

 

Appendices

Appendix A: Some Build Variables 475

Appendix B: Project and Target Templates 485

Appendix C: Other Resources 501

 

Index 507

 


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Customer Review


Unacceptable quality - Aiden R. -
This book was not quality checked. Some code is missing, other code is wrong. The first big project does not work, as reported by another reviewer. Each section introduces the code, concepts, visual layout, and then instructions IN THAT ORDER. So the reader gets to jump back and forth repeatedly, making the quality issues much more frustrating.

It's sad that modern computing books have so many errors, but I think we're all used to it by now. This book is much worse than expected. It says SAMS but I think it's actually by Wrox. It's THAT bad.


Not for inexperienced developers - K Trimbach - Mid-Atlantic, USA
In his introduction, the author states that he designed the book to be useful for both experienced developers and those new to OS X. In this it must be said that he failed. It is not possible for an inexperienced OS X developer to follow the examples in this book without a lot of extra help. Some of the difficulty in this lies in the poor editing job that SAMS does: missing code, rearranged paragraphs, are just a couple of the editing issues. Several times I could not understand something and only after giving up and going on did I find it explained a paragraph or 2 further along. And there was NO troubleshooting help when things didn't work.
On the plus side, if you are familiar with OS X development, this is a good course in learning how to use all the different features that XCode 3 provides. So if you read the title and ignore the introductory exaggeration, this book can be a good tool for the right developer



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Learning Cocoa

Posted by Kathy Geissel on Sunday 23 May 2010
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This book is filled with little hints and tips and condensed with great material. It reminds me of the Kernighan and Richie's book for C. There's something to learn in each single paragraph.


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Learning Cocoa Overviews

Learn Cocoa™ application development not merely by reading, but by doing.Learning Cocoa begins with essential object-oriented programming concepts for those with no previous experience. It then introduces the Cocoa environment, development, tools, and some simple tutorials to help you understand the elements of Cocoa programming. For the rest of the book you create a series of increasingly complex example applications, with the code right in the text, so you simply type it in. Each tutorial lays the foundation for the more advanced techniques and concepts in the next one. You don't need an extensive programming background to work with this book, though some experience with C is helpful. If you already know an object-oriented programming language like Java or Smalltalk, you'll quickly feel at home with Objective-C, the language of this book. Written by Apple Computer insiders with access to engineers deeply involved in creating Mac OS® X, the book brings you information you can't get anywhere else--and a potential leg up in the Mac OS X application development market.


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Learning Cocoa Specifications

For Mac developers of all levels, Learning Cocoa provides an approachable guide to creating applications using Objective-C and the programming tools built into the new Mac OS X operating system. This efficiently packaged text will help virtually anyone master basic Mac application development.

Written by the experts at Apple Computer, Inc., this book sets an admirable standard of clarity for a basic programming tutorial. It begins with the fundamentals of object-oriented programming and Objective-C, the default language used for the Mac platform. Much of the book consists of hands-on exercises for creating a variety of simple Mac applications built on the Cocoa application framework (a rich set of classes that make it simple to create software). Learning Cocoa is not just a source of raw source code; rather, its salient feature is a series of step-by-step guides to working with Mac OS X tools like the Interface Builder and the built-in Apple IDE. From a simple "Hello, World" program and a currency converter to a "Travel Advisor" application (with information on three countries) and a "To Do" application, the book provides exercises that show you all the steps for creating software using a variety of tools.

The discussion of the user interface widgets that are available in the Mac OS X is excellent. You will learn how to design interfaces (which are saved to .nib files), and about the Model-View-Controller architecture recommended by Apple for designing reusable and flexible classes. Later in the book, the same classes are reused in a multiple-document version of the Travel Advisor program. Sample code for a custom widget that displays a calendar will show you how to build custom components.

Throughout this book, there's plenty of information on the nuts and bolts of building successful applications for the Mac OS X, especially memory and resource management. There're also plenty of diagrams and background on the architecture of using Cocoa application framework classes together to create software.

Even Mac beginners should benefit from this concise and well-presented text. It will have you writing simple applications fast, while giving you the latest on the classes and tools available on the newest Mac OS X. --Richard Dragan

Topics covered:

  • Overview of the Cocoa framework for Mac OS X
  • Object-oriented programming tutorial
  • Objective-C language quick start
  • Mac application development tools (including Project Builder, Interface Builder, and command-line tools)
  • A "Hello, World" application in Cocoa
  • Fundamental Cocoa classes (including collections and controls)
  • Memory and resource management in Cocoa
  • A "Currency Converter" application (including basic GUI programming with Cocoa components)
  • Event-handling basics
  • Using table views and data sources
  • Persistence and "flattening" Cocoa objects
  • A "Travel Advisor" sample application (including the Model-View-Controller architecture)
  • The Cocoa Multiple-Document Architecture
  • A "To Do" scheduling application (including a custom calendar component and timers)
  • Deployment in Cocoa (application settings, icons, and document types)
  • Compiler optimization in Cocoa
  • Reference for basic graphics in Cocoa


Customer Review



Bad Dog! - A. W. Crawford - WI, US
Dull, dull, dull. Quite literally this is a bunch of documentation you can download from Apple's site bound in a book. Yes, you do learn something, but the ratio of useful information to "type in the program" is awful and it's very dry reading.

Try the Aaron Hillegass book, or the new O'Reilly "Building Cocoa Applications" if you want a useful title on programming Cocoa. I see there's a second edition of this book due in September 2002 - hopefully this'll either pep up the existing content, or add something more (published paper documentation for the Cocoa frameworks is non-existent, probably because some of the on-line documentation I've looked at still has big gaping holes in it - and people wonder why Carbonized apps outnumber those that use Cocoa...)



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