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Beginning Xcode (Programmer to Programmer)

Posted by Mila Coachman on Monday, 31 May 2010
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You this will be no surprise once you read the remainder of this review, but I'm going to just say it up front: this book is great. Being a seasoned Xcode user, I can tell you that having this book back when I was first switching over to Xcode would have hugely sped the transition.

The 'Programmer to Programmer' model that Wrox is known for is a an excellent style of reference. There are many benefits of targeting an existing programmer. When writing to an existing programmer there are terms and phrases that the writer can use that programmers will immediately understand, while a newcomer might not. These words and phrases allow the author to communicate to the reader in a rapid, concise and clear way.

The author introduces Xcode by devoting a series of chapters to different sections of the Xcode experience. Each chapter does an excellent job of introducing those little features that you might otherwise miss for a year, and then wonder how you got anything done without it. The chapters are filled with examples and pictures which I believe even a non programmer using the book as their first introduction could follow. I do believe though that a programming book would be a better first book and this book a second. The reason is that even though this book does a great job with simple explanations there are references made to terms which a new programmer wouldn't understand and also a new programmer wouldn't be able to relate to the features without a context. The new programmer says, "That's a great feature, but why and where do I use it?" The existing programmer coming to Xcode says, "Thats a great feature! Kind of like the ---- feature in my old ------ IDE but much more useful for ------."

The author even rounds off the survey of Xcode by addressing the powerful debugging and profiling tools that are included in the Xcode package. One section that I was extremely pleased to find was a section on remote debugging. Remote debugging is a method where one computer is used to run an application and another computer is used to monitor and debug. Remote debugging is a useful feature in general, but I find it indispensable when working on games or other full screen applications that take control of the entire screen. I was pleased to find this section included since I had a difficult time getting it to work the first time I tried to set it up. Again, having this excellent book at my side would have saved me enough time to justify purchasing the book.

I was also pleased with the author's coverage of Shark -?the performance profiling app included in Xcode. I have had wonderful results with using Shark to determine areas of my code that are malfunctioning or just plain poorly written with respect to time efficiency. The book does a wonderful job of explaining the function of usage of all the menu's windows in the application. Another feature that I thought was very useful that fits will with the "Programmer to Programmer" method is the "How it Works" sections that give a good description of why you are doing something, what Xcode is really doing as a result and how it does it.

I think that this book is incredible. I only have one recommendation to someone who's considering purchasing it. Buy it, but also purchase a book that covers the cutting edge Apple made technologies, like Carbon, Cocoa, Foundation, Core Foundation, Core Image, Core Data, Quartz, ect. The reason for this recommendation is that Xcode is built for and integrates well with these technologies and I believe that it would be beneficial to have a book to give an in depth introduction to these technologies, while this book gives an in-depth introduction to the IDE used to develop them. I have not had a chance to examine the book, but it's quite possible that Michael Trent and Drew McCormack's "Mac OS X Programming" also by Wrox is that perfect companion book.

Beginning Xcode (Programmer to Programmer) Features



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Beginning Xcode (Programmer to Programmer) Overviews

Xcode is a powerful suite of free development tools from Apple Computer that will allow you to create Macintosh applications, plug-ins, web components, applets, and more using languages such as C, C++, Objective-C, Java, and AppleScript.

What you will learn from this book:

  • Control window layout to match your development style.
  • Master source file organization.
  • How to access a source control management system, right in the Xcode interface.
  • How to quickly navigate to files, symbols, bookmarks, declarations, and definitions within your project; find reference documents and instantly access API documentation.
  • Harness Xcode’s smart editing features, such as auto-indent, code completion, and text macros.
  • Discover how easy it is to browse class information and create dynamic class diagrams.
  • Get started using Xcode’s Interface Builder and Data Modeling design tools.
  • Learn to customize target build phases, add your own compilers, write your own build processes, and integrate Xcode with other build tools like Ant and gnumake.
  • How to create and integrate unit tests into your projects.
  • Harness the full power of the debugger with smart breakpoints and custom data formatters. Learn how to change variables, and even fix bugs, while your program is still running.
  • Start using Xcode’s suite of performance analysis tools to find problems and accelerate your code.
  • Customize scores of hidden, and often undocumented, Xcode features. Learn how to remap keyboard commands, create your own project and file templates, and even add your own commands to the Xcode menus.

