Cocoa in a Nutshell

Description

Cocoa in a Nutshell begins with a complete overview of Cocoa's object classes. It provides developers who may be experienced with other application toolkits the grounding they'll need to start developing Cocoa applications. A complement to Apple's documentation, it is the only reference to the classes, functions, types, constants, protocols, and methods that make up Cocoa's Foundation and Application Kit frameworks, based on the Jaguar release (Mac OS X 10.2).

Full Description

Cocoa® is more than just a collection of classes, and is certainly more than a simple framework. Cocoa is a complete API set, class library, framework, and development environment for building applications and tools to run on Mac OS® X. With over 240 classes, Cocoa is divided into two essential frameworks: Foundation and Application Kit. Above all else, Cocoa is a toolkit for creating Mac OS X application interfaces, and it provides access to all of the standard Aqua® interface components such as menus, toolbars, windows, buttons, to name a few.

Cocoa in a Nutshell begins with a complete overview of Cocoa's object classes. It provides developers who may be experienced with other application toolkits the grounding they'll need to start developing Cocoa applications. Common programming tasks are described, and many chapters focus on the larger patterns in the frameworks so developers can understand the larger relationships between the classes in Cocoa, which is essential to using the framework effectively.

Cocoa in a Nutshell is divided into two parts, with the first part providing a series of overview chapters that describe specific features of the Cocoa frameworks. Information you'll find in Part I includes:

An overview of the Objective-C language
Coverage of the Foundation and Application Kit frameworks
Overviews of Cocoa's drawing and text handling classes
Network services such as hosts, Rendezvous URL services, sockets, and file handling
Distributed notifications and distributed objects for interapplication communication
Extending Cocoa applications with other frameworks, including the AddressBook, DiscRecording, and Messaging frameworks

The second half of the book is a detailed quick reference to Cocoa's Foundation and Application Kit (AppKit) classes. A complement to Apple's documentation, Cocoa in a Nutshell is the only reference to the classes, functions, types, constants, protocols, and methods that make up Cocoa's Foundation and Application Kit frameworks, based on the Jaguar release (Mac OS X 10.2).

Peer-reviewed and approved by Apple's engineers to be part of the Apple Developer Connection (ADC) Series, Cocoa in a Nutshell is the book developers will want close at hand as they work. It's the desktop quick reference they can keep by their side to look something up quickly without leaving their work.

Cocoa in a Nutshell is the book developers will want close at hand as they work. It's the desktop quick reference they can keep by their side to look something up quickly without leaving their work.

Table of Contents

Introducing Cocoa
1. Chapter 1 Objective-C
  1. Objects
  2. Messaging
  3. Classes
  4. Creating Object Instances
  5. Memory Management
  6. Deallocating Objects
  7. Categories
  8. Naming Conventions
2. Chapter 2 Foundation
  1. Data
  2. Key-Value Coding
  3. Working with Files
  4. Bundles and Resource Management
  5. Archiving Objects
  6. User Defaults
  7. Notifications
  8. Operating System Interaction
  9. Threaded Programming
3. Chapter 3 The Application Kit
  1. AppKit Design Patterns
  2. Nibs
  3. Application Architecture
  4. Controls
  5. Menus
  6. Sheets
  7. Drawers
  8. Toolbars
  9. Event Handling
  10. Document-Based Applications
4. Chapter 4 Drawing and Imaging
  1. The Role of Quartz
  2. Coordinate Systems
  3. Graphics Contexts
  4. Working with Paths
  5. Drawing Text
  6. Working with Color
  7. Working with Images
  8. Transformations
5. Chapter 5 Text Handling
  1. Text System Architecture
  2. Assembling the Text System
6. Chapter 6 Networking
  1. Hosts
  2. URL Resources
  3. Rendezvous Network Services
  4. Sockets
  5. NSFileHandle
7. Chapter 7 Interapplication Communication
  1. NSPipe
8. Chapter 8 Other Frameworks
  1. AddressBook
  2. The Message Framework
  3. Disc Recording Frameworks
  4. Third-Party Frameworks
API Quick Reference
1. Chapter 9 Foundation Types and Constants
  1. Data Types
  2. Enumerations
  3. Global Variables
  4. Constants
  5. Exceptions
2. Chapter 10 Foundation Functions
  1. Assertions
  2. Bundles
  3. Byte Ordering
  4. Decimals
  5. Java Setup
  6. Hash Tables
  7. HFS File Types
  8. Map Tables
  9. Object Allocation
  10. Objective-C Runtime
  11. Path Utilities
  12. Points
  13. Ranges
  14. Rects
  15. Sizes
  16. Uncaught Exceptions
  17. Zones
3. Chapter 11 Application Kit Types and Constants
  1. Data Types
  2. Enumerations
  3. Global Variables
  4. Exceptions
4. Chapter 12 Application Kit Functions
  1. Accessibility
  2. Applications
  3. Events
  4. Fonts
  5. Graphics: General
  6. Graphics: Window Depth
  7. Interface Styles
  8. OpenGL
  9. Panels
  10. Pasteboards
  11. System Beep
5. Chapter 13 Foundation Classes
6. Chapter 14 Foundation Protocols
7. Chapter 15 Application Kit Classes
8. Chapter 16 Application Kit Protocols
Appendix
1. Appendix A Appendix: Resources for Cocoa Developers
  1. Apple Documentation
  2. Related Books
  3. Web Sites
  4. Mailing Lists
  5. Partnering with Apple

