book

Learn Objective-C for Java Developers

Name: Learn Objective-C for Java Developers
Author: James Bucanek
ISBN: 9781430223696

by James Bucanek

September 2009

Beginner

520 pages

13h 11m

English

Apress

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Copyright
About the Author
About the Technical Reviewer
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Who This Book Is ForHow This Book Is StructuredPrerequisitesDownloading the CodeContacting the Author
1. Language
1. Introduction
1.1. What is Objective-C?1.1.1. History1.1.2. A Modern Object-Oriented Language1.1.3. State of the Art Compiler1.1.4. Performance1.1.5. Dynamism1.1.6. Developer Productivity1.2. Learning a New Language1.3. Terminology and Culture Shock1.4. Defining Better1.5. Summary
2. Java and C: Key Differences
2.1. Primitive Types2.2. Constants2.3. Typedefs2.4. Pointers2.5. Structures2.6. Object References2.7. Arrays2.8. static2.9. Functions2.10. extern2.11. Preprocessor2.11.1. #include and #import2.11.2. #define2.11.3. #if2.12. Initializing Automatic Variables2.13. Labels: break, continue, and goto2.14. Summary
3. Welcome to Objective-C
3.1. Defining an Objective-C Class3.2. Object Pointers3.3. Sending Messages3.4. Naming Methods3.5. Parameter and Return Types3.6. Method Selectors3.7. Instance Variables3.7.1. isa3.7.2. Properties3.7.3. Property Attributes3.8. Overriding Properties3.9. Accessing Properties3.10. Scope3.10.1. Class Name Scope3.10.2. Instance Variable Scope3.10.3. Method Scope3.11. Forward @class Directive3.12. self and super3.13. Class Methods3.14. Constructing Objects3.14.1. Writing an init Method3.14.2. Chaining Initializers3.14.3. Designated Initializer3.14.4. Convenience Constructors3.15. Destructors3.16. What's Missing?
4. Creating an Xcode Project
4.1. Download the Project4.2. Creating a Project4.3. Getting Started4.4. Designing the Application4.4.1. Designing the User Interface4.4.2. Adding a Controller4.4.3. Making a Binding4.4.3.1. KVC4.4.3.2. KVO4.4.3.3. Controllers4.4.3.4. Bindings4.4.4. Adding an Array Controller4.5. Getting Down to Business4.6. Debugging Your Application4.7. Creating Sandbox Applications4.8. Summary