Instead of "cookbook" projects specific to a particular language, developer James Bucanek details each Xcode feature with step-by-step instructions that can be applied directly to your projects. Example projects that demonstrate a single concept make it easy to explore each feature.


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Customer Review


Book comparison - John Love - Marquette, Michigan USA
I'm looking for a comparision between this book, "Beginning Xcode" (which I already have) and Fritz Anderson's "Xcode 3 Unleashed" (which I don't have).

Maybe it's just me, but I have found "Beginning Xcode" to be difficult to follow and I am searching for another Xcode book that's equal in depth, but significantly easier to follow.

=====
For example, my challenge today is I have an external framework which is incorporated under "Linked Frameworks" of my main app Project.

Currently, if I re-build this external framework, I then have to re-build my main app.

What I wish to do is every time I re-build my main app, I want the external framework to be re-built automatically .. in short, 1 step, rather than 2.

I have been told that my answer is in "Unleashed"; however, I just can't find it in "Beginning".
=====

My current challenge notwithstanding, I do see an advantage in that "Unleashed" is based on Xcode 3, versus "Beginning" dating back to Xcode 2 (2006). I also see raves for both books .. but I still welcome any additions *only* because I already have "Beginning" and "Unleashed" may not have sufficient added merit to warrant the $$$.

Thanks very, very much in advance.


IT SUCKS BIG TIME -- DO NOT BUY!!! - J. Tran - Colorado
This is simply the worst of all xcode books. it should be called xcode document! instead of Beginning... It has no sample or practice page at all. NONE! ZILT! ZERO! if you want to learn xcode from examples this is NOT for you but if you just wanted to read what xcode means! then by all mean waste your money on it. I wish I could call the author and ask him for a full refund now! After reading the above 2 reviews, I decided to buy. Well I don't know what they were smoking when wrote the review. I would give it a negative 2 stars if I could. STOP! DO NOT BUY!



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Mac OSX Developer Guide

Posted by Mila Coachman on Sunday, 30 May 2010
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Mac OSX Developer Guide Overviews

Mac OS X, Apple's newest operating system for the Macintosh platform, is profoundly different from its earlier versions because of its similarity to the UNIX operating system. For developers writing software for OS X this means adjusting to two new environments to create applications and to access the enhanced features of the new OS, Cocoa and Carbon. Cocoa is an object-oriented API in which all future OS X programs will be written. Carbon is a transitional technology allowing compatibility of applications written for earlier versions of the Mac OS with Mac OS X.

Mac OS X Developer's Guide focuses equally on Cocoa and Carbon, guiding the reader through these technologies and showing how to write applications in both. It is the first book for Mac OS X developers written for those who are already working on applications, as well as new developers just getting started. It starts off describing the new OS and its development tools then focuses on specific programming issues, providing tips on making the transition from classic Mac OS code to Mac OS X.


* A guide for developers already writing applications as well as new developers just getting started
* Focuses equally on both Cocoa and Carbon environments
* Provides tips on transitioning from writing code for classic Mac OS to OS X
* References Apple online materials extensively, to keep developers up to speed on changes


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iPhone Programming: The Big Nerd Ranch Guide

Posted by Mila Coachman on Saturday, 29 May 2010
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I move from software technologies almost yearly, starting with PHP to ASP.NET and now starting iPhone development, so each year is basically another library of books I have to buy to teach myself the language. I've read a ridiculous amount of computer books, ranging from the terrible (super boring, dense) to the insultingly easy ones (that basically treat you like a 4th grader learning programming.)

This, thankfully, is a fantastic mix of being incredibly easy to pick up and read, and also super informative. As far as iPhone development goes, this will be my 4th introductory book I've picked up, trying to get a handle on developing for the platform. The other books all typically tend to throw you into immediately coding, and never really actually explain why you're doing what you're doing, or make sense of any of it. Yes, this book does start off with an example chapter that you basically just copy word for word, but that's mostly to get your feet wet before actually digging through all the details and building your foundation.

