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Learning the iOS 4 SDK for JavaScript Programmers

Learning the iOS 4 SDK for JavaScript Programmers

by Danny Goodman
Publisher: O'Reilly Media, Inc.
Release Date: December 2010
ISBN: 9781449399078
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Book Description

Is it possible for JavaScript programmers to learn Apple's iOS 4 SDK and live to tell the tale? Technology guru Danny Goodman did, and with this book he leaves a well-marked trail for you to follow. An authority on JavaScript since its inception, Goodman understands the challenges you might face in creating native iOS apps with this SDK, and introduces Xcode, Objective-C, and Cocoa Touch in a context you'll readily understand.

Why bother with the SDK when you can simply build web apps for Apple's iOS devices? Web apps can't access an iPhone's music library, camera, or iOS system software for maps, audio, and more. Nor can you sell web apps in the App Store. If you want to take full advantage of the iPhone and iPad, iOS 4 SDK is your tool -- and this is your book. Includes full coverage of iOS SDK 4.2.

  • Learn the distinction between web app and iOS native app programming
  • Create a workbench app to test code snippets throughout the learning process
  • Get a structural view of an iOS app, and compare the process of building objects in Objective-C versus JavaScipt
  • Discover how your code launches iOS apps and makes them user-ready
  • Learn about iOS memory management details that are different from JavaScript, including pointers and data types
  • Use Objective-C and Cocoa Touch to implement common JavaScript tasks

