Beginning iPhone Development: Exploring the iPhone SDK Review

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Beginning iPhone Development: Exploring the iPhone SDK ReviewI have some very mixed feelings about this book. Let's start on a positive note. First of all, it is VERY well written. the authors don't just walk you through the answers they present in their projects, but also awaken your curiosity and walk you through the trial and error process that leads to their answer. some people say that this makes the book longer than necessary. i say that this makes them great teachers, since they know how to engage their readers and get you to understand not just what their solutions do, but why they have been implemented a certain way. my only qualm about their writing is that they spend a bit too much time explaining what they have done in the past and what they are going to do in the future instead of focusing on the lesson at hand.
I also got a lot of mileage out of the projects / code included in the book, especially the chapters on setting up your first two applications and the chapter on persistence.
Unfortunately, though, after reading this book it turns out i was not ready to make iPhone applications. i still ended up reading exorbitant amounts of documentation from apple to troubleshoot my code and do some very ordinary things. i found that apple's iPhone Application Development guide and Cocoa Fundamentals Guide had much more relevant data for learning how to make an iPhone application and are a better way to get started. i especially found that i needed to understand a lot more about how how my development environment manages resources, how events are handled and passed around (especially with regard to when to use actions vs delegates vs notifications and details on how these mechanisms work), memory management details, how an iPhone application works under the hood, how to interface between different languages and libraries, etc, etc.
The material in this book is great, but in the end, i would say that apple's introductory guides are what you need to get started, and this is just a supplement to them.Beginning iPhone Development: Exploring the iPhone SDK OverviewBeginning iPhone Development: Exploring the iPhone SDK is the second beginning level book from Apress that is written for developers who want to program Apple's iPhone, this time focusing on how to take advantage of the powerful new SDK that Apple are due to release in the second half of 2008.So while our first book (Beginning iPhone Application Development 978-1-4302-1051-1) was a general introduction to application development on the iPhone with general introductions to the tools of the trade such as Objective-C, the platform APIs and developer tools, this second book focuses specifically on the new iPhone 2 SDK, which will give developers new ways to create experiences for iPhone users.Readers will discover how to create programs for the iPhone using Apple's official Software Development Kit (SDK). Readers will learn to design user interfaces using Apple's Interface Builder tool, starting with simple interfaces and progressing to complex, professional-quality multi-view applications. Using a practical step-by-step approach, the readers will see how to implement common iPhone application interfaces and learn about about the Model-View-Controller approach to programming used throughout the iPhone SDK. Readers will also see how to interact with the user through the iPhone's multitouch screen as well as learn how to save data using the iPhone's file system and the embedded SQLite database. The book is packed with information and code samples showing how to exploit all the goodness of the new SDK from the iPhone's built-in accelerometer to the built-in camera and everything in between.

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Beginning iOS 4 Application Development Review

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Beginning iOS 4 Application Development ReviewBeen using this book for a few days now, and i must say its a great resource. Been thru 5 chapters in random order so far. i have read a bunch of iphone os programming books and this is definitely is my top 5. Every chapter, is just broken down into intricate details. The author has done a great job in explaining complex topics that might dazzle beginner programmers and made it very presentable to the user. i know i said its a great beginners book, but there are advanced topics that are covered like implementing push notification to bluetooth or running background applications. the best part of this book is manner in which they start of the topics and break everything down into details that makes the user understand. i highly recommend this book.Beginning iOS 4 Application Development OverviewThe ideal starting point for creating apps using iOS 4
Written by an experienced Apple developer and trainer, this full-color reference serves as an ideal jumping point for creating applications for Apple's iOS 4 that runs on the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad. In addition to in-depth coverage of the iOS SDK, the book walks you through the various core aspects of iPhone and iPad development. You'll learn how to take advantage of the tools provided by XCode and you'll benefit from a solid introduction to Objective-C, which allows you to have a smooth transition to iPhone development from another platform.
Offers a solid foundation for creating applications for Apple's iOS 4
Covers all the new features of iOS 4 and provides a new applications template for developing iPad and iPhone apps
Addresses the new PopoverView for iPad apps
Shows how to develop background applications, which is one of the new features in iOS 4

Beginning iOS 4 Application Development is your ultimate resource for creating applications for Apple's iOS 4.