In the first 3-4 chapters of this book, I already feel like I have a complete grasp on subjects that I did not yet understand from the 3 previous books I've read. I sort of had an idea why I typed '*' in front of names, or what @property (retain) statements meant, but I never fully understood what I was doing--it was mostly just "well, I read it, so it must be the way to do it." Basically, the other books got me about 75-80% there, but this one is 100%. The last 20 I feel is the most important, because that's when you finally begin to understand the concepts of the language, which let you move onto the more complex stuff with confidence.

Another reason I feel this makes a great coding book is the layout of each page. I can't tell you how important it is to present all that text + code in a meaningful, organized way. I've read some books where they just hit you over the head with instructions, with almost no visual clues and with fragmented code samples. But the pages in this book have plenty of white space per page, have plenty of illustrations and each code sample is commented (an appropriate amount) to give you hints as you're typing code as to what you're doing.

Finally, and thank goodness for this, the first example in this book that you write is NOT a Hello, World app :)

In summation, if you're like me and have started to read a few books (or maybe you haven't, I wish I could have started with this one) and are looking for a way to really feel confident with iPhone core concepts, then pick this book up and give it a read. I can't wait to get started on the many project ideas I have!


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iPhone Programming: The Big Nerd Ranch Guide Overviews

Written by the trainers at the Big Nerd Ranch, the worldwide leader in professional training for Mac developers, this book provides a hands-on guide to learning how to program for the iPhone and iPod touch. Coverage includes

  • An overview of Objective-C, the core language you’ll use to program for the iPhone
  • An overview of the Xcode Tools
  • How to work with the iPhone SDK’s UIKit framework and Cocoa Touch
  • Build apps that use MapKit and CoreLocation, as well as the magnetometer
  • Dive into animation and effects, using Core Animation and OpenGL ES


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Customer Review


This is now the definitive iPhone programming guide - TB-10 Pilot - Columbus, Ohio
This is going to become the new definitive guide for iPhone application development!

When I read the book I felt that I was actually talking to a real person explaining it to me.

The book is organized in a 'class in session' format where a concept is described, explained and then you are given a small project to type in, play with and modify. What is extremely surprising is that ALL the code works! I have yet to find a typo in any of the code examples. And better yet, the Kindle version displays all the graphics in full color if you use the MAC kindle reader! I bought both the paperback for a desk reference and the kindle version for fast access.

But the way the book is structured, if you follow the examples as you read, you will amass a huge amount of working and 'REUSABLE' code in your projects. And also, you will remember where and why you entered that code and where you can go back to get it. Another super plus is that almost every method, section and even line segment code are commented so you can see exactly what each snippet of code does.

For an old PL/1 and VB6 and .net person, all it took was just learning the Objective C syntax and apply that to the objective programming models I already know. Delegates = Callbacks, IB = Form Builder, etc. Once I figured that out it was very easy to understand what Joe and Aaron were saying. I already updated real-time some of my older apps with new functionality just by using the examples in this book.

If you are new iPhone programmer or want to know about how it work, go no farther. This is the book for you!


Misleading on OpenGL ES. - Marc R. Bublitz -
The book promises "Dive into animation and effects, using Core Animation and OpenGL ES" but there is no OpenGL ES in the book. The authors state that they wrote a chapter for it, then rewrote it, then rewrote it, then decided to leave it out and put the information into another book.

The rest of the book seems like it is well written and gets to the point without a lot of fluff, but seeing as I specifically ordered the book for the OpenGL ES information then had to go through a return process because I was mislead by the publishers I cannot rate this any higher than a three star.



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Cocoa Touch for iPhone OS 3 (Developer Reference)

Posted by Mila Coachman on Friday, 28 May 2010
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I've been developing iPhone applications for a year now, and I wish I had this book when I started. While not every topic is covered in depth, it goes over many aspects of the SDK to enough detail to get started writing my own applications. I have used a couple of the examples in the book to build or fix parts of my current applications that weren't working quite right. One of those is the chapter on Core Animation. I popped in the sample code, and had the animation doing the exact thing that was illustrated in the chapter.