5. Exploring Protocols and Categories
5.1. Protocols5.2. Informal Protocol5.3. Combining Formal and Informal Protocols5.4. Categories5.4.1. Using Categories for Organization5.4.2. Hiding Methods5.4.3. Augmenting Foreign Classes5.4.4. Extensions5.5. Summary
6. Sending Messages
6.1. Compiling Messages6.1.1. Undeclared Methods6.1.2. Ambiguous Methods6.1.3. Coercion6.2. Sending Messages Programmatically6.2.1. Immediate Messages6.2.2. Deferred Messages6.3. Object-Oriented Method Invocation6.4. Calling Methods Directly6.5. Variable Arguments6.6. Unimplemented Methods6.7. Summary
7. Making Friends with nil
7.1. Messages to nil Are Safe7.2. nil Returns Zero7.3. Designing With nil7.3.1. Property Accessors7.3.2. Absent Behavior7.3.3. Consistency With Nothing7.4. No Free Rides7.5. Summary
2. Translating Technologies
8. Strings and Primitive Values
8.1. Wrapping Scalar Primitives8.1.1. Scalar Type Conversion8.1.2. Converting Strings to Scalars8.2. Wrapping Arrays8.3. Wrapping Arbitrary Values8.4. Wrapping nil8.5. Strings8.5.1. Converting Objects to Strings8.5.2. C Strings8.5.2.1.8.5.2.1.1. Converting C Strings into NSString Objects8.5.2.1.2. Converting NSString Objects into C Strings8.6. Formatting Strings8.6.1. NSFormatter8.6.1.1. NSNumberFormatter8.6.1.2. NSDateFormatter8.7. Summary
9. Garbage Collection
9.1. Choosing to Use Garbage Collection9.2. Writing Code with Garbage Collection9.3. Writing Finalize Methods9.4. Creating Weak References9.5. Creating Strong References9.6. Encouraging Garbage Collection9.7. GC vs. Non-GC Pointers9.7.1. Write Barriers9.7.2. Allocating Collectable Memory9.7.3. Garbage Collection Pitfalls9.7.3.1. Interior Pointers9.7.3.2. Opaque Pointers9.7.3.3. Enumerating Weak Collections9.7.3.4. Uninitialized Stack References9.7.3.5. Other Pitfalls9.8. Design Patterns to Avoid9.9. Debugging9.10. Summary
10. Introspection
10.1. Testing for Methods10.2. Testing Class Membership10.3. Key-Value Coding10.3.1. Using Key-Value Coding10.3.2. Designing KVC-Compliant Classes10.3.3. Custom Key Values10.4. Inspecting Classes10.5. Exploring Protocols10.6. Exploring Methods10.7. Exploring Properties10.8. Exploring Instance Variables10.9. Summary
11. Files
11.1. File System APIs11.2. Identifying Items in the File System11.2.1. File and Path Names11.2.2. Working Directory11.2.3. File URLs11.2.4. Creating and Deleting Directories11.2.5. Locating Special Directories11.3. Requesting a File from the User11.4. Symbolic Links, Hard Links, and Aliases11.5. Working With the Contents of a Directory11.6. File Properties11.7. High-Level File Operations11.8. NSWorkspace11.9. Random File Access11.10. NSFileManager Delegate11.11. Alternate APIs11.12. Summary
12. Serialization
12.1. Archiving12.1.1. Archive Types12.1.2. Archive Coders12.1.3. Archives and Documents12.1.4. Adding Keyed Archive Support to Your Class12.1.5. Adding Sequential Archive Support to Your Class12.1.6. Supporting Both Keyed and Sequential Archiving12.1.7. Archiving Complications12.1.7.1. Transient Properties12.1.7.2. Duplicate Objects12.1.7.3. Limiting the Object Graph12.1.7.4. Class Version Compatibility12.1.7.4.1. Forward and Backward Compatibility in Keyed Archives12.1.7.4.2. Backward Compatibility in Sequential Archives12.1.7.4.3. Class Replacement12.1.7.4.4. Class Substitution During Decoding12.1.7.5. Class Substitution During Encoding12.2. Objective-C Serialization12.2.1. Property Lists12.2.2. XML12.3. Copying Objects12.4. Summary
13. Communicating Near and Far
13.1. Communicating Within a Single Process13.2. Communicating with Other Processes13.2.1. Low-Level Communications13.2.1.1. NSPort13.2.1.2. NSPipe13.2.1.3. NSFileHandle13.2.1.4. NSStream13.2.2. High-Level Communications13.2.2.1. Distributed Notifications13.2.2.2. Distributed Objects13.2.2.2.1. How Distributed Objects Works13.2.2.2.2. Making a Connection13.2.2.3. Inter-thread Connection13.2.2.4. Mach Ports Connection13.2.2.5. Network Connection13.2.2.6. BSD Pipe Connection13.2.2.6.1. Run Loops13.2.2.6.2. Asynchronous Messages13.2.2.6.3. Passing Objects by Copy13.2.2.7. Passing Pointers13.2.2.7.1. Is it an Object or a Proxy?13.3. Networking13.3.1. Network Services13.3.2. URL Loading13.3.2.1. Trivial URL Request13.3.2.2. Asynchronous URL Request13.3.2.3. Writing to a URL13.3.2.4. Downloading a URL13.3.2.5. Caches and Cookies13.4. Summary