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Cocoa Programming for Mac OS X (3rd Edition) Review

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Cocoa Programming for Mac OS X (3rd Edition) ReviewIf you plan to write for Mac OS X, and have some programming experience, this book is a MUST HAVE. This is by far the best introductory book I have ever read on any language.
If you DO NOT have programming experience, I would still recommend this book. There are some spots where the logic might be hard to grasp, but Aaron Hillegass walks you through it.
In either case, but more so for beginners, I would also recommend Programming in Objective-C (Developer's Library). The less experience you have, the more strongly I would suggest reading this book first. It will walk you through the basics of straight Objective-C and then start you off using frameworks in OS X. If you are a Windows user and do not have a Mac, Programming in Objective-C (Developer's Library) will show you how to write and compile Objective-C in Windows.
(Look for the new version of this book which uses Objective-C 2.0)
I come from Windows development, having programmed in VB 6, VB.NET, C (and variants), and java. Aaron Hillegass takes you right into the heart of the Mac OS X development environment and gives you a guided tour. Showing you the basics of both Cocoa and the X Code development environment. Pick the book up and you won't regret it. This is a walkthrough tutorial style book. It is not a reference book. Apples online documentation is the best reference for Cocoa.
There are a lot of resources out there for Cocoa programmers. If you are looking for more help with Cocoa, check out the free podcasts that are available on iTunes. "CocoaCast" is a 'screen cast' that actually follows this book and may help you if you have trouble. Other podcasts that i find easy to listen to come from the Mac Developer Network such as "Late Night Cocoa" and "The Mac Developer Roundtable". They also have a great community that you can join by visiting www.mac-developer-network.com. They have video classes on some great topics which are very helpful.Cocoa Programming for Mac OS X (3rd Edition) OverviewThe best-selling introduction to Cocoa, once again updated to cover the latest Mac programming technologies, and still enthusiastically recommended by experienced Mac OS X developers."Aaron's book is the gold standard for Mac OS X programming books—beautifully written, and thoughtfully sculpted. The best book on Leopard development."—Scott Stevenson, www.theocacao.com"This is the first book I'd recommend for anyone wanting to learn Cocoa from scratch. Aaron's one of the few (perhaps only) full-time professional Cocoa instructors, and his teaching experience shows in the book."—Tim Burks, software developer and creator of the Nu programming language, www.programming.nu"If you're a UNIX or Windows developer who picked up a Mac OS X machine recently in hopes of developing new apps or porting your apps to Mac users, this book should be strongly considered as one of your essential reference and training tomes." —Kevin H. Spencer, Apple Certified Technical CoordinatorIf you're developing applications for Mac OS X, Cocoa® Programming for Mac® OS X, Third Edition, is the book you've been waiting to get your hands on. If you're new to the Mac environment, it's probably the book you've been told to read first. Covering the bulk of what you need to know to develop full-featured applications for OS X, written in an engaging tutorial style, and thoroughly class-tested to assure clarity and accuracy, it is an invaluable resource for any Mac programmer.Specifically, Aaron Hillegass introduces the three most commonly used Mac developer tools: Xcode, Interface Builder, and Instruments. He also covers the Objective-C language and the major design patterns of Cocoa. Aaron illustrates his explanations with exemplary code, written in the idioms of the Cocoa community, to show you how Mac programs should be written. After reading this book, you will know enough to understand and utilize Apple's online documentation for your own unique needs. And you will know enough to write your own stylish code.Updated for Mac OS X 10.4 and 10.5, this revised edition includes coverage of Xcode 3, Objective-C 2, Core Data, the garbage collector, and CoreAnimation.

