Cocoa Recipes for Mac OS X

Completely revised edition, now covering Snow Leopard! Springing from the original Vermont Recipes Web site, where many of today’s Cocoa developers got their start, Cocoa Recipes for Mac OS X, Second Edition is a programming cookbook that shows you how to create a complete Mac OS X application. In this updated edition, author Bill Cheeseman employs a practical, step-by-step method for building a program from start to finish using the Cocoa frameworks. He begins by creating the project using Xcode and designing and building the user interface with Interface Builder, and then he fills in the details expected of any working application, such as managing documents and windows, setting up the main menu, and configuring controls. Later recipes show you how to add important features such as a preferences window, printing, a Help book, and AppleScript support. The book concludes with a discussion of deployment of your finished product and steps you can take to explore additional features. Equipped with the expertise and real-world techniques in this book, programmers with some knowledge of C and Objective-C can quickly master the craft of writing Cocoa programs for Mac OS X. Written for C and Objective-C programmers who want to tap the extraordinary power and flexibility designed into the Cocoa frameworks, as well as for experienced Cocoa developers looking to extend their skills. By following the book’s recipes for creating a complete Cocoa application, readers can retrace the same steps to write any document-based Cocoa program. Includes the latest techniques for writing Cocoa applications for Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard. Project source files are available on the Web at www.peachpit.com/cocoarecipes.

Table of Contents:
Introduction. xi About Vermont Recipes Why Cocoa? Why Objective-C? Naming Conventions Apple’s Cocoa Documentation Xcode and Interface Builder New Technologies The Vermont Recipes Application Specification Downloading and Installing the Project Files Section 1: Objective-C and the Cocoa Frameworks Ingredients: Language, Frameworks, and Tools Appliances and Utensils Ingredients Serving Suggestions Section 2: Building an Application Recipe 1: Create the Project Using Xcode Step 1: Create the New Project Step 2: Explore the Project Step 3: Set Xcode Preferences Step 4: Revise the Document’s Header and Implementation Files Step 5: Rename the Document’s Files Step 6: Edit the Document’s Methods Step 7: Create and Revise the Window Controller Files Step 8: Edit the Credits File Step 9: Edit the Info.plist File Step 10: Edit the InfoPlist.strings File Step 11: Create a Localizable.strings File Step 12: Set the Project’s Properties and Build Settings Step 13: Build and Run the Application Step 14: Save and Archive the Project Conclusion Recipe 2: Design and Build the GUI Using Interface Builder Step 1: Explore and Revise the Document Window’s Nib File Step 2: Add a Toolbar Step 3: Add a Vertical Split View Step 4: Add a Horizontal Split View Step 5: Add a Tab View Step 6: Add a Drawer Step 7: Add a Toolbar Item to Open and Close the Drawer Step 8: Build and Run the Application Step 9: Save and Archive the Project Conclusion Recipe 3: Create a Simple Text Document Step 1: Create the DiaryDocument Class in Xcode Step 2: Save a Snapshot of the Project Step 3: Create the DiaryWindowController Class and Its Nib File in Interface Builder Step 4: Add Scrolling Text Views to the Diary Window Step 5: Create the VRDocument-Controller Class and a New Menu Item Step 6: Add the Diary Document to the Info.plist File Step 7: Read and Write the Diary Document’s Text Data Step 8: Configure the Split View Diary Window Step 9: Build and Run the Application Step 10: Save and Archive the Project Conclusion Recipe 4: Add Controls to the Document Window Step 1: Add Controls to the Diary Window Step 2: Implement the Add Entry Push Button Step 3: Implement the Add Tag Push Button Step 4: Validate the Add Tag Push Button Step 5: Implement and Validate the Navigation Buttons Step 6: Implement and Validate the Date Picker Step 7: Implement and Validate the Search Field Step 8: Build and Run the Application Step 9: Save and Archive the Project Conclusion Recipe 5: Configure the Main Menu Step 1: Create the VRApplicationController Class Step 2: Add a Read Me Menu Item to the Help Menu Step 3: Add a Diary Menu to Control the Diary Window Step 4: Add a Diary Tag Search Menu Item to the Find Submenu Step 5: Add a Recipe Info Menu Item to Open the Recipes Window’s Drawer Step 6: Build and Run the Application Step 7: Save and Archive the Project Conclusion Recipe 6: Control the Document’s Behavior Step 1: Organize the Project’s Code Step 2: Limit the Application to a Single Diary Document Step 3: Add Error Handling to the Diary Document Step 4: Prepare Localizable Strings for Internationalization Step 5: Build and Run the Application Step 6: Save and Archive the Project Conclusion Recipe 7: Refine the Document’s Usability Step 1: Set the Minimum and Maximum Sizes of the Document Windows Step 2: Set the Initial Position and Size of the Document Windows Step 3: Set the Standard Zoom Size of the Document Windows Step 4: Autosave the Position and Size of the Document Windows Step 5: Autosave the Position of the Divider in the Diary Window Step 6: Autosave the Recipes Document’s Toolbar Configuration Step 7: Autosave the Diary Document’s Contents Step 8: Back Up the Diary Document Step 9: Implement the Revert to Saved Menu Item Step 10: Build and Run the Application Step 11: Save and Archive the Project Conclusion Recipe 8: Polish the Application Step 1: Add a Save As PDF Menu Item Step 2: Use Alternating Show Recipe Info and Hide Recipe Info Menu Items Step 3: Use a Dynamic Add Tag and Tag All Menu Item Step 4: Use a Dynamic Add Tag and Tag All Button Step 5: Use Blocks for Notifications Step 6: Add Help Tags Step 7: Add Accessibility Features Step 8: Provide a Default Diary Document Name Step 9: Add Support for Sudden Termination Step 10: Internationalize the Application’s Display Name Step 11: Add Application and Document Icons Step 12: Enable the Application to Run Under Leopard Step 13: Build and Run the Application Step 14: Save and Archive the Project Conclusion Recipe 9: Add Printing Support Step 1: Create a Print Panel Accessory View in Interface Builder Step 2: Create an Accessory View Controller in Xcode Step 3: Add the Accessory View Controller to the Print Panel Step 4: Save Custom Print Settings Step 5: Create a Print View to Print the Document’s Content Step 6: Print Custom Headers and Footers Step 7: Implement Print Scaling Step 8: Build and Run the Application Step 9: Save and Archive the Project Conclusion Recipe 10: Add a Preferences Window Step 1: Design and Build a Preferences Window in Interface Builder Step 2: Create a Preferences Window Controller in Xcode Step 3: Configure the General Tab View Item Step 4: Configure the Recipes Tab View Item Step 5: Configure the Chef’s Diary Tab View Item Step 6: Build and Run the Application Step 7: Save and Archive the Project Conclusion Recipe 11: Add Apple Help Step 1: Implement an HTML-Based Apple Help Bundle for Snow Leopard Step 2: Add Topic, Task, and Navigation Pages Step 3: Add an AppleScript Link to a Topic Page Step 4: Use the HelpViewer help: Protocol Step 5: Add Keywords and Abstracts Step 6: Add Help Buttons to Alerts, Dialogs, and Panels Step 7: Advanced Help Features Step 8: Implement a Help Book for Leopard and Earlier Step 9: Build and Run the Application Step 10: Save and Archive the Project Conclusion Recipe 12: Add AppleScript Support Step 1: Create a Terminology Dictionary and Add the Standard Suite Step 2: Add the Vermont Recipes Suite and Extend the Application Class With a New Property Step 3: Add a Diary Document Class and a Property in the Application to Access It Step 4: Add the Text Suite and a Document Text Property Step 5: Add a Diary Entry Class and an Element in the Diary Document to Access It Step 6: Add Properties to Get and Set Diary Entry Values Step 7: Add a Current Diary Entry Property to the Document Class Step 8: Support the Make Command for New Diary Entries Step 9: Support the Delete Command for Diary Entries Step 10: Add a Custom Verb-First Command–Sort Step 11: Add Custom Object-First Commands–Encrypt and Decrypt Step 12: Move Along Step 13: Build and Run the Application Step 14: Save and Archive the Project Conclusion Recipe 13: Deploy the Application Step 1: Build the Application for Release Step 2: Test the Application Step 3: Provide Documentation Step 4: Provide User Support Step 5: Distribute the Application Step 6: Promote the Application Conclusion   Section 3: Looking Ahead Recipe 14: Add New Technologies Step 1: Switch to Properties Step 2: Switch to Cocoa Bindings Step 3: Switch to Garbage Collection Conclusion