Sams Teach Yourself Objective-c in 24 Hours

Objective-C is Apple's native language for building software for both iOS (iPad/iPhone) and Mac OS X - and with Xcode 4's templates and other advances, developers can create powerful apps faster than ever. Now, in 24 lessons of one hour or less, leading Apple developer Jesse Feiler shows how to make the most of these new technologies. Drawing on fifteen years of Apple development experience, Feiler's step-by-step, task-based explanations help developers write code they can actually use. Coverage includes: * Using Objective-C's object-oriented features * Mastering Xcode 4, compiler directives, and new Xcode productivity techniques * Leveraging new OS X 10.7 (Lion) and iOS 5 APIs * Declaring classes, instance variables, properties, methods, and actions * Defining classes * Working with selectors, building blocks, and collections * Managing memory and runtime objects * Using protocols, delegates, categories, extensions, associative references, and fast enumeration * Handling exceptions * Queueing and threading with Grand Central Dispatch Every lesson builds on prior chapters, providing a solid foundation for success. Step-by-step instructions walk through key tasks... questions, answers, quizzes, and exercises test readers'knowledge... "Did You Know?" tips offer insider advice... "Watch Out!" alerts help readers avoid problems. By the time they're finished, developers won't just understand the basics: they'll be ready to build robust, marketable software.

Jesse Feiler is a developer, web designer, trainer, and author. He has been an Apple developer since 1985, and has worked with mobile devices starting with Apple’s Newton and continuing with the iOS products (iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad).

His books include Sams Teach Yourself Core Data in 24 Hours, Data-Driven iOS Apps for iPad and iPhone with FileMaker Pro, Bento by FileMaker, and FileMaker Go (Sams/Pearson), Using FileMaker Bento (Sams/Pearson), FileMaker Pro in Depth (Sams/Pearson), Sams Teach Yourself Drupal in 24 Hours (Sams/Pearson), Get Rich with Apps!Your Guide to Reaching More Customers and Making Money NOW (McGraw-Hill), Database-Driven Web Sites (Harcourt), How to Do Everything with Web 2.0 Mashups (McGraw-Hill), iWork ‘09 for Dummies (Wiley), and The Bento Book (Sams/Pearson).

He has written about Objective-C and the Apple frameworks in Rhapsody Developer’s Guide (AP Professional, 1997) and Mac OS X Developer’s Guide (Morgan Kaufmann, 2001).

He is the author of MinutesMachine, the meeting management software for iPad. There are more details at champlainarts.com.

A native of Washington DC, he has lived in New York City and currently lives in Plattsburgh, NY.

He can be reached at northcountryconsulting.com.