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iPhone Open Application Development: Write Native Objective-C Applications for the iPhone Review

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iPhone Open Application Development: Write Native Objective-C Applications for the iPhone ReviewThe biggest problem with this book is that it addresses programming for the 1.1.4 iPhone firmware and was written prior to the official iPhone SDK being released. As a result it is already outdated with respect to many of the frameworks and APIs that aren't available in the official 1.2/2.0 firmware release and will most likely also be outdated in terms of the open toolchain, which is already changing to adapt to the SDK. So while the book has been helpful for me in getting up to speed with iPhone development pre-SDK (I have a draft PDF from O'Reilly), it is of little to no use now given the resources Apple has already made available for free at the iPhone Dev Center.iPhone Open Application Development: Write Native Objective-C Applications for the iPhone Overview
Certain technologies bring out everyone's hidden geek, and iPhone did the moment it was released. Even though Apple created iPhone as a closed device, tens of thousands of developers bought them with the express purpose of designing and running third-party software. In this clear and concise book, veteran hacker Jonathan Zdziarski -- one of the original hackers of the iPhone -- explains the iPhone's native environment and how you can build software for this device using its Objective-C, C, and C++ development frameworks.iPhone Open Application Development walks you through the iPhone's native development environment, offers an overview of the Objective-C language you'll use with it, and supplies background for the iPhone operating system. You also get detailed recipes and working examples for everyone's favorite iPhone features -- graphics and audio programming, interfaces for adding multitouch functionality to games, the use of hardware sensors, and the device's vast user interface kit. This book explains:

How to access the iPhone's underlying operating system
The makeup of an iPhone application
How to get the open source tool chain running on your desktop
The iPhone's core user interface framework, which is heavily tied to major application-level functions
Using the many touted iPhone features such as multitouch, hardware sensors, and gestures
Intercepting and handling event notifications for many iPhone-related events
Raw video surfaces and 3D transformations that take you deeper into advanced graphics on the iPhone
How to record and play simple sounds and intercept sound events
Advanced digital audio output using Apple's new Audio Toolbox framework
Advanced user interface components such as section lists, keyboards, and image manipulation

The Appendix includes a compendium of miscellaneous code examples for cool application features, such as using the camera and creating a CoverFlow®-like album browser. This book is a true hacker's book, designed for themillions of users who have run third party applications on their iPhone, but its concepts and code examples have shown to be remarkablysimilar to Apple's official SDK, making this book a valuable resource for both camps. Any programmer can use this book to write applications with the same spectacular effects that made the device an immediate hit, and impress users just as much as the official iPhone software does. That programmer can easily be you.


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The iPhone Developer's Cookbook: Building Applications with the iPhone SDK Review

