The Cocoa frameworks are some of the most powerful frameworks for creating native desktop applications available on any platform today, and Apple gives them away, along with the Xcode development environment, for free! However, for a first-time Mac developer, just firing up Xcode and starting to browse the documentation can be a daunting task. The Objective-C class reference documentation alone would fill thousands of printed pages, not to mention all the other tutorials and guides included with Xcode. Where do you start? Which classes are you going to need to use? How do you use Xcode and the rest of the tools?

This book answers these questions and more, helping you find your way through the jungle of classes, tools, and new concepts so that you can get started on the next great Mac OS X application today. Jack Nutting is your guide through this forest; he's lived here for years, and he'll show you which boulder to push, which vine to chop, and which stream to float across in order to make it through. You will learn not only how to use the components of this rich framework, but also which of them fit together, and why.

Jack Nutting’s approach, combining pragmatic problem-solving with a deep respect for the underlying design philosophies contained within Cocoa, stems from years of experience using these frameworks. He’ll show you which parts of your application require you to jump in and code a solution, and which parts are best served by letting Cocoa take you where it wants you to go. The path over what looks like a mountain of components and APIs has never been more thoroughly prepared for your travels. With Jack’s guidance, the steep learning curve becomes a pleasurable adventure. There is still much work for the uninitiated, but by the time you’re done, you will be well on your way to becoming a Cocoa Master.

What you’ll learn

• How to actually make your own Cocoa applications—this is much more than just a quick introduction to Cocoa!
• Which classes, of the dozens included in Cocoa, are truly central to Cocoa development
• How to best use MVC architecture concepts in a Cocoa application
• How the various pieces of the Cocoa frameworks fit with each other and into the MVC architecture
• Which parts of Cocoa truly enable “visual programming”, letting you reap the benefits of proven, reusable code libraries that Apple gives you for free
• How to recognize recurring design patterns used throughout Cocoa, and put them to proper use in your own code
• How to approach Cocoa from different programming environments
• How to use the facilities provided in Snow Leopard to create software that distributes itself automatically among all available CPUs, improving the user experience for your users.

Who this book is for

Anyone with basic understanding of object-oriented programming who wants to try out Mac OS X application programming, as well as iPhone developers who want to extend their knowledge of Cocoa Touch to include the Mac-specific technologies included with Cocoa.

Table of ContentsChapter 1: Must Love Cocoa
Chapter 2: Hello, World
Chapter 3: Lights, Camera... Actions! (and Outlets, Too) 
Chapter 4: GUI Components
Chapter 5: Using Table Views
Chapter 6: Cocoa Bindings
Chapter 7: Core Data Basics
Chapter 8: Core Data Relationships
Chapter 9: Search and Retrieve Core Data with Criteria 
Chapter 10: Windows and Menus and Sheets
Chapter 11: Document-Based Applications
Chapter 12: Exceptions, Signals, Errors, and Debugging  2
Chapter13: Drawing in Cocoa
Chapter 14: Advanced Drawing Topics
Chapter 15: Working with Files
Chapter 16: Concurrency
Chapter 17: Future Paths