14. Exception Handling
14.1. Using Exceptions14.2. Exception Handling Differences14.2.1. No Catch or Specify14.2.2. Throw Any Object14.2.3. Re-Throw an Exception14.2.4. Catch Order14.2.5. Chaining14.2.6. Call Stack14.2.7. Performance14.2.8. Uncaught Exceptions14.3. Legacy Exceptions14.4. Assertions14.5. Alternatives to Exceptions14.5.1. Simple Errors14.5.2. POSIX Error Codes14.5.3. Core Foundation Error Codes14.5.4. Cocoa Errors14.5.4.1. Error Domains14.5.4.2. Customization and Display14.5.4.3. Localization14.5.4.4. Recovery14.6. Combining Errors and Exceptions14.7. Summary
15. Threads
15.1. Thread API15.2. Starting a Thread15.3. Managing Threads15.3.1. Putting a Thread to Sleep15.3.2. Thread Properties15.3.2.1. Information15.4. Thread-Specific Values15.4.1.15.4.1.1. Priority15.4.1.2. Stack Size15.4.1.3. Name15.5. Terminating a Thread15.6. Run Loops15.6.1. Starting a Run Loop15.6.2. Run Loop Modes15.6.3. Stopping a Run Loop15.6.4. Customizing Run Loops15.7. Thread Notifications15.8. Thread Synchronization15.8.1. The @synchronize Directive15.8.2. Mutual Exclusion Semaphore Objects15.8.2.1. NSRecursiveLock15.8.2.2. NSLock15.8.2.3. NSConditionLock15.8.2.4. NSDistributedLock15.8.3. Spin Locks15.9. Operations15.10. Timers15.11. Summary
3. Programming Patterns
16. Collection Patterns
16.1. Immutable Collections16.2. Ordered Collections16.2.1. Common Methods16.2.2. NSArray, NSMutableArray16.2.3. NSPointerArray16.3. Dictionary Collections16.3.1. Common Methods16.3.2. NSDictionary, NSMutableDictionary16.3.3. NSMapTable16.4. Set Collections16.4.1. Common Methods16.4.2. NSSet, NSMutableSet16.4.3. NSCountedSet16.4.4. NSIndexSet16.4.5. NSHashTable16.5. Composite Pattern16.6. Collection Equality Contracts16.7. Comparing Collections16.8. Iterator Pattern16.8.1. Using Fast Enumeration16.8.2. Using Enumerators16.8.3. Addressing Collection Objects16.8.4. Adding Enumeration Support16.9. Sorting Collections16.9.1. Objective-C Message Sorting16.9.2. C Function Sorting16.9.3. Sort Descriptors16.10. Filtering Collections16.11. Collection Concurrency16.11.1. Enumerate a Copy of the Collection16.11.2. Defer Changes to the Collection16.11.3. Thread Safety16.11.4. Garbage Collection and Weak Collections16.12. Summary
17. Delegation Pattern
17.1. Understanding Delegates17.2. Using Delegates17.3. Delegate Methods17.4. Delegate Protocols17.5. Incorporating the Delegation Pattern17.6. Summary
18. Provider/Subscriber Pattern
18.1. Notifications18.2. Notification Centers18.3. Posting Synchronous Notifications18.4. Being a Discriminating Observer18.5. Removing an Observer18.6. Notification Queuing18.6.1. Queuing a Notification18.6.2. Coalescing Notifications18.6.3. Dequeuing Notifications18.7. Distributed Notifications18.7.1. Distributed Notifications Center18.7.2. Property List Values18.7.3. Asynchronous Notification Delivery18.7.4. Suspending a Distributed Notification Center18.8. Summary
19. Observer Pattern
19.1. Key-Value Observing at Work19.2. Registering a Key-Value Observer19.3. Processing Key-Value Change Notifications19.4. Unregistering an Observer19.5. Making Your Classes KVO Compliant19.5.1. Sending Manual KVO Notifications19.5.2. Creating Property Dependencies19.5.3. Overriding Key-Value Observing19.6. Optimizing Key-Value Observing19.7. Summary
20. Model-View-Controller Pattern
20.1. Understanding Model-View-Controller20.1.1. MVC Variations20.1.1.1. Combined Controller and Data Model20.1.1.2. Mediating Controller20.1.1.3. Direct View and Data Model Binding20.1.1.4. Other Variations20.1.2. The Advantages of MVC20.1.2.1. Modularity20.1.2.2. Flexibility20.1.2.3. Reuse20.1.2.4. Scaling20.2. Bindings20.3. Interface Builder20.3.1. NIB Documents20.3.2. The NIB Document Window20.3.3. Object Properties20.3.4. Placeholder Objects20.3.5. Connections20.3.5.1. Outlets20.3.5.2. Actions20.3.5.3. Bindings20.3.6. Owner Object20.3.7. Custom Objects20.3.8. Object Instantiation20.3.9. NIB Object Initialization20.4. Views20.4.1. View Geometry20.4.1.1. Coordinate Points20.4.1.2. Coordinate System20.4.1.3. Pen Orientation20.4.1.4. Drawing Bounds20.4.1.5. Drawing Lines and Shapes20.4.2. Custom Views20.4.2.1. Invalidating and Drawing Views20.4.2.2. Graphics