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The iPhone Developer's Cookbook: Building Applications with the iPhone SDK ReviewThe book states it is aimed "squarely at anyone just getting started with iPhone programming." It is not.
At the time of purchase, I was a brand new iPhone developer with zero exposure to Apple's developer tools and their iPhone SDK. That said, I am a very seasoned Java and C# developer, I have used Eclipse and VS.NET extensively for numerous years to build some very sophisticated applications. Apple's developer tools, XCode and Interface Builder, are radically different tools unlike either of these development environments. Instead of a singular IDE, the Apple tools are a hodgepodge of separate applications filling your screen with a plethora of small tool and inspector windows. If you are brand new to XCode and Interface Builder, this book simply doesn't have enough horse power to properly educate you on the pitfalls newbies will face.
If you are already familiar with Apple's developer tools, then the book may be better received by you then by someone who had no exposure to them.
As a newbie you need to realize a very, very important point: copying code out of a book and into XCode is simply not enough to get a demo working out of this or any iPhone developer book! The trick is knowing how to "link" within Interface Builder- how to establish what I now know to be IBAction and IBOutlet property decorators. The IB stands for "Interface Builder" and these two markers provide "hints" from XCode to Interface Builder. For example, to "link" a button from Interface Builder to a property in XCode, the @property would have to be properly decorated (with IBOutlet) and then you must physically establish the link in Interface Builder, using a control-click-drag metaphor from source to destination. To my point- therein lies the problem with "recipe" books like this one- unless you already have a grasp on this concept and how it works (which I didn't when I bought the book several weeks ago), this book will leave you very frustrated. You have verbatim code in XCode, but things don't work! Worse, you have no idea why. [bang head on desk repeatedly here]
My recommendation is to look at the forthcoming book from the guys over at Pragmatic Programmer- iPhone SDK Development I purchased their book, and while it still left me to figure out some holes and some of the Interface Builder nuances, it was much more targeted for someone who has never used any of Apple's developer tools. The Pragmatic book isn't a panacea for all newbie problems, but it is far better suited then this "recipe" book.
I'm confident (well, hoping) that as my iPhone developer experiences grow and I become more accustomed to Apple's developer tools, the recipes presented in this book might be of more value.
It is my opinion that its stated objective should have read "...squarely at anyone just getting started with iPhone programming who is already comfortable with the nuances of XCode, Interface Builder, and the other Apple developer tools."The iPhone Developer's Cookbook: Building Applications with the iPhone SDK Overview"This book would be a bargain at ten times its price! If you are writing iPhone software, it will save you weeks of development time. Erica has included dozens of crisp and clear examples illustrating essential iPhone development techniques and many others that show special effects going way beyond Apple's official documentation."—Tim Burks, iPhone Software Developer, TootSweet Software"Erica Sadun's technical expertise lives up to the Addison-Wesley name. The iPhone Developer's Cookbook is a comprehensive walkthrough of iPhone development that will help anyone out, from beginners to more experienced developers. Code samples and screenshots help punctuate the numerous tips and tricks in this book."—Jacqui Cheng, Associate Editor, Ars Technica"We make our living writing this stuff and yet I am humbled by Erica's command of her subject matter and the way she presents the material: pleasantly informal, then very appropriately detailed technically. This is a going to be the Petzold book for iPhone developers."—Daniel Pasco, Lead Developer and CEO, Black Pixel Luminance"The iPhone Developer's Cookbook: Building Applications with the iPhone SDK should be the first resource for the beginning iPhone programmer, and is the best supplemental material to Apple's own documentation."—Alex C. Schaefer, Lead Programmer, ApolloIM, iPhone Application Development Specialist, MeLLmo, Inc"Erica's book is a truly great resource for Cocoa Touch developers. This book goes far beyond the documentation on Apple's Web site, and she includes methods that give the developer a deeper understanding of the iPhone OS, by letting them glimpse at what's going on behind the scenes on this incredible mobile platform."—John Zorko, Sr. Software Engineer, Mobile DevicesThe iPhone and iPod touch aren't just attracting millions of new users; their breakthrough development platform enables programmers to build tomorrow's killer applications. If you're getting started with iPhone programming, this book brings together tested, ready-to-use code for hundreds of the challenges you're most likely to encounter. Use this fully documented, easy-to-customize code to get productive fast—and focus your time on the specifics of your application, not boilerplate tasks. Leading iPhone developer Erica Sadun begins by exploring the iPhone delivery platform and SDK, helping you set up your development environment, and showing how iPhone applications are constructed. Next, she offers single-task recipes for the full spectrum of iPhone/iPod touch programming jobs: Utilize views and tables Organize interface elements Alert and respond to users Access the Address Book (people), Core Location (places), and Sensors (things) Connect to the Internet and Web services Display media content Create secure Keychain entries And much more You'll even discover how to use Cover Flow to create gorgeous visual selection experiences that put scrolling lists to shame!This book is organized for fast access: related tasks are grouped together, and you can jump directly to the right solution, even if you don't know which class or framework to use. All code is based on Apple's publicly released iPhone SDK, not a beta. No matter what iPhone projects come your way, The iPhone Developer's Cookbook will be your indispensable companion.