Introduction 1

Who Should Read This Book 1

What This Book Covers 1

Downloading the Example Files 2

How This Book Is Organized 2

Part I: Getting Started with Objective-C

HOUR 1: Overview of Objective-C 7

Introducing Objective-C 7

Enrolling as an Apple Developer 8

Setting Up the Development Environment 11

Summary 19

Q&A 20

Workshop 20

HOUR 2: Object-Oriented Programming with Objective-C 23

Object-Oriented Programming in the Objective-C World 23

Creating C with Objects 26

Managing Inheritance in the Objective-C World 30

Summary 32

Q&A 32

Workshop 33

HOUR 3: Using Object-Oriented Features in Objective-C 35

Communicating to Methods with Messages 35

Allocating and Initializing Objects 39

Summary 40

Q&A 41

Workshop 41

HOUR 4: Organizing Projects with a Git Source Code Repository 43

Getting to Work with Xcode 43

Keeping Track of Your Source Code 47

Using a Remote Repository 62

Summary 66

Q&A 66

Workshop 66

HOUR 5: Using Compiler Directives 69

Exploring Your Project 69

Working with Compiler Directives 71

Using Objective-C Compiler Directives 77

Summary 78

Q&A 78

Workshop 78

Part II: Working with the Objective-C Basics

HOUR 6: Exploring Messaging and a Testbed App 81

Setting Up the Test App 81

Adding a Text Field and Connecting It to Your Code 85

Sending a Message to the Text Field 92

Reviewing the Message Syntax 94

Summary 95

Q&A 95

Workshop 95

HOUR 7: Declaring a Class in an Interface File 97

Letting Xcode Do the Work 97

Exploring Class Hierarchies 103

Declaring Classes 106

Summary 108

Q&A 108

Workshop 108

HOUR 8: Declaring Instance Variables in an Interface File 111

Declaring Instance Variables and Properties 111

Using the Class 111

Creating an Instance Variable for CurrencyConverter with id 114

Creating an Instance Variable for CurrencyConverter with the

Class Name 117

Creating an Instance Variable for CurrencyConverter with a

Superclass Name 119

Managing Instance Variable Scope 122

Summary 122

Q&A 123

Workshop 123

HOUR 9: Declaring Properties in an Interface File 125

Comparing Interface Variables and Properties 125

Using Declared Properties 130

Using Attributes 132

Using Other Attribute Decorators 135

Implementing Properties 135

Summary 136

Q&A 137

Workshop 137

HOUR 10: Declaring Methods in an Interface File 139

Working with Methods in a Class 139

Reviewing Method Syntax 140

Summary 145

Q&A 145

Workshop 146

HOUR 11: Declaring Actions in an Interface File 147

Introducing Actions 147

Comparing Actions in Mac OS X and iOS 158

Q&A 161

Workshop 161

HOUR 12: Routing Messages with Selectors 163

Getting Inside Objective-C Messages 163

Getting Inside the Objective-C Runtime 165

Working with SEL and @selector () 166

Using performSelector 167

Using NSInvocation 170

Testing Whether an Instance Can Respond to a Selector 174

Summary 174

Q&A 175

Workshop 175

HOUR 13: Building on the Foundation 177

Exploring the Foundation Framework 177

Foundation Classes 178

Foundation Paradigms and Policies 180

Summary 185

Q&A 185

Workshop 185

HOUR 14: Defining a Class in an Implementation File 187

Working with a New Project 187

Creating a New App 191

Implementing a Method 194

Expanding the Class with init Methods 197

Summary 199

Q&A 200

Workshop 200

HOUR 15: Organizing Data with Collections 201

Collecting Objects 201

Getting Familiar with Property Lists 203

Comparing the Collection Classes 205

Creating a Collection 206

Enumerating a Collection 210

Testing Membership in a Collection 212

Accessing an Object in a Collection 213

Summary 213

Q&A 213

Workshop 214

HOUR 16: Managing Memory and Runtime Objects 215

Managing Objects in Memory 215

Managing Reference Counts Manually 217

Managing Reference Counts with ARC 220

Variable Qualifiers 222

Autoreleasing Variables 223

Summary 224

Q&A 224

Workshop 224

Part III: Expanding and Extending Classes

HOUR 17: Extending a Class with Protocols and Delegates 227

Exploring the Pros and Cons of Subclassing 227

Exploring Multiple Detail Views Sample Code 228

Looking Inside Protocols 235

Working with Delegates 235

Summary 240

Q&A 240

Workshop 240

HOUR 18: Extending a Class with Categories and Extensions 243

Comparing Categories and Protocols 243

Comparing Categories to Subclasses 244

Working with Categories 246

Using Class Extensions 249

Working with Informal Protocols 250

Summary 250

Q&A 250

Workshop 251

HOUR 19: Using Associative References and Fast Enumeration 253

Catching Up on Objective-C 2.0 Time-Saving Features 253

Extending Classes by Adding Instance Variables (Sort of) 254

Using Fast Enumeration 258

Summary 261

Q&A 261

Workshop 261

HOUR 20: Working with Blocks 263

Revisiting Blocks 263

Looking at Callbacks 264

Introducing Blocks 268

Exploring Blocks in Cocoa 270

Looking Deeper into Cocoa Blocks and Memory 273

Summary 273

Q&A 274

Workshop 274

Part IV: Beyond the Basics

HOUR 21: Handling Exceptions 275

Rethinking Exceptions and Errors 275

Introducing the Exception and Error Classes 276

Identifying an Exception 281

Throwing an Exception 282

Catching an Exception 283

Summary 283

Q&A 284

Workshop 284

HOUR 22: Grand Central Dispatch: Using Queues and Threading 285

Getting Started with Concurrency 285

Introducing Queues 288

Using Dispatch Queues 290

Summary 292

Q&A 293

Workshop 293

HOUR 23: Working with the Debugger 295

Logging Information 295

Using Console Logs 296

Using Smart Breakpoints 299

Summary 304

Q&A 304

Workshop 305

HOUR 24: Using Instruments for Analysis 307

Putting Instruments in Perspective 307

Looking at Instruments 309

Getting Started with Instruments 311

Connecting to the iOS Simulator 314

Summary 316

Q&A 316

Workshop 316

Part V: Appendixes

APPENDIX A: C Syntax Summary 319

Data Types 319

Control Structures 321

APPENDIX B: Apps, Packages, and Bundles 323

APPENDIX C: Archiving and Packaging Apps for Development and Testing 329

APPENDIX D: Introducing Xcode 4 333

Getting to Know Xcode 333

Goodbye “Hello, World” 334

Hello, App Development for Mac OS X and iOS 336

Getting Started with Xcode 338

Using the Navigator 341

Using Editors 351

Working with Assistant 355

Getting Help in an Editor Window 357

Using Utilities—Inspectors 357

Using Utilities—Libraries 360

Using the Text Editor 366

Using the Organizer Window 371

Index 375

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Sams Teach Yourself Objective-c in 24 Hours

Summary

Author Biography

Table of Contents

Supplemental Materials