Cocoa™ is one of the principal application environments for Mac® OS X. Among Cocoa's many attributes, its advanced object-oriented APIs allow you to develop in both Java and Objective-C. This revolutionary new way of developing sophisticated applications for the Macintosh is both powerful and easy. With Learning Cocoa you'll become familiar with Cocoa application development, using Objective C, not merely by reading, but by doing. The book begins with a discussion of essential object-oriented programming concepts for those with no previous experience. It proceeds through an introduction to the Cocoa environment, development, tools, and some simple tutorials to help you become familiar with the basic elements of Cocoa programming. The remaining tutorials guide you as you create a series of increasingly complex example applications. The techniques and concepts you learn in one tutorial lay the foundation for the more advanced techniques and concepts in the next. You don't need extensive programming experience to complete the examples in this book, though it would be helpful to have some experience with the C programming language. The code for each example is included in the text so you can simply type it in. If you're already familiar with an object-oriented programming language like Java or Smalltalk, you'll quickly feel right at home with Objective-C, the language used throughout this book. As you ease your way into the experience of Cocoa programming, you're encouraged to play, to explore, to "kick the tires." You'll finish this book much better prepared to take on serious application development with Cocoa, and you'll find Apple's development environment not only less mysterious, but one that you'll be eager to program in. Written by insiders at Apple Computer, the book brings you information that you can't get anywhere else--and a potential leg up in the Mac OS X application development market.

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Learning Cocoa Review,  August 25 2001
Submitted by the Mac Enthusiast   [Respond | View]

First of all, I do not own this book, and I have not touched a copy of it. However, I read the Chapter 6 sample and I learned such a great deal from that single chapter that I wanted to give my feedback. I have had quite a struggle trying to learn Cocoa and I have been stuck for a while now, just being confused. I have done tutorials and tried repeatedly to make sense of the Application Kit and Core Foundation documentation bundled with Mac OS X which, with my novice's naivete, I found ponderous and confusing: all to no avail. The Objective C language guide, or whatever it's called, was also difficult to understand, and I had to re-read so much that it was nearly impossible to piece it all together.

When I read the sample chapter, I was so very pleasantly surprised to find out for the first time what a mutable data class actually was (I had been wondering this for some time and had not known where to ask or find it out). And at last this book finally explained Objective C object ownership and disposal in a way that I could actually understand -- it took me a minute, but it was really exciting when I finally got it; the Objective C language guide's section on object ownership and disposal had failed me in that respect every single time. I especially found the diagrams and illustrations to be immensely helpful in clarifying and demonstrating the relationships and interactions between different objects. I feel much in agreement with another review I read: that the writing is clear and that it is sufficiently easy to understand.

If you have not read the sample chapters, I highly recommend it. The other reviews seem to be fairly accurate which say that this book is a beginning Cocoa book. But I figure that once I have the basics down (with the aid of this book), all of those scads of sample code, drawer-full's of documentation, and racks of reference material on Cocoa will be enormously more meaningful to me and should then be mostly sufficient to keep me prancing down the path of progress. The first chance I get, I will go out and buy this book!


Learning Cocoa Review,  August 08 2001
Submitted by Rob Stevenson   [Respond | View]

This book wasn't as valuable as I had hoped because it's merely a rewrite of the NeXTStep book. I was really hoping for a different treatment so that I would be able to learn more about Cocoa. I do hope that O'Reilly has another, fresh Cocoa book in the works.




Learning Cocoa Review,  July 24 2001
Submitted by E. Wang   [Respond | View]

As a newbie Cocoa developer with previous programming experience only in JavaScript and a little bit of Java, I found this book confusing at best. The book states that "if you're already familiar with an object-oriented programming language like Java or Smalltalk, you'll quickly feel right at home with Objective-C." However, what the book fails to mention is that it mixes plain C into it's example code at times w/o informing the reader. For example, in the DotView example in Chapter 8, it makes use of C structs w/o even bothering to explain them. I found this very confusing.

In addition, the first release of this book is plagued with errors. I have submitted several already, but there are a few whose solutions elude me. As a previous reviewer mentioned, the To Do example application doesn't work properly and has numerous bugs in it.

This book really seems like more of a primer for experienced NeXTStep developers who want to get up to speed with Cocoa in OS X, rather than the newbie Cocoa developer. I only hope O'Reilly can come out with a much improved second edition of the book or perhaps "Cocoa: The Definitive Guide."


Learning Cocoa Review,  July 16 2001
Submitted by Dr. Scott Steinman   [Respond | View]

A good tutorial on beginning Cocoa programming. I only wish that intermediate and advanced books were out there as well.

My only problem with the book is that when something goes wrong with your program, it's nearly impossible to find the problem! The book does have a lot of errata, but that's to be expected on a new book (I'm speaking from experience here. The second book I wrote had an error on page 1 that my publisher, my co-authors and I all missed!). This complicates finding program errors because you don't know when the problem is with your coding or a mistake in the book.

I wound up with several problems on the To Do application:

1. The labels on top of the Info window don't display even though the outlet connections are correct and I've double-checked the code that should set them.

2. The status buttons do not cycle their state.

3.

Finding and fixing these problems has been difficult. The book gives the debugger a very cursory discussion, then assumes everything you do works correctly. More detailed discussions of error symptoms and their remedies, as well as how to debug on Mac OS X, would be helpful.


