# Need help learning Cocoa



## iindigo (Jan 21, 2004)

Hi!

I really want to learn cocoa. I'm new to programming, except for a little REALBasic. Where do I start? Please don't recommend books - I don't have the time or the money for them.

I do know one thing - Interface Builder is sweet


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## Cat (Jan 22, 2004)

How about looking in /Developer/Documentation/ on your Mac?
Or try here.


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## brianleahy (Jan 22, 2004)

No money I can understand - but time?  I'm afraid you _will_ have to spend some time reading if you want to learn a new programming language.

If you're up for reading on the web, try http://developer.apple.com/cocoa/


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## retrotron (Feb 6, 2004)

Well, I know you don't want to check out books, but I'll recommend one for others who might be reading this thread with the same question.  

Kochan's _Programming with Objective-C_ is brand new and very helpful for amateurs like me, as it assumes that you don't know C or advanced programming...which is good because every other Objective-C tutorial or book I've looked at for the most part assumes too much. If one doesn't have the money like me, just go to a Borders or something and sit in the cafe and read it.


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## havic (Feb 7, 2004)

Heh don't you just love the borders cafe?

This Kochan's book, how advanced does it go?  I'm looking to pick up a book soon on Obj-C.  I _do_ program in C, and I want to be able to get a book that will take me as far as a book can go before I just have to start learning through experience.

Would you recommend this one for me?  If not, anyone else have a good one?
I will go search amazon now, although I still have the problem of being completely broke, and computer books are expensive...


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## havic (Feb 8, 2004)

Well, having finally found the time to look on amazon.com, I have decided the following 2 books look good:

Programming in Objective-C, by Stephen Kochan, and
Cocoa Programming for Mac OS X, by Aaron Hillegass

Because they total over NZ$100 it could be a while before I get them, but what the hell.


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## retrotron (Feb 8, 2004)

If you already know C, then maybe the Kochan book isn't good. It starts from ground zero (no C experience at all) and goes all the way up through Foundation, but it really sticks to Objective-C as Obj-C, so you can use it to learn the GNU or Mac versions. Kochan's book is good for beginners who don't know C, but probably not for those who do. Maybe check out the O'Reilly Cocoa texts, they seem good, and they give an Obj-C primer chapter and then spend the rest of the book digging into the Cocoa APIs. Shoot, browse as many books as you can find in the cafe, then buy what suits you best (or just keep going back and read it there...perhaps I'm guilty of such crazy adventures...).


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## Dogcow (Apr 1, 2004)

havic said:
			
		

> Well, having finally found the time to look on amazon.com, I have decided the following 2 books look good:
> 
> Programming in Objective-C, by Stephen Kochan, and
> Cocoa Programming for Mac OS X, by Aaron Hillegass
> ...



Aaron Hillegass's book is excellent.  I highly recommend it.

-Dogcow "moof!"


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## havic (Apr 1, 2004)

Dogcow said:
			
		

> Aaron Hillegass's book is excellent.  I highly recommend it.
> 
> -Dogcow "moof!"



I have got it, it is a fairly good book AFAIK, although kinda boring.
I ended up ordering it through amazon, for some reason I could get it cheaper by importing it than buying locally.


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## RacerX (Apr 2, 2004)

The old resources are still some of the best. Stepwise, which has been around since the old NeXT days, has a Cocoa Starting Point section of their site. It includes a nice basic apps tutorial and the original articles from the _Vermont Recipes: A Cocoa Cookbook_.


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