While I have still found some use for this book, I think the best readers will be those who are new to iPhone development, and want to start off not from OS 1.0, but OS 3.0 The introduction to Core Data is great for a beginner. In fact, it's rather amazing that you can read about Core Data and how to use it within your Table Views effectively. Most books cover one or the other. XCode does, and will evolve, but the fundamentals laid down in this book will be of use to you for every new iPhone OS release.

Cocoa Touch for iPhone OS 3 (Developer Reference) Features

  • ISBN13: 9780470481073
  • Condition: NEW
  • Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.



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Cocoa Touch for iPhone OS 3 (Developer Reference) Overviews

Join the gold rush to developing cool iPhone apps with this complete iPhone OS 3 developer’s guide. Professional developer Jiva DeVoe speaks your language, and he talks you through the entire process—from explaining Cocoa Touch and the iPhone SDK to using Xcode and the Game Kit API. Follow step-by-step tutorials, then apply practical tips on signing and selling your applications. Even if you’re new to iPhone development you’ll soon be cranking out great code.

  • Walk through Xcode, Interface Builder, and other key tools
  • Build simple or complex GUIs with navigation and custom views
  • Implement a database with Core Data, and design your schema in Xcode
  • Learn to use the iPhone’s signature multi-touch capabilities in your applications
  • Work with the Apple Push Notification Service
  • Use the Map Kit API to create apps with embedded maps
  • Record audio, play video, and access the iPod Library
  • Set up your developer certificates and code sign your apps
  • Use Store Kit to sell expanded features and content within your apps

Whether you're a new iPhone developer or seasoned veteran, this book is the perfect go-to reference for iPhone development-and one of an exciting new series for Apple developers.

Note: CD-ROM/DVD and other supplementary materials are not included as part of eBook file.


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Customer Review



Poorly written and outdated. - Jacob A. Rude -
I have had some prior experience programming for the iPhone via various online help sources. I purchased this book in hopes of it being a good book to really dig into the SDK and write/learn alot more code. The book has several errors and outdated information right from the first few chapters. Their equivalent of a "Hello world" app doesn't even run from instruction; you have to assume several things.

Overall, I would not recommend. The book seems rushed and unchecked for readability and accuracy. I'm sure there are several better books written for iPhone development.



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iPhone User Interface Design Projects

Posted by Mila Coachman on Thursday, 27 May 2010
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Love it or loathe it, the iPhone and iPod touch have been a stunning success, largely due to the App Store -- over 100,000 apps at current count. It is, by all accounts, the largest gold rush to invade the application development scene since ... well, ever. Apps that pay attention to design and usability stand out from the rest of the detritus, and quickly become a success.

"iPhone User Interface Design Projects" devotes a single chapter to each of ten developers/designers who've stood out from the crowd. They talk us through their thought processes and workflows, their failures and ultimate successes. You can teach someone to write code, but can you teach something as subjective as interface design? Apple's "Human Interface Guidelines" document goes some way to achieving this goal, explaining what users expect from an iPhone app's interface, and how the various controls behave and interact. The HIG is an essential reference and fits the bill perfectly for most use cases, but doesn't offer insights into more creative interfaces. "iPhone User Interface Design Projects" augments the HIG by bringing the authors' experiences into the discussion. They explain what worked and what didn't - there's nothing like learning from other people's mistakes.

A common thread throughout the book is that design and usability is an iterative process - very rarely will your first design concept reach the App Store. Though the individual authors refer to it differently - wireframing, prototyping, mock-ups, etc. - you get a sense for the importance of knowing what the interface will look like and how it will behave before committing it to code. The book's technical reviewer, Joachim Bondo, contributes a chapter on the design of a prospective Google news reader. Refreshing in presentation, this isn't a post-development retrospective. As he explains in the chapter's introduction, he has a few ideas in his head, and he fleshes the designs out as your read along. You don't get to see the final interface, but that's not the point. What you do get is insight into his design decisions. Bret Victor presented the excellent "Prototyping iPhone User Interfaces" at WWDC '09, and Bondo's narrative is very similar in content.