Learning Cocoa Review,  June 24 2001
Submitted by Zootbobbalu   [Respond | View]

Anyone that says this book is nothing more than a rehashing of what is available online is completely wrong. I tried to start with the online resources and realized the following:

1. Apple's Foundation Framework and Application Kit documentation is incomplete and only for reference. These resources do not walk you through anything.

2. "Inside Cocoa" is a great and must read, but it only helps you understand the new terminology (which is very important because Objective-C adds many new terms to the geek speak we all love and hate).

3. Apple's Temperature Converter example was nice, but nothing compared to the examples in "Learning Cocoa".

4. If you have the time to sort through all the user groups out there and slog through all the different writing styles, then you probably can find everything that is written in this book. But I've "Been There, Done That" and I have to say that this approach is more confusing than revealing. Plus I don't have the time to search the web for everything.

"Learning Cocoa" is not "Inside Macintosh", mainly because it isn't as big as an encyclopedia set (I can only hope Apple plans to document Cocoa like they did with the "Inside Mac" series). But this book is a great starting point. Maybe they should call the book “A Cocoa Primer” instead, because this is really what “Learning Cocoa” is. If you’re expecting a reading experience as complete as “Inside Mac” in this 366 page book, than you are going to be disappointed. If you want to quickly learn how to take advantage of the power and ease of programming in Cocoa, than this book is well worth the retail price. The value of the Application Kit and the Foundation Framework's documentation increases exponentially after reading "Learning Cocoa". I can't say the same after reading "Inside Cocoa".




Learning Cocoa Review,  June 08 2001
Submitted by Martin Bauer   [Respond | View]

this book rocks!
it contains everything you need to start with Cocoa and ObjectiveC.


Learning Cocoa Review,  June 06 2001
Submitted by Been There, Done that.   [Respond | View]

A bit disappointing. I was expecting more from O'Reilly and Apple. This book is just an updated re-write of what has been available online for free from Apple/NeXT for quite some time. If I had known this I would not have wasted the money. The book may be good for someone just starting out (being your only choice at this point), but for someone fairly new to Cocoa who has been weeding through the limited online docs for months now trying to make sense of them, this is a bit redundant. This should be available as a free PDF as it always has been and should have been available months ago. Let's get some new useful info out there Apple! I really appreciate the Mac DevCenter but can we beef it up a bit? I wanna learn some serious Cocoa! Thanks O'Reilly!


Learning Cocoa Review,  June 04 2001
Submitted by Richard Kendall Wolf   [Respond | View]



In general, Learning Cocoa is a great way to discover what the Mac OS X development experience is like. If you are new to Cocoa, I strongly recommend that you consider this book as your starting point. Not only is the writing in Learning Cocoa clear (a rarity in the technical publishing world), but it is also fun to read. The programming examples gradually move you from simple tools to a remarkably sophisticated application. Once you have completed all the tutorials within the book, you will easily be able to see how they could be applied to your own, specific needs. All the important APIs are introducted and you are encouraged to explore on your own.

My few problems with the book are as follows. The programming examples, while good, are taken from the old NeXT/Apple OPENSTEP documentation for the most part. If you have done Currency Converter, Travel Advisor, and To Do Item before, then you aren't going to see much that is new. I was hoping to see new tutorials that would reveal parts of the API I hadn't yet discovered. In addition, I was hoping the book would present Cocoa in a more comprehensive way. An "Appendix B" listing major Cocoa classes/protocols and their associated methods would be nice, in my opinion, as a reference that could be used while reading the book. I realize this stuff is documented within the development environment ... but you can't whip out your laptop on the subway! :-)


Learning Cocoa Review,  June 01 2001
Submitted by David Remahl   [Respond | View]

This book is long anticipated and is actually quite good for starting out programming Cocoa. Objective-C is definitely the way to program Cocoa, and I agree with Apple's choice of language, although it would definitely be a good idea to make the examples available in Java as well.

It could have given the somewhat more advanced reader more challenges. This is definitely a beginner's book, but that is a good thing for some people (Beginners ;-)


Learning Cocoa Review,  May 27 2001
Submitted by Deirdre Saoirse Moen   [Respond | View]

Learning Cocoa is written in Objective-C because, as Steve Jobs noted, Objective-C is the native language of MacOS X. Java was added for people who preferred it, but really, Objective-C isn't brain surgery and the book gives a tutorial that should be sufficient for anyone familiar with a C-like language.

I'm sure there will be Java Cocoa titles out, but until there are, my advice would be to learn at least a reading knowledge of Objective-C.

Though I prefer Objective-C, my first task upon starting with Cocoa was to rewrite the tutorial in Java.

And, regarding the number of books in Java, true, but how many books on one subject do you actually *need*? I have, despite using C in writing commercial apps for years, ONE book on C, etc.

Think Different -- Use Objective-C.




Learning Cocoa Review,  May 21 2001
Submitted by A Cocoa Newbie   [Respond | View]

I am waiting for a book like this to help me climb the steep learning curve. However, between Obj-C and Java, there doesn't seem to be a contest. I can get more help in Borders if I am working in Java. Not to mention my local community college offers way more Java courses than Obj-C courses.

From the point of view of someone who is just getting started, Java seems to be the language of choice. So why does the book use Obj-C examples? I don't really want an answer to that question. But I offer a suggestion...

Can O'Reilly help Apple publish an amendment (perhaps online?) to this book showing all the code examples in Java, rather than Obj-C?

Thanks!

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