Sams Teach Yourself Objective-C in 24 Hours

In just 24 sessions of one hour or less, you can master the Objective-C language, and start using it to write powerful native applications for both Macs and iOS devices! Using this book’s straightforward, step-by-step approach, you’ll get comfortable with Objective-C’s unique capabilities… make the most of its powerful implementation of objects and messaging…work effectively with design patterns, collections, blocks, threading, and a whole lot more. Every lesson builds on what you’ve already learned, giving you a rock-solid foundation for real-world success!   Step-by-Step Instructions carefully walk you through the most common Objective-C development tasks. Quizzes and Exercises at the end of each chapter help you test your knowledge. By the Way notes present information related to the discussion. Did You Know? tips offer advice or show you easier ways to perform tasks. Watch Out! cautions alert you to possible problems and give you advice on how to avoid them.   Printed in full color—figures and code appear as they do in Xcode Use Xcode to write Objective-C software more quickly and efficiently Master Objective-C’s object-oriented features and techniques Efficiently organize program files and projects Make the most of Objective-C’s powerful messaging capabilities Declare classes, instance variables, properties, methods, and actions Leverage building block patterns to write more powerful code Work with mutable and immutable data types Organize data with collections, including dictionaries and sets Manage memory the modern way, with Automatic Reference Counting (ARC) Expand and extend classes with protocols, delegates, categories, and extensions Apply recent language enhancements such as Associative References and Fast Enumeration Create and work with portable, anonymous code blocks Manage queues and threading with Grand Central Dispatch  

Table of Contents:
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