Though I enjoyed (almost) all ten contributions, Chapter 7, for me, was the highlight of the book. Chris Parrish and Brad Ellis cover - in great detail - often overlooked concepts of user context and application flow, and the undeniable value of prototyping and specifications. Parrish and Ellis rightly won an Apple Design Award at WWDC '09 for "Postage", a visual and highly intuitive postcard creator, and they approach their chapter with similar attention to detail.

The odd-one-out is Jurgen Siebert's detailed discussion of typefaces, the implications of their usage on small-scale devices such as the iPhone, and a walkthrough of his "FontShuffle" app. As informative as the history and anatomy of typefaces was for me, I didn't see how it specifically related to the very restricted set of fonts on the iPhone. Siebert even goes so far as to mock up a Contacts screen with a font that isn't available on the device, suggesting that the screen's readability has improved as a result. I don't disagree; however, the iPhone's fonts are baked-in, and unless you want to implement a custom glyph rendering routine, it's a pointless argument on a closed device. This chapter represents a missed opportunity, in my opinion. I was initially looking forward to reading about the author's choice of available fonts under different scenarios, but was ultimately let down.

Where the book falls short is in its use of black and white screeenshots throughout. We're talking about the design of applications which are displayed on a full colour device. Colour clearly plays a very large part in the design of any user interface, so cheaping out with black and white screenshots was a mistake. What's even more unforgivable is that the downloadable eBook (which isn't free) doesn't have full colour plates! Come on, Apress! I think given the context of the book, we'd be prepared to pay a bit more for colour.

Who's this book for? Everyone who develops or designs for iPhone, novice to expert alike. Even if you've had success on the App Store, I guarantee there's something in here for you.

iPhone User Interface Design Projects Features

  • ISBN13: 9781430223597
  • Condition: NEW
  • Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.



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iPhone User Interface Design Projects Overviews

With over 100,000 iPhone applications and 125,000 registered iPhone developers, is it still possible to create a top-selling app that stands apart from the six-figure crowd? Of course, but you’ll need more than a great idea and flawless code—an eye-catching and functional user interface design is essential. With this book, you’ll get practical advice on user interface design from 10 innovative developers who, like you, have sat wondering how to best utilize the iPhone’s minimal screen real estate. Their stories illustrate precisely why, with more apps and more experienced, creative developers, no iPhone app can succeed without a great UI.

Whatever type of iPhone project you have in mind—social networking app, game, or reference tool—you’ll benefit from the information presented in this book. More than just tips and pointers, you’ll learn from the authors’ hands-on experiences, including:

  • Dave Barnard of App Cubby on how to use Apple’s User Interface conventions and test for usability to assure better results
  • Joachim Bondo, creator of Deep Green Chess, beats a classic design problem of navigating large dataset results in the realm of the iPhone
  • Former Apple employee Dan Burcaw tailors user interfaces and adds the power of CoreLocation, Address Book, and Camera to the social networking app, Brightkite
  • David Kaneda takes his Basecamp project management client, Outpost, from a blank page (literally) to a model of dashboard clarity
  • Craig Kemper focuses on the smallest details to create his award-winning puzzle games TanZen and Zentomino
  • Tim Novikoff, a graduate student in applied math with no programming experience, reduces a complex problem to simplicity in Flash of Genius: SAT Vocab
  • Long-time Mac developer Chris Parrish goes into detail on the creation of the digital postcard app, Postage, which won the 2009 Apple Design Award
  • Flash developer Keith Peters provides solutions for bringing games that were designed for a desktop screen to the small, touch-sensitive world of the iPhone
  • Jürgen Siebert, creator of FontShuffle, outlines the anatomy of letters and how to select the right fonts for maximum readability on the iPhone screen
  • Eddie Wilson, an interactive designer, reveals the fine balance of excellent design and trial-by-fire programming used to create his successful app Snow Report

Combined with Apress’ best-selling Beginning iPhone 3 Development: Exploring the iPhone SDK, you’ll be prepared to match great code with striking design and create the app that everyone is talking about.