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Advanced iOS 4 Programming: Developing Mobile Applications for Apple iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Review

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Advanced iOS 4 Programming: Developing Mobile Applications for Apple iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Reviewsimply put, this book's author just add some small staffs and said it is a new edition featured iOS 4. Don't trust him.
In this book, there is nothing talking about the key features of iOS 4, which made it useless for the development for iOS 4. Go and buy previous edition if you want to lean some basics for iOS development and it would be much cheaper.
I strongly recommended those who want to learn iOS 4 development to look at Apple's official documents, which would provide the best guidelines for new features in iOS 4 such as multitask. I have read 3 new books covering iOS 4, none of them covers sufficient iOS features, and this book is the worst because it doesn't cover iOS 4 feature at all.Advanced iOS 4 Programming: Developing Mobile Applications for Apple iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch OverviewWith Advanced iOS 4 Programming, developers have the expert guidance they need to create amazing applications for Apple's iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.
Inside, veteran mobile developer Dr. Maher Ali begins with a foundation introduction to Objective C and Cocoa Touch programming, and then guides readers through building apps with Apple's iPhone SDK 4 – including coverage of the major categories of new APIs and building apps for the new Apple iPad.
This book concentrates on illustrating GUI concepts programmatically, allowing readers to fully appreciate the complete picture of iOS 4 development without relying on Interface Builder. In addition, Interface Builder is covered in several chapters.
Advanced iOS 4 Programming delves into more advanced topics going beyond the basics of iOS 4 development, providing comprehensive coverage that will help you get your apps to the App Store quicker.
Key features include:
Objective-C programming language and runtime
Interface Builder
Building advanced mobile user interfaces
Collections
Cocoa Touch
Core Animation and Quartz 2D
Model-view-controller (MVC) designs
Developing for the iPad
Grand Central Dispatch
Parsing XML documents using SAX, DOM, and TouchXML
Working with the Map Kit API
Remote and Local Push Notification
Blocks (closures) in Objective-C
Building advanced location-based applications
Developing database applications using the SQLite engine
GameKit framework


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iPhone Game Development: Developing 2D & 3D games in Objective-C (Animal Guide) Review

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iPhone Game Development: Developing 2D & 3D games in Objective-C (Animal Guide) ReviewUnfortunately, this book does not meet up to its potential. The main issues I have with it are the code examples and example applications.
* The book does NOT provide complete step-by-step walkthroughs of operations (although, they are generally 'good enough').
* The book does NOT contain complete listings of the project code text. This is a BIG problem.
* The source code is available on SourceForge, but it does NOT match the text in the book!!!
I have no clue why the persons modifying the files changed them so drastically.
So, be aware that there are serious issues regarding learning from this text. I can only hope that someone at O'Reilly sees the problem, and acts to fix it.
Edit : I have downgraded this book from two-star to one-star. The more I get into it the worse it gets. Typos. Coding errors. Misnamed classes, files, methods, member names; the list goes on. It is obvious that the authors of this book did NOT code the projects from the proofs they got from the publisher. It is unlikely that they even read the text of the code; some of the errors are so obvious that even a cursory read shows them up.
Edit #2 : It is now apparent to me that the authors of the Book and the Code are old C++ coders from way back. Anachronisms like 'Hungarian Notation' and other Microsoft C++ patterns are rampant. Misuse and misunderstanding of Objective-C and Cocoa Touch patterns and usages abound. You will learn a LOT of incorrect habits looking at this code and text. Beware.
You will spend more time trying to fix the errors in the book than you will spend understanding the concepts presented.
Get a different book on Game Engine Design and work your own iPhone compatible version from there.
It will be easier. A lot easier.iPhone Game Development: Developing 2D & 3D games in Objective-C (Animal Guide) Overview
What do you need to know to create a game for the iPhone? Even if you've already built some iPhone applications, developing games using iPhone's gestural interface and limited screen layout requires new skills. With iPhone Game Development, you get everything from game development basics and iPhone programming fundamentals to guidelines for dealing with special graphics and audio needs, creating in-game physics, and much more. Loaded with descriptive examples and clear explanations, this book helps you learn the technical design issues particular to the iPhone and iPod Touch, and suggests ways to maximize performance in different types of games. You also get plug-in classes to compensate for the areas where the iPhone's game programming support is weak.



