Learning Objective-C 2.0: A Hands-On Guide to Objective-C for Mac and iOS Developers(Learning)

Get Started Fast with Objective-C 2.0 Programming for OS X, iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad   If you want to learn Objective-C 2.0 to write programs for Mac OS X, iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, you’ve come to the right place! Concise, readable, and friendly, Learning Objective-C 2.0 is the perfect beginner’s guide to the latest version of Objective-C.   Longtime Mac OS X and iPhone developer Robert Clair covers everything from the absolute basics to Objective-C 2.0’s newest innovations. Clair begins with a practical refresher on C and object-oriented programming and walks you through creating your first Objective-C program with Xcode. Next, you’ll master each core language feature, from objects and classes to messaging, frameworks, and protocols. Every concept is illustrated with simple examples, and many chapters contain hands-on practice exercises.   Throughout, Learning Objective-C 2.0 focuses on the features, concepts, and techniques that matter most day to day. The result is an outstanding first book for everyone who wants to begin programming for iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, or Mac OS X.   COVERAGE INCLUDES   Understanding methods, messages, and the Objective-C messaging system Defining classes, creating object instances, and using class objects Using categories to extend classes without subclassing Simplifying development with Objective-C 2.0 declared properties Using protocols to emphasize behavior rather than class Working with common Foundation classes for strings, arrays, dictionaries, sets, and number objects Using Objective-C control structures, including Objective-C 2.0’s new fast enumeration construct Understanding application security and hiding the declaration of methods that should stay private Using the new blocks feature provided in Objective-C 2.0

Table of Contents:
Preface xxiii Acknowledgments xxxi About the Author xxxiii Part I: Introduction to Objective-C 1 Chapter 1: C, The Foundation of Objective-C 3 The Structure of a C Program 4 Variables 8 Operators 16 Expressions and Statements 21 Program Flow 22 Preprocessor 31 printf 33 Using gcc and gdb 35 Summary 37 Exercises 37 Chapter 2: More About C Variables 41 Memory Layout of an Objective-C Program 41 Automatic Variables 42 External Variables 43 Declaration Keywords 44 Scope 47 Dynamic Allocation 49 Summary 51 Exercises 52 Chapter 3: An Introduction to Object-Oriented Programming 55 Object-Oriented Programming 55 An Introduction to Objective-C 58 Objective-C Additions 66 Summary 71 Chapter 4: Your First Objective-C Program 73 Building with Xcode 73 Objective-C Program Structure 76 An Object-Oriented Hello World 79 HelloObjectiveC.m 86 Summary 88 Exercises 88 Part II: Language Basics 91 Chapter 5: Messaging 93 Methods 93 Messaging 96 Messaging Details 98 Under the Hood 106 Message Forwarding 108 Efficiency 109 Introspection and Other Runtime Fun 111 Summary 112 Exercises 113 Chapter 6: Classes and Objects 115 Defining a Class 115 Subclassing a Class 119 Creating Objects 126 Destroying Objects 135 Copying Objects 136 Summary 141 Exercises 141 Chapter 7: The Class Object 143 Class Objects 143 Other Class Methods 147 Mimicking Class Variables 151 Summary 157 Exercises 157 Chapter 8: Frameworks 159 What Is a Framework? 159 Cocoa Frameworks 161 AppKit 162 Core Foundation 163 Core Graphics 166 Core Animation 167 Other Apple-Supplied Frameworks 167 Third-Party Frameworks 168 Under the Hood 168 Summary 170 Chapter 9: Common Foundation Classes 171 Immutable and Mutable Classes 171 Class Clusters 172 NSString 173 Collection Classes 177 NSNumber 183 NSNull 184 NSData 185 NSURL 186 Structures 187 Summary 188 Exercises 189 Chapter 10: Control Structures in Objective-C 191 if Statements 191 for Statements and Implicit Loops 195 while Statements and NSEnumerator 196 Fast Enumeration 199 An Example Using Fast Enumeration 201 Exceptions 205 Summary 210 Exercises 211 Chapter 11: Categories, Extensions, and Security 213 Categories 213 Extensions 218 Instance Variable Scope (Access Control) 220 Access Control for Methods 221 Namespaces 221 Security 222 Calling C Functions from Objective-C 224 Summary 226 Exercises 226 Chapter 12: Properties 229 Accessing Instance Variables Outside of an Object (Don’t Do It) 230 Declaring and Implementing Accessors 231 Accessors Using Properties 233 The @property Statement 236 More About @dynamic 238 Properties and Memory Management 240 Subclassing and Properties 240 Hidden Setters for readonly Properties 242 Properties as Documentation 242 Dot Syntax 243 Summary 246 Exercises 247 Chapter 13: Protocols 249 Protocols 249 Using Protocols 250 TablePrinter Example 253 Protocol Objects and Testing for Conformance 260 Informal Protocols 261 Summary 262 Exercises 263 Part III: Advanced Concepts 265 Chapter 14: Reference Counting 267 The Problem 268 Reference Counting 269 Receiving Objects 271 Ownership 273 dealloc 274 Returning Objects 276 retainCount 281 Multithreading 282 When Retain Counts Go Bad 283 Retain Cycles 285 The Final Goodbye: When Programs Terminate 288 Summary 288 Exercises 289 Chapter 15: Garbage Collection 291 Garbage Collection: The Theory 291 Garbage Collection: The Practice 293 Using Garbage Collection 294 Finalizers 296 malloc and Garbage Collection 297 Core Foundation Objects and Garbage Collection 298 Some Bumps in the Road 299 Garbage Collection Pro and Con 303 Summary 305 Exercises 305 Chapter 16: Blocks 309 Function Pointers 310 The Trouble with Function Pointers 314 NSInvocation 315 Blocks 317 Some Philosophical Reservations 331 Summary 332 Exercises 332 Part IV: Appendices 335 Appendix A: Reserved Words and Compiler Directives 337 Appendix B: Toll-Free Bridged Classes 339 Appendix C: 32- and 64-Bit 341 Kernel and User Programs in 64-Bit 342 Coding Differences for 64-Bit Programs 342 Performance 342 Compiling for 64-Bit 343 More Information 343 Appendix D: Runtimes, Old and New 345 Synthesized Instance Variables 345 The Fragile Base Class Problem—Solved 347 Appendix E: Resources for Objective-C 349 Apple Resources 349 Internet Resources 350 Groups 350 Books 350 Index 351

About the Author :
Robert Clair has spent more than twenty years writing commercial graphics and CAD software. For the past eight years, he has specialized in Mac OS X and iPhone development. As principal of Chromatic Bytes LLC, he has designed both OS X software (ZeusDraw and Shades) and iPhone programs (ZeusDraw Mobile and Orfeo). He has also consulted on a number of other iPhone and iPad applications.