What you’ll learn

  • Optimize your design for the iPhone’s limited screen real estate and the mobile environment
  • Create a user interface that is eye-catching and stands apart from the crowd
  • Maximize your use of typographic elements for style and readability
  • Perfect entry views and display large amounts of data in an exciting way
  • Translate games made for the desktop’s big screen to the iPhone
  • Strike the perfect balance between simplicity, beauty, and features

Who is this book for?

iPhone application developers of all experience levels and development platforms


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Customer Review


Sexy design sells! - H. Wu - Brooklyn, NY USA
Apple's iPhone SDK/Cocoa Touch framework provides some very elegant UI widgets out of the box. It's a beautiful thing when you design your app's interface, and it comes great-looking already. However, us programmers tend to be lacking skills in interactive design and awesome usability. This book comes in for the rescue.

Authors of this book have been to the trenches, and they wrote their own experiences and their thought processes here in their chapters. It's amazing how a little app has so much design decisions involved.
Chapter 1 - How and why design apps that have similar look and feel like the default built-in Apple apps, and some tips on whether to tap or not, and usability testing.
Chapter 2 - The author takes on the Google news reader, and improves the navigation and re-structured his app design to be more efficient.
Chapter 3 - The author talks about the differences between web and native apps, and some best practices and tricks
Chapter 4 - The author shows how the design evolved along with design decisions and adjustments
Chapter 5 - This is my favorite chapter. The author discuss in depth of how to design UI interactions with iPhone's unique size and features. The discussion on rotations is especially thought-provoking!
Chapter 6 - This chapter shows that even designing a very simple and basic app, it still takes consideration on usability and appropriate user interactions.
Chapter 7 - This chapter is great in showing you many ways to tune your app details into great enhancements to your apps. Little details you would otherwise take for granted or ignored.
Chapter 8 - As a programmer, I'm happy to see some codes behind the app. This chapter shows you how to build a simple but interesting game, with the focus of how to receive user interactions with minimal efforts. Codes are provided so it's a great read!
Chapter 9 - The author talks about different font styles and typefaces.
Chapter 10 - The author shows us many tips and tricks during the entire app development life cycle.

Overall, this book shows us how iPhone apps are developed from a different angle. Many great tips/tricks and real-world experiences. It's a great read w/ about 240 pages. Any iPhone programmer would learn a thing or two from this book. My only complain is that some chapters are too short. Hopefully 2nd edition of this book can include additional iPhone app designers/developers :)




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Practical Ruby Projects: Ideas for the Eclectic Programmer (Books for Professionals by Professionals)

Posted by Mila Coachman on Monday, 24 May 2010
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Great Price "Practical Ruby Projects: Ideas for the Eclectic Programmer (Books for Professionals by Professionals)" for $0.98 Today



The past few years have seen the English-language Ruby book market explode. Before the phenomenal success of Rails it was perfectly possible to own every available title (and not use much storage space), but now that would be quite a challenge and lead to considerable redundancy. Having worked my way through quite a few Rails books of late, reading Practical Ruby Projects--a Ruby book that doesn't even mention web frameworks--was both a pleasant diversion and a highly illuminating experience.

Like the last volume I reviewed (Pro JavaScript Design Patterns), this book is unabashedly aimed at experienced programmers. There's a brief paragraph on "getting set up", but no detailed guide to obtaining the tools. Instead we dive right in to a sequence of projects that includes: making music (dipping into calling C code from ruby), animation, simulation, building a strategy game (and adding a RubyCocoa frontend), genetic algorithms, and even implementing lisp and parsers. Once again the "apress roadmap," a diagram intended to show how the skillsets in their different volumes build on one another, is misleading pitching this between "Beginning Ruby" and other volumes I've reviewed like Practical Ruby for System Administration and Pro Active Record. Don't believe it. Though there's little overlap in the material, this is a more advanced volume than either of those and readers should be prepared.

The pace of the book is measured and Topher Cyll does a good job of gradually building up the projects a step at a time. Along the way a variety of practices are demonstrated with many methods stubbed out for demonstration purposes before being filled in when they are needed, and considerable time spent on decoupling code. That latter piece is particularly in evidence in the chapters on building a turn-based strategy game and then developing a RubyCocoa front-end. Despite careful design early on further refactoring is needed to make it easy to apply the front-end and that process is carefully worked through.