Learn how to develop iPhone games that provide engaging user experiences
Become familiar with Objective-C and the Xcode suite of tools
Learn what it takes to adapt the iPhone interface to games
Create a robust, scalable framework for a game app
Understand the requirements for implementing 2D and 3D graphics
Learn how to add music and audio effects, as well as menus and controls
Get instructions for publishing your game to the App Store


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Beginning Xcode (Programmer to Programmer) Review

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Beginning Xcode (Programmer to Programmer) ReviewYou 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) OverviewXcode 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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Objective-C for Absolute Beginners: iPhone and Mac Programming Made Easy Review

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Objective-C for Absolute Beginners: iPhone and Mac Programming Made Easy ReviewDOWNLOAD ALL THE CODE AT APRESS WEBSITE BEFORE YOU START at [...] !!!! The book was very good with the introduction of Alice and how it could be used to help get your program completed (the concept of Objects, methods, classes and how Apple's Objective C is used). Where they fall miserably short 100% is in chapter 8. They provide slices of the code that is used in the program, but do not show the actual code in it's entirety. The "Absolute Beginner", unless they have a Ph.D. in computer science and specifically work on Apple computers, is lost at this point. I really had high expectations on this book. Notably (dumb) corrections for example on pages 131. In the code for Listing 7-5, you have to import "RadioStation.h", otherwise the "Absolute beginner" will wonder why is program doesn't work. Chapter 8 just boggles my mind. Snippets of the code just doesn't cut it...we are dealing with the "Absolute Beginner". THEY HAVE PROVIDE ALL THE CODE TO DEMONSTRATE! There were a few other issues but they did teach you enough by chapter 5 to look for the items that they left out in other chapters. I'm going to still completely read the book, but I was looking forward to completing it and understanding all the concepts with Objective-C. I'm just hoping chapter 9 - 12 are prepared better. They almost do a great job up to chapter 8. It was a 4 (out of 5) going up to chapter 8. Chapter 8 just pisses me off (very annoying...rewrite chapter 8). Unless you have the code (and eventually I'll find it), it becomes very annoying. I hope they provide the second revision with all the corrections to the people who bought this book. The code is on apress's website (one little indication at the bottom of the back cover in the lower left-hand corner. They should have told the reader to download the code prior to attempting chapter 8. It really could have been a winner. I would think that the publishing company would have someone review this book before it is published. You have to blame both the writers and publishing company on this one. With the code from apress, I will give the book a 3. If it didn't have the issues I just discussed, it would be a 4. I hope that when I get to chapter 14, the book get's better. This book could eventually be a 5. So this is how the rating goes: Chapters 1 - 7 Excellent: 5. Chapter 8 - 9: 1. Remember "Absolute Beginner". Chapter 8 and 9 must have been written by another person who had no idea who this book was for.Objective-C for Absolute Beginners: iPhone and Mac Programming Made Easy OverviewThe success of Learn to Program Objective-C, from Apress, allowed many people to migrate their existing programming skills to Objective-C. This book allows even people who have never programmed before, but are inspired by what their Mac or iPhone can do, and what their friends have achieved with it, to program these devices for the first time, even with no programming knowledge.Objective-C is gaining popularity faster than any other programming language, which isn't surprising since it's the native development language for both Apple's iPhone OS and Mac OS X. "Objective-C for Absolute Beginners" is the first book to introduce this rich, object-oriented language to new programmers.