Colophon

Product Details

Title:

Cocoa in a Nutshell

By:

Michael Beam, James Duncan Davidson

Publisher:

O'Reilly Media

Formats:

Print
Safari Books Online

Print Release:

May 2003

Pages:

576

Print ISBN:

978-0-596-00462-0

| ISBN 10:

0-596-00462-1

Customer Reviews

About the Author

James Duncan Davidson

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.

View James Duncan Davidson's full profile page.

Colophon

Our look is the result of reader comments, our own experimentation, and feedback from distribution channels. Distinctive covers complement our distinctive approach to technical topics, breathing personality and life into potentially dry subjects. The animal on the cover of Cocoa in a Nutshell is an Irish setter. Bred as a sporting dog in the 19th century, the Irish setter's agility and energy made it a prime companion for pheasant and quail hunters. By the 1890s, the dog's attractive, silky red coat and elegant build boosted its popularity as a show dog. For the past century, breeders have created a larger dog with a longer coat, with deep chestnut red or patches of red and white hair. The dog is also popular as a family pet. Described as loyal, gentle, energetic, and happy, the Irish setter gets along well with children. Some hospitals, nursing homes, and rehabilitation centers also adopt the Irish setter as a therapy dog. Colleen Gorman was the production editor, and Colleen Gorman and Ann Schirmer were the copyeditors for Cocoa in a Nutshell. Mary Brady, Jane Ellin, Claire Cloutier, and Linley Dolby provided quality control. Reg Aubry wrote the index.

Emma Colby designed the cover of this book, based on a series design by Edie Freedman. The cover image is a 19th-century engraving from the Dover Pictorial Archive. Emma Colby produced the cover layout with QuarkXPress 4.1 using Adobe's ITC Garamond font.

David Futato and Bret Kerr designed the interior layout. This book was converted by Andrew Savikas to FrameMaker 5.5.6 with a format conversion tool created by ErikRay, Jason McIntosh, Neil Walls, and Mike Sierra that uses Perl and XML technologies. The text font is Linotype Birka; the heading font is Adobe Myriad Condensed; and the code font is LucasFont's TheSans Mono Condensed. The illustrations that appear in the book were produced by Robert Romano and Jessamyn Read using Macromedia FreeHand 9 and Adobe Photoshop 6. The tip and warning icons were drawn by Christopher Bing. This colophon was written by Ann Schirmer.

O'Reilly Books & Videos

A Desktop Quick Reference

Introducing Cocoa

Chapter 1 Objective-C

Chapter 2 Foundation

Chapter 3 The Application Kit

Chapter 4 Drawing and Imaging

Chapter 5 Text Handling

Chapter 6 Networking

Chapter 7 Interapplication Communication

Chapter 8 Other Frameworks

API Quick Reference

Chapter 9 Foundation Types and Constants

Chapter 10 Foundation Functions

Chapter 11 Application Kit Types and Constants

Chapter 12 Application Kit Functions

Chapter 13 Foundation Classes

Chapter 14 Foundation Protocols

Chapter 15 Application Kit Classes

Chapter 16 Application Kit Protocols

Appendix

Appendix A Appendix: Resources for Cocoa Developers

Colophon

James Duncan Davidson