Most of the book makes some use of existing libraries. The initial lisp chapter uses the sexp library and the subsequent section on writing a parse relies on rparsec. For the most part, however, use of the libraries is kept to a minimum, allowing for fairly self-contained code. Unit testing is largely ignored until the last chapter, where the need for tests when constructing a grammar/parser is explained and a test-first development model is encouraged. That works well to demonstrate the power of tests for complex (and often brittle) code.

This is not a book designed for public transport reading. Working through chapters on the bus I frequently found myself wanting to reach for my laptop to get a better grasp of how a piece of code worked. While the explanation is generally very good, with material of this complexity there is nothing like running the code and tweaking it to make sure you've understood exactly what each transformation does. It's a book to take your time over, so be prepared!

A few editorial errors have crept in, suggesting a re-organisation of the contents late in the day. In particular an early reference to s-expressions seemed to presume that the lisp and/or parsing chapters were featured early. That's not a big deal and will hopefully be corrected in later printings; the author does encourage skipping around within the book, but there is value in working through it roughly in order, and not just for the two "paired" chapters that explicitly build on one another.

Perhaps the most striking thing about this book is the reminder that even for those of us whose primary programming activity is web development, studying other areas can be extremely helpful. Not only is it helpful to see how other developers structure their code, but tools like genetic algorithms and parsers are likely to be very helpful where web applications require sophisticated processing and/or backend systems. And it never hurts to learn a little lisp. For the ruby developer who's comfortable with the language and wants to stretch out a little, this book would be an excellent investment.

Disclaimer: I was sent a copy of this book for review by the publisher.


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Practical Ruby Projects: Ideas for the Eclectic Programmer (Books for Professionals by Professionals) Overviews

Want to take Ruby to the limit? Looking for new, powerful, and creative ideas that will take Ruby beyond Rails and web programming? If you’re comfortable with Ruby, you’ll be itching to go further—apply Practical Ruby Projects: Ideas for the Eclectic Programmer and become a master of advanced Ruby techniques.

Rubyist Topher Cyll brings several imaginative projects to this book, ranging from making generative music, animations, and turn–based games to implementing simulations, algorithms, and even an implementation of Lisp!

Art, music, theory, and games—this book has it all. Best of all, it’s all done with Ruby.

Each chapter, in addition to making you say “Cool—I hadn’t thought of that before,” looks at solving tricky development problems, enforces best practices, and encourages creative thinking. You’ll be building your own exciting, imaginative ruby projects in no time.

  • Create imaginative and innovative Ruby programming projects.
  • Learn how to solve tricky development problems, be guided by best practices, and be inspired to think creatively.
  • Don’t waste time on the basics—it’s assumed you know the fundamentals of Ruby already.

What you’ll learn

  • How to set up Ruby on Windows, Mac OSX, and Linux
  • How to create UIs with RubyCocoa
  • How to create a Lisp implementation in Ruby
  • How to create generative music and turn–based adventure games in Ruby
  • How to model things and create algorithms in Ruby
  • Several more Ruby best practices and programming techniques that will save you hours of programming time

Who is this book for?

This book is for anyone who has mastered the basics of Ruby and wants to learn advanced Ruby techniques.

About the Apress Practical Series

The Practical series from Apress is your best choice for getting the job done, period. From professional to expert, this series lets you apply project–motivated templates (or frameworks) step by step in a very direct, practical, and efficient manner toward current real–world projects that may be sitting on your desk. So whatever your career goal, Apress can be your trusted guide to take you where you want to go on your IT career empowerment path.


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Customer Review


Easy Read - Harold Campbell - Jamaica
This is one of the rare technical books, that's actually quite fun to read. Additionally, all except the last two chapters can be read out of turn. I think this is an excellent book. Take the time and get excited by taking a fresh look at ruby.


Feet first and freewheeling - Ian Dees - Portland, OR USA
The hands-on style of this book is contagious; you'll find yourself really wanting to jump in and try out the code samples. The source is available on Topher's site, but the simplicity and sense of immediacy are such that you may want to just start typing it in yourself. In a few minutes, you're making music or creating a game.



