Learn Objective-C on the Macintosh
reviewed by Matt Brewer
Authors: Mark Dalrymple, Scott Knaster, edited by Dave Mark http://www.spiderworks.com/books/learnobjc.php Released: 2006 by SpiderWorks Pages: 224 $30 USD. eBook Edition: PDF, $15 USD. ISBN: 0977784258 Requirements: Having a basic understanding of any language is a plus in this case, but the authors don’t assume that you already have C or any other language under your belt. Good for those that are curious about programming in Cocoa and need the basics. Strengths: The authors have well-placed side-notes in blue boxes throughout the text, highlighting very common mistakes and general advice. The book follows simple design patterns and introduces you to Objective-C at a friendly pace. Weaknesses: The included sample code is in general, poorly commented. The included comments are no-brainer comments like “//init” that most even remotely familiar with OOP would be familiar with. However, the working code for many methods is undocumented, leaving the reader to decipher what is happening in each line. |
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Being relatively new to Objective-C and Cocoa myself, I was excited to get my hands on this book. The authors start out with relatively simple examples and build on key principles ensuring that the reader learns the techniques and concepts as he goes. I like the fact that the sample code is included so that the reader doesn’t have to go through the textbook and copy large chunks of code into a text editor.
The book covers some very important topics such as memory management and inheritance, but tended to leave me feeling a bit cheated at the end. This book focuses on Objective-C and not Cocoa and there is a difference. My general feeling is that there isn’t one book out there that will teach someone all he needs to know about programming. This book gives the reader a lot of insight into the workings of the language, but the reader would need another book to learn more about creating interfaces, bindings, or the Cocoa frameworks.