Table of Contents

  1. A Note Regarding Supplemental Files
  2. Preface
    1. What You Need to Start
    2. What’s in This Book
    3. Conventions Used in This Book
    4. Using Code Examples
    5. How to Contact Us
    6. Safari® Books Online
    7. Acknowledgments
  3. 1. Why Go Native?
    1. Using an App Offline
    2. More Access to the Hardware
    3. More Access to the Software
    4. What You Lose
      1. Distribution
      2. Apple iOS Developer Program
      3. Content
      4. Authoring Platform Choices
    5. Taking the Plunge
  4. 2. Welcome to the iOS SDK
    1. Hardware and OS Requirements
    2. Installing the SDK
    3. About iOS Developer Programs
    4. Inside the SDK
    5. Viewing Developer Documentation
    6. Loading Code Samples
    7. Setting the Project’s Base SDK
    8. Trying the iOS Simulator
    9. Coming Up...
  5. 3. Creating a Test Workbench
    1. Creating the Project in Xcode
      1. Selecting a Project Type
      2. Naming and Saving the New Project
      3. Welcome to Your Project
      4. Editing Your First Files
      5. What the runMyCode: Method Does
    2. Building the User Interface
      1. Adding a Button to the View
      2. Connecting the Button
      3. Going for a Test Ride
      4. Congratulations
  6. 4. Structural Overview of an iOS App
    1. Where It All Begins: APIs
      1. APIs You Already Know
      2. The Cocoa Touch APIs
    2. Frameworks
      1. Foundation Framework
      2. UIKit Framework
      3. CoreGraphics Framework
      4. Adding Frameworks
      5. Frameworks Set in Stone
    3. Welcome to Class Files
      1. The JavaScript Way
      2. The Objective-C Way
      3. Header File Details
        1. Importing frameworks
        2. Inheritance
        3. The @interface compiler directive
    4. Using Xcode to Create DGCar Class Files
      1. Editing the @interface Section
      2. Message Passing
      3. Editing the @implementation Section
        1. Adding the getFormattedListing method
        2. Message syntax
        3. Adding the initWithCarMake:model:year: method
    5. Integrating the DGCar Class into Workbench
      1. Creating Object Instances
      2. NSLog() and String Formats
      3. Running the Code
      4. What About Accessing Instance Variables?
    6. Recap
  7. 5. App Execution Flow
    1. Some C Language Roots in an iOS App
    2. An Introduction to Delegates
      1. How UIApplication Appoints Its Delegate
      2. The App’s Info.plist File
      3. Inside MainWindow.xib
    3. iPhone App Development Design Patterns
      1. The Model-View-Controller Design Pattern
      2. Other Design Patterns
    4. The Importance of Views
      1. The App Window—UIWindow
      2. Adding Another View to Workbench
        1. Adding the IBAction method
        2. Creating the user interface
        3. Adding code to display the blue view
    5. Recap
  8. 6. Central Objective-C Concepts: Pointers, Data Types, and Memory Management
    1. Pointers
      1. Pointers and Memory
      2. Pointers and Objective-C Variables
      3. Pointer Notation
      4. Determining Pointer Usage
    2. Data Typing
      1. Objective-C Data Types
      2. Cocoa Touch Data Types
      3. Objective-C Variable Declarations
      4. Objective-C Method Declarations
      5. The id Data Type
      6. Converting Objective-C Data Types
    3. Memory Management
      1. Cleaning Up After Yourself
      2. The Retain Count
      3. Autorelease Pools
      4. Observing Memory Usage
    4. Recap
  9. 7. C Language Fundamentals
    1. Variable Names
    2. Variable Scope
      1. Instance Variables
      2. Local Variables
      3. Local Variables in Control Structure Blocks
      4. Static Local Variables
      5. Global Variables
    3. Constant Values
    4. Functions
    5. C Structures
    6. C Arrays
    7. Enumerated Types
    8. Operators
    9. Program Flow Constructions
    10. Boolean Values
    11. Math Object Equivalents in C
    12. Inserting Comments
    13. Recap
  10. 8. Objective-C/Cocoa Touch Fundamentals
    1. More About Classes
      1. Temporary Objects
      2. Subclassing Framework Classes
      3. Defining Your Own Custom Subclasses
      4. Adding to a Class Without Subclassing—Categories
    2. Real Classes in Real Action
      1. TheElements Overview
      2. TheElements Class File Structure
        1. Single Element View classes
        2. TableView Representations
        3. Data Model
        4. Application Support
        5. Other groups and files
    3. Class Properties
      1. Specifying Properties in the Header File
      2. Synthesizing Properties in the Implementation File
      3. Using Properties
      4. Properties in Framework Classes
    4. About NSString
      1. Creating an NSString
      2. JavaScript String Method Equivalents in Objective-C
        1. Getting single characters and character codes
        2. Appending to a string
        3. Finding the offset of a matching substring
        4. Replacing substrings
        5. Dividing a string into an array
        6. Extracting a substring
        7. Changing case
        8. Escaping and unescaping URL strings
      3. NSMutableString
    5. About NSArray
      1. Creating an NSArray
      2. Retrieving Array Elements
      3. JavaScript Array Method Equivalents in Objective-C
        1. Appending items to an array
        2. Combining array elements into a delimited string
        3. Sorting arrays
      4. NSMutableArray
    6. About NSDictionary
      1. Creating an NSDictionary
      2. Retrieving Dictionary Entries
      3. NSMutableDictionary
    7. Arrays and Dictionaries in Action
    8. Recap
  11. 9. Common JavaScript Tasks in Cocoa Touch
    1. Formatting Numbers for Display
      1. Preformatted Number Styles
      2. Rounding Numbers for Display
    2. Creating a Date Object
      1. Adding a UIDatePicker to Workbench
      2. Understanding NSDate
      3. Creating a Date Object for a Specific Date
      4. Extracting Components from an NSDate Object
      5. Creating NSDate Objects from Strings
      6. Converting an NSDate to a String
    3. Calculating Dates
      1. 10 Days in the Future
      2. Days Between Dates
      3. Comparing Dates
    4. Downloading Remote Files Asynchronously
      1. Example Project
      2. Creating the Request
      3. Initializing the NSMutableData Object
      4. Delegate Methods
        1. Handling download errors
        2. Receiving a response
        3. Accumulating incoming data
        4. Processing the completed download
      5. Downloading Only When Needed
      6. Accounting for Fast App Switching
    5. Reading and Writing Local Files
      1. iOS App Directories
      2. Obtaining Directory Paths
      3. Obtaining Paths to Files Delivered with Your App
      4. Writing Files to Disk
      5. Reading Files from Disk
      6. Writing and Reading Property List Files
      7. Performing File Management Tasks
    6. Sorting Arrays
      1. Sorting with a Selector
      2. Sorting with a Function
      3. Sorting Arrays of Dictionaries with NSSortDescriptor
    7. Capturing User-Entered Text
      1. The Code Portion
      2. The Interface Builder Portion
    8. Validating Text Entry with Regular Expressions
      1. Modifying the Code
      2. Modifying the User Interface
    9. Using Regular Expressions for Text Search and Replace
    10. Dragging a View Around the Screen
      1. The Code Portion
      2. The Interface Builder Portion
    11. Recap
  12. A. Getting the Most from Xcode Documentation
  13. B. Common Beginner Xcode Compiler Errors
    1. Error Messages
    2. Warning Messages
  14. Glossary
  15. Index
  16. About the Author
  17. Colophon
  18. Copyright