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Learn Objective-C for Java Developers (Learn Series)

Posted by Mila Coachman on Sunday, 23 May 2010
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Great Price "Learn Objective-C for Java Developers (Learn Series)" for $8.83 Today



I've been programming with Java since 1998. It's a nice language/platform with automatic garbage collection and a rich set of 3rd party APIs and libraries. However, the introduction of iPhone changed the world, and I wanted to develop some apps for iPhone. Since iPhone does not support Java as their development language, I had to learn Objective-C. Even though I learned some C/C++ back from college days, Objective-C is still quite foreign to me. It's a bit frustrating to Google and searching through Apple's documentation to find something equivalent (that works in Java) to be used in Objective-C. After many fruitless searches and frustration, I thought I might never learn Objective-C. Then this book was released and I grabbed a copy. After reading it, I truly wish this book was available earlier so I didn't waste so much time searching blindly in Google.

James did a wonderful job bring Java and Objective-C comparison side by side. But keep in mind, no single book can cover EVERYTHING between Java and Objective-C. There are obviously certain things missing but for the most part, it covers many grounds between Java and Objective-C.

Part 1 - Language
Chapeter 1-7 give you some nice introduction to Objective-C, and along the way, comparing with Java, and gradually feeds you more and more Objective-C features. Chapter 5 on Protocols and Categories is very nice, but I wish it was much longer. Protocols and Categories are very powerful features in Objective-C. They alone deserve a whole book ;)

Part 2 - Translating Technologies
Chapter 8-15 touches on many fundamentals of both languages, Strings and primitive values, Garbage Collection, Introspection, Files, Serialization, Exception Handling and Threads. The author shows us side-by-side code snippets comparison between Java and Objective-C. This alone is invaluable to us readers. There are some mind-bending situations where you will say: why it's so different? and makes you feel confused and puzzled. Then if you read up Apple's official documentation, and explore the APIs further, you will realize why things are in certain way in Objective-C. Definitely lots of learning there.

Part 3 - Programming Patterns
Chapter 16-23 shows the readers some common programming and design patterns in both language flavors. Collection pattern, Delegation pattern (lots of Objective-C APIs are through the use of delegation), Provider/Subscriber pattern, Observer Pattern(you will find how easy it is to setup observers in your program), MVC, Lazy Initialization, Factory, and our favorite Singleton pattern.
Of course, there are many more patterns that are not covered here, but these basic patterns are enough to get you started. Again, patterns alone warrants a whole 900-page book, so hopefully something comes out soon.

Part 4 - Advanced Objective-C
Chapter 24-26 deals with memory management, mixing c and objective-c, and runtime.
Memory management is especially important in iPhone SDK since so far iPhone SDK does not support automatic garbage collection. So all the memory allocations you have in the codes must be taken care of. Mixing C and Objective-C is very interesting, it should be very helpful for gaming development, where in many cases, involves game engines written in C.

Overall, it's a solid book for Java developers who want to dive into Objective-C.
You might need to read it a few times to fully understand certain topics.
It's a good reference book as well if you want to look up something quick in Objective-C but you only know how to do that in Java.

Learn Objective-C for Java Developers (Learn Series) Features

  • ISBN13: 9781430223696
  • Condition: NEW
  • Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.



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Learn Objective-C for Java Developers (Learn Series) Overviews

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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Customer Review


I needed this book a year ago, but am thrilled it is finally here - Matthew McCullough - Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
Being a Java developer for more than 10 years and having explored the Objective-C platform for iPhone development for more than the last year, I struggled in the early days. I longed for a document that spoke to me, the Java emigre, and helped me map my existing knowledge into this new field of development. Finally, such a book has hit the shelves in the form of James Bucanek's Learn Objective-C for Java Developers.

James warns us that direct comparisons between these languages are insufficient, but acknowledges it gives us a great common vocabulary to start with. Once the comparisons have been drawn and as we become comfortable on the Objective-C language, James takes us beyond Obj-C as Java and shows the dynamism of this unique platform. We progress through memory management, persistence, and other platform specific critical technologies, learning each from James in a very friendly tutorial-style manner.

The book ends in a fevered pitch with an overview of mixing C and Obj-C. Overall, I was very pleased with the book, primarily because it spoke to me as a Java developer, and second because the writing style was very digestible. I highly recommend this book to any Java developer moving to the iPhone platform.




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