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Learning Cocoa with Objective-C, 2nd Edition Review

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Learning Cocoa with Objective-C, 2nd Edition ReviewI have both this book (Learning Cocoa with Objective-C) and it's predecessor (Learning Cocoa). These are two completely different books. The first book wasn't hardly worth the paper it was printed on, as it was mostly just a thrown together collection of rag-tag tutorials from Apple's web site. Thankfully, this book is NOT the first book!
Fast forward to verison II, Learning Cocoa w/ Objective C. This book is great! It covers a whole slew of topics ommitted by the first version. Thankfully the content is NOT the same as before. A tiny bit of it is similar, but for the most part one person took it upon themselves to make sure that all of the material was presented in a consistent manner. By the end of this book you'll walk through all of the steps required to write an application similar to TextEdit (provided with Mac OS X). This application will support Rich Text Formatting, save and open capabilities, spell checking and much much more. You'll be impressed with what you build in this "Learning" book. If you've ever done the REALBasic tutorial you'll find that this creates a very similar application using the Cocoa Framework and Objective-C.
All the basics of learning to write MAC OS X applications with Cocoa are covered here. Unlike the first version of this book it doesn't assume you already knew Objective-C or have had exposure to NextStep. If you're looking for a good book to expose you to Cocoa and Objective-C programming buy this book and work through it all. It's worth it!
This book will also guide you through using the debugger in Project Builder. You'll learn how to use the debugger print-object command and other useful debugging techniques. This book does more than just point out the fact that the debugger exists. It shows you how to apply it usefully.
Another thing I like about this book is the fact that it covers NSString's in more detail than other books of the genre. You'll see examples on how to pull substrings out of NSStrings and use NSRange. You'll also see demonstartions of using NSMutableString as well. Several other books merely mention that NSMutableString exists, but then fail to show what is different between the two.
The excersises at the end of each chapter are very helpful in learning Cocoa Programming too! They're not too difficult, but not too simple either. They'll make you dig and think a bit to find a solution, but not so much that you'll want to pull your hair out and give up. AND If you go happen to get stuck you'll find answers revealed in the back of the book.
This book is for the most part geared towards Mac OS X 10.2, but I did manage to do all of the examples in 10.1.5 (except with the programming example that made use of the Jaguar's Address Book, of course.) This is a bonus, for some of the earlier Cocoa Programming books do not take into account newer versions of Mac OS X and thus are now a bit out of date.
Surprisingly, this book is thicker too, but only because it's now on quality paper. The book actually contains fewer pages (by only a dozen or so) than the original, but Cocoa programming is covered much more thoroughly. There's not much textual fluff or irrelevant screen shots to gobble up pages; --just the right balance of what is needed to cover Cocoa and Objective-C programming for the beginning or semi-intermeddiate programmer.
If you already own the first book don't worry about buying this one and receiving repeat material. These two books are not the same animal (even though the dog on the front cover is the same). They are two totally different creatures with internal organs unique to themselves. In fact, after working through the second edition you might find the first edition more useful; --as you will have gained knowledge from the second version to more completely comprehend chapters in the latter part of the frist version.
One more note: THANK YOU O'REILLY & ASSOCIATES! You're breathing new life into books for the Macintosh! Be it mac-only books (like this Cocoa Programming book) or just the fact that you include MAC OS X specifics in books like "Managing and Using MySQL (2nd Edition)". Myself and I'm sure many others appreciate it. Thanks!Learning Cocoa with Objective-C, 2nd Edition Overview
Learning Cocoa with Objective-C is the "must-have" book for people who want to develop applications for Mac OS X, and is the only book approved and reviewed by Apple engineers. Based on the Jaguar release of Mac OS X 10.2, this edition of Learning Cocoa includes examples that use the Address Book and Universal Access APIs. Also included is a handy quick reference card, charting Cocoa's Foundation and AppKit frameworks, along with an Appendix that includes a listing of resources essential to any Cocoa developer--beginning or advanced.

