Objective-C & Cocoa for Commuters

Objective-C & Cocoa for Commuters is a convenient way to learn how to develop applications for the Mac. It is our intensive seven-day bootcamp, but you get to sleep in your own bed. The course assumes no prerequisites, only that you are smart and motivated. This is also a great way to get started on iPhone development.

Students taking the commuter class will be in class each day from 9 AM to 6:30 PM (9 AM to Noon on the final day) and will be required to provide their own computers running Mac OS X 10.5. Lunch will be provided each day of class, and if students wish to obtain lodging onsite, they can do so directly with the conference facility at a discounted rate (mention "Big Nerd Ranch").

The first two days of the course are devoted to learning Objective-C with Mark Fenoglio, followed by our five-day Cocoa class with Aaron Hillegass. In 7 challenging days, these courses will take you from complete novice to being a Cocoa developer.

This developer training offers a condensed and information-rich, hands-on introduction into Objective-C programming. This is the perfect class for programmers interested in learning Cocoa who may lack a background programming in C or OOP.

We are using Mac OS X 10.5, Xcode 3, and Objective-C 2.

Upon completion of Objective-C & Cocoa for Commuters, the student will:

Objective-C
Understand classes, objects, and methods
Write a first program in Objective-C
Understand data types and expressions
Use basic control constructs for looping, decision-making, etc.
Define classes and write instance and class methods
Be able to use inheritance
Take advantage of polymorphism and dynamic typing
Work with the preprocessor
Utilize underlying C features
Use the basic Foundation classes (numbers, arrays, dictionaries, sets, etc.)
Retain and release objects correctly to prevent memory leaks
Be fluent in Objective-C
Cocoa
Be able to write complex applications for Mac OS X
Have mastery of Interface Builder and Xcode
Be able to find and understand the online documentation
Have experience with the most common classes in the frameworks
Have a clear understanding of the design patterns used in Cocoa
Be able to recognize several common idioms of the Cocoa community

Prerequisites

Prior experience in C and Object-Oriented Programming is not necessary. Some experience in programming helpful but not required.

Syllabus

Section	Contents
Objective-C
Why am I here?	An introduction to the instructor, Objective-C, and the course contents.
Classes, Objects, and Methods	A brief introduction to the concepts of OOP programming.
Get started	Write a first program in Objective-C. Define a simple class.
Data types and expressions	Understand the basic data types and how to write expressions.
Loops	How to use basic language statements for program looping.
Decisions	Understand the basic decision-making constructs in the language.
More on Classes	Using separate interface and implementation files. Multiple arguments to methods. Local variables.
Inheritance	The root. Extension through inheritance. Overriding methods.
Polymorphism, Dynamic Typing, and Dynamic Binding	The id type. Static vs. dynamic typing. Ask questions about classes.
More on Variables and Data Types	Initializing classes. Variable scope. Storage class specifiers. Enumerated data types. Data type conversion.
Categories and Protocols	Add a category to a class. Formal vs. informal protocols. Posing.
The preprocessor	Define macros. Conditional compilation.
Underlying C Features	Learn about arrays, structures, functions, and pointers.
Foundation Classes	How to use basic foundation classes, including numbers, arrays, dictionaries, and sets.
Introduction to Memory Management	Understand the autorelease pool. Write leak-free programs.
Cocoa
Why am I here?	An introduction to Cocoa, the instructor, and the course.
Get started	Build a simple app. Discuss tools, frameworks, and workflow.
Controls	Use the target/action design pattern.
Helper Objects	Use the delegation design pattern.
Controllers and Bindings	In 10.3, Apple introduced a new technique that eliminates a lot of glue code.
Toward a Deeper Understanding of Bindings	A series of experiments that explain what bindings are and how they work.
Undo	Add an undo menu item to your application.
CoreData	Use CoreData with bindings to create full-featured applications easily.
Archiving	Serialize and deserialize object graphs. (Using keyed archiving.)
Nib Files and NSWindowController	Discover what "Files Owner" really means.
User defaults	Save and use preferences.
Using Notifications	Register for notifications. Post notifications. Handle notifications.
Alerts	Make the user confirm their choices with an alert panel.
Localization and Internationalization	Prepare your application for the global marketplace.
Custom views	Do custom drawing.
Images and Mouse events	Make your custom view deal with mouse events, images, and the open panel.
Responders and Keyboard events	Make your custom view deal with keyboard events.
Fonts and Attributed strings	Draw character strings in your custom view.
Pasteboards and nil-targeted Actions	Implement copy, cut, and paste.
Categories	Add a method to an existing class.
Drag and Drop	Add drag and drop to your custom views.
NSTimer	Create and use timers.
Sheets	Attach sheets to your window.
Formatters	Format a character string and convert it to another type with a custom formatter subclass.
OpenGL and Cocoa	Create and manipulate 3-D views in your Cocoa app.
Processes	Create Unix processes and communicate with them from a Cocoa application.
Printing	How to add printing to your application
Core Animation	Use CALayer to add animation to your app
Garbage Collection	A deeper look at how the garbage collector does its job
Core Data Relationships	A more advanced look at Core Data

What's Included

Price includes a seven-day class, student guides, lunch each day, and a stylish "Big Nerd Ranch" t-shirt.