Mac OS X Programming

Dan Sydow

Mac OS X Programming assumes nothing on the part of its reader, other than common sense and an interest in learning how to use Carbon to write software applications for modern Macintosh computers. Therefore, it'll serve you well if you've chosen Mac OS X as the operating system under which you'll take your first steps as a novice programmer. You'll also find this book moderately handy if you're already a Mac programmer and want a gentle introduction to Cocoa, the new programming facilities that Mac OS X exposes. Even if you've used your experience to figure out Cocoa on your own, you'll probably like Dan Parks Sydow's coverage of porting old code to the new environment, and of new multimedia programming capabilities.

It's in explaining novice-level material that Sydow shines most. He starts, as is traditional, with a "Hello World" application that introduces Project Builder, Interface Builder, and nib resource files. He combines Carbon source code listings with lots of text and a fair number of screen shots, and though there's no companion CD-ROM, you can download the code from the Web (this approach increases the likelihood that you'll get error-free examples to learn from). Sydow explains everything he does with Carbon code--he frequently builds one application, then expands or modifies it--so time spent reading his explanations is well rewarded. Plan to experiment with the contents of the Mac OS Developer Tools disk (the one that came with your copy of the operating system) using this book as your guide. --David Wall

Topics covered: The fundamentals of programming in the Cocoa language for Mac OS X, as well as aspects of that operating system that will be new to experienced Mac OS developers. The author puts emphasis on creating projects (under Project Builder) and graphical user interfaces (under Interface Builder), as well as windows, menus, other user interface elements and the event handlers that react to their manipulation. There's excellent coverage of localization techniques, programmatic QuickTime movie manipulation, and techniques for porting Mac OS 8 and 9 apps to Mac OS X.

1 Any PR is good
Im a newbie to the world of Macs. Just using the OS for 3 years now, it has changed my life in many ways. I am interested in learning to program on the Mac, and of course reading the reviews of this book. I fall upon the Author Dan Sydow, which was having to review his own book in order to save face (if you will, with no dis-respect).
i am asking myself wether i think this book of all the ones out there on this related subject is the one that will help me the most. I answerd yes for the simple fact that if the author himself did take the time to read the reviews and cares enough to respond, this is the guy I will follow! Dan I give you my all with this venture , and then some . You've got my vote of confidence on the content oof this book.
Thanks
Kris Golden
Greenevile, TN

2 A hand-holding tutorial
If you have a copy of OS X and the Apple Development tools, this book will get you started programming the Mac. Each new function call is abundantly explained and illustrated with first code fragments, and then a complete working program. Few of the example programs take more than two pages for their entire source code.

This is the book's strength and weakness. As an experienced programmer and someone who has dabbled with Mac programming for years I found the pace of the book plodding and repetitive. I wished for a little less coverage on each topic so there would be room for more topics. But this will certainly stay on my shelf since, for those topics that were covered, I know I will be able to turn back and find fully worked out examples and explanations for these routines basic usage.

But now I need to figure out what to read next to become a better Carbon programmer, besides, of course, Apple's reference documentation.

3 Missing Source Code Website
This is a very good book, BUT the support is lousy! There is a reference to download the example source code inside the book (the published link is macosxprogramming.com) but that web link does not have the source code to the book!

BEWARE! Before buying this book, check to see if you can get the example code as the book does NOT come with an accompanying CD.

4 Carbon-based training wheels
If you've written MacOS applications or used other event-oriented frameworks, this book will get you started with Carbon-based applications and the Mac OS X Project Builder Software.

The book is easy to read with great examples. It's the perfect starting point if you have a Mac OS application that needs to be converted to Carbon.

5 Correction from Author
I am the author of this book. I did *not* write the Editorial Review that says this is a Cocoa book. That review, at the top of this page, and by a David Wall, is not my doing. When I saw the references to Cocoa in that review of this book, I added my From the Author comment. In that comment I tried to clear things up by stating that this is a Carbon book. I also use that note to mention that it is a tutorial book (not an advanced reference). I would never misrepresent one of my books - it's not right, it leads to complaints, leads to returns, and, as John Clayton's review illustrates, bad reviews. Though I'm not responsible for the "Cocoa" review, I'll apologize for it. In the future hopefully readers will rate the book on its merits as a Carbon book. If you want to give it a low rating based on that criteria, that's one thing - but please don't review it based on it being a Cocoa book! Thanks, Dan Parks Sydow

6 Not What It Claims to Be
This book was a big disappointment. Not because the book was necessarily poorly written, but because it is NOT, hear me again, NOT about Cocoa programming very much at all. It's about, for the most part, porting old Toolbox API apps to the Carbon APIs.

In the Editorial review, we read:

"You'll also find this book moderately handy if you're already a Mac programmer and want a gentle introduction to Cocoa, the new programming facilities that Mac OS X exposes. Even if you've used your experience to figure out Cocoa on your own, you'll probably like Dan Parks Sydow's coverage of porting old code to the new environment, and of new multimedia programming capabilities."

But I guarantee you, if you figured out Cocoa on your own, this book will be a slap in the face, especially if you believed what I just quoted and bought the book on the strength of that belief.

Listen to the author, who did write a pretty handy Carbon programming book:

[This book will] "help you make the transition from using the original Macintosh Toolbox API to using the Carbon API." (p. xiii). Or, "Because most Mac programmers use a procedural programming language rather than an object-oriented language, and because Cocoa applications don't run on non-Mac OS X computers, the focus of this book is on Carbon rather than Cocoa." (p. 19)

And there you have it. Sydow explains Cocoa just enough to tell you he isn't going to talk about it any more. If you are an OO programmer looking to learn Cocoa, this isn't your book. If you are an old (or young) Toolbox programmer looking to move to Carbon, you'll probably like it. Somebody decided that using the word "Cocoa" would sell more copies. Shame on you. May you feel a sting equal to lost weight of my wallet.

On another subject, other than the book "MySQL" by Paul DuBois, which is awesome, every other New Riders title I've bought has ... They are generally disorganized-take for example, "PHP Web Application Development" and the book I reviewed here. Both follow a kind of rambling style that is virtually useless for the busy professional. Enough said. Sorry.