Completely revised and updated, this 2nd edition begins with some simple examples to familiarize you with the basic elements of Cocoa programming as well Apple's Developer Tools, including Project Builder and Interface Builder.

After introducing you to Project Builder and Interface Builder, it brings you quickly up to speed on the concepts of object-oriented programming with Objective-C, the language of choice for building Cocoa applications. From there, each chapter presents a different sample program for you to build, with easy to follow, step-by-step instructions to teach you the fundamentals of Cocoa programming. The techniques you will learn in each chapter lay the foundation for more advanced techniques and concepts presented in later chapters.

You'll learn how to:

Effectively use Apple's suite of Developer Tools, including Project Builder and Interface Builder
Build single- and multiple-window document-based applications
Manipulate text data using Cocoa's text handling capabilities
Draw with Cocoa
Add scripting functionality to your applications
Localize your application for multiple language support
Polish off your application by adding an icon for use in the Dock, provide Help, and package your program for distribution
Each chapter ends with a series of Examples, challenging you to test your newly-learned skills by tweaking the application you've just built, or to go back to an earlier example and add to it some new functionality. Solutions are provided in the Appendix, but you're encouraged to learn by trying.
Extensive programming experience is not required to complete the examples in the book, though experience with the C programming language will be helpful. If you are familiar with an object-oriented programming language such as Java or Smalltalk, you will rapidly come up to speed with the Objective-C language. Otherwise, basic object-oriented and language concepts are covered where needed.


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iPhone SDK Programming: Developing Mobile Applications for Apple iPhone and iPod touch Review

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iPhone SDK Programming: Developing Mobile Applications for Apple iPhone and iPod touch ReviewI bought this book after I'd gone through Beginning iPhone Development: Exploring the iPhone SDK (Beginning from Novice to Professional), hoping to get another set of useful skills and tools to use, such as a reference for XML & RSS, SQLite, and a little more depth on the collections objects such as NSArrays, etc. that was only brushed over in the Beginning iPhone Development book. Overall, this book does fill in some of those gaps, but it really doesn't stand well as a standalone iPhone programming book. I'm glad this is my second choice, because if it were my first I'd probably be more confused!
If you're building your foundation, this book may be worth your while.
My largest complaint about this book is actually the way the code is written out on the page. Instead of clear, Courier-font code blocks, the editors just stuck code in Times Roman font. Anyone who's ever read their share of programming books knows this just complicates life by making it harder to differentiate code from content and better recognize typos, etc. I hope they revise this and publish another edition of the book - it's extremely noticeable. Also, I think this book was pushed to market without double-checking that the graphic examples are copyright compliant, because instead of icons in some of the screenshots the author substituted ugly character graphics that just looked dumb.
Overall, this is an okay programming book. There are some nuggets of good information, but as a beginner's book it's too complex, nor does it have enough depth to be a compendium for an advanced programmer.iPhone SDK Programming: Developing Mobile Applications for Apple iPhone and iPod touch OverviewWith iPhone SDK Programming, developers have the expert guidance they need to begin building native applications for Apple's new iPhone 3G as well as the iPod touch. Inside, veteran mobile developer and Bell Labs scientist Maher Ali begins with a foundational introduction to Objective C and Cocoa programming, and then guides you through the building programs with Apple's iPhone SDK.

iPhone SDK Programming covers a wide range of topics, including:
The Objective-C programming language

Collections

Cocoa Touch

Building advanced mobile user interfaces

Core Animation and Quartz 2D

Model-View-Controller (MVC) designs

Table Views File management

Parsing XML documents using SAX and DOM

Working with Google Maps API

Consuming REST Web Services

Building advanced location-based applications

Developing database applications using the SQLite engine

Building Multimedia applications

Making use of the camera and video Working with the accelerometer





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