Context20.4.2.3. The Graphics Context State Stack20.4.2.4. Drawing Tools20.4.2.5. Animation20.4.2.6. iPhone View Classes20.4.2.7. Advanced View Topics20.5. Document Model20.6. Events and Responders20.6.1. The Dynamic Application20.6.2. Events20.6.3. Event Objects20.6.4. Key Events20.6.5. Mouse Events20.6.5.1. Mouse Down Event20.6.5.2. Mouse Drag and Mouse Up Events20.6.5.3. Mouse Tracking20.6.6. The Responder Chain20.6.6.1. Action Messages20.6.6.2. Sending Action Messages20.6.6.3. Menu Actions20.6.6.4. Disabling Action Menu Items20.6.6.5. Designing with the Responder Chain20.7. Data Models20.7.1. Legacy Table and Tree Models20.7.2. Collection Controllers20.7.3. Core Data20.7.4. Custom Data Model Objects20.8. Controllers20.8.1. Custom Controllers20.8.1.1. Creating a Custom NSApplication20.8.1.2. Creating a Custom NSDocument20.8.2. NSController Controllers20.9. About TicTacToe20.9.1. Info.plist20.9.2. Undo20.9.3. Resources20.9.4. Localized Resources20.10. Summary
21. Lazy Initialization Pattern
21.1. Implementing the Pattern21.2. Lazy Initialization of Global Variables21.3. The Class +initialize Method21.4. Summary
22. Factory Pattern
22.1. URL Factory22.2. Matrix Class22.2.1. Java Matrix Factory22.2.2. Objective-C Matrix Class Cluster22.3. Summary
23. Singleton Pattern
23.1. Implementing Singletons23.2. Lazy Singletons23.3. Singleton Factory23.4. Summary
4. Advanced Objective-C
24. Memory Management
24.1. C Memory Allocation24.2. Objective-C Reference Counting24.3. Autorelease Pools24.3.1. Autorelease Pool Lifetime24.3.2. Returned References24.3.3. Autoreleased Objects24.4. Managed Memory Patterns24.4.1. New Object Patterns24.4.2. Autoreleased Object Pattern24.4.3. Returning Autoreleased Objects24.4.4. Setter Patterns24.4.5. init Patterns24.4.6. dealloc Patterns24.4.7. Implicitly Retained Objects24.5. Managed Memory Problems24.5.1. Overretained or Underreleased Objects24.5.2. Overreleased or Underretained Objects24.5.3. Prematurely Released Objects24.5.4. Circular References24.6. Creating Autorelease Pools24.7. Mixing Managed Memory and Garbage Collection24.8. Summary
25. Mixing C and Objective-C
25.1. Using C in Objective-C25.1.1. Calling C Functions from Objective-C25.1.2. Using Objective-C Objects in C25.2. Core Foundation25.2.1. The Toll-Free Bridge25.2.2. C Memory Management25.2.2.1. Using Core Foundation Memory Management Patterns25.2.2.2. Using Core Foundation with Garbage Collection25.2.2.3. Using Core Foundation with Managed Memory25.3. Summary
26. Runtime
26.1. Process26.1.1. Environment26.1.2. Command-Line Arguments26.1.3. Process Attributes26.1.4. Version26.1.4.1. Controlling Development and Deployment Versions26.1.4.2. Testing for Classes, Methods, and Functions26.2. Packages and Bundles26.3. Frameworks26.4. User Defaults26.5. isa Swizzling26.6. 64-Bit Programming26.7. Summary26.8. Epilogue

Overview

Learn Objective-C for Java Developers will guide experienced Java developers into the world of Objective-C. It will show them how to take their existing language knowledge and design patterns and transfer that experience to Objective-C and the Cocoa runtime library. This is the express train to productivity for every Java developer who dreamt of developing for Mac OS X or iPhone, but felt that Objective-C was too intimidating. So hop on and enjoy the ride!

Provides a translation service that turns Java problem-solving skills into Objective-C solutions

Allows Java developers to leverage their existing experience and quickly launch themselves into a new domain

Takes the risk out of learning Objective-C

What you'll learn

Apply Java experience to Objective-C and Cocoa

Use elegant alternatives that increase productivity

Maximize the powerfully unique constructs of Objective-C, like class clusters

Think like an object-oriented C programmer to create more reusable code

Use all of the things in Java and Objective-C that are actually quite similar, like MVC design patterns

Learn how to do all of it within Apple's powerful Xcode programming environment using Cocoa frameworks

Who is this book for?

Experienced Java developers interested in developing native applications for Apple's Mac OS X operating system, iPhone, and iPod touch.

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