Product Description

This book provides the reader with definitions, details, and explanations of the various components that make up this new operating system. Understanding the operating system helps the reader use the programming tools and the Carbon application programming interface (API) - both of which are covered extensively in this book. Mac OS X is a blend of old and new. Much of the original programming API (now referred to as the Classic API) is still usable. But it's been revamped and renamed - it's now the Carbon API. This modified set of functions includes plenty of new routines that make a Mac programmer's work easier and more powerful - provided that the programmer knows how to make use of the new code. The reader learns about the all new Carbon Event Manager, as well as the changes and enhancements that have been made to existing managers (such as the Window Manager and the Menu Manager). Readers new to Mac programming will appreciate the journey that takes them from the start of a new Macintosh project to the final build of a standalone Mac OS X application. Readers experienced in programming the Mac will also find this same material of great interest - and these readers will also benefit from the lengthy section on porting existing Mac OS 8 and 9 applications to Mac OS X. Finally, all readers will appreciate the Carbon API reference section that provides information and example code for dozens of the most commonly used Carbon routines.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1608359 in Books
• Published on: 2001-11-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 400 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
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 excels. 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 spend time experimenting with the contents of the Mac OS Developer Tools disk (the one that came with your copy of the operating system) with 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 localisation techniques, programmatic QuickTime movie manipulation and techniques for porting Mac OS 8 and 9 apps to Mac OS X.

From the Back Cover

This book provides the reader with definitions, details, and explanations of the various components that make up this new operating system. Understanding the operating system helps the reader use the programming tools and the Carbon application programming interface (API) - both of which are covered extensively in this book. Mac OS X is a blend of old and new. Much of the original programming API (now referred to as the Classic API) is still usable. But it's been revamped and renamed - it's now the Carbon API. This modified set of functions includes plenty of new routines that make a Mac programmer's work easier and more powerful - provided that the programmer knows how to make use of the new code. The reader learns about the all new Carbon Event Manager, as well as the changes and enhancements that have been made to existing managers (such as the Window Manager and the Menu Manager). Readers new to Mac programming will appreciate the journey that takes them from the start of a new Macintosh project to the final build of a standalone Mac OS X application. Readers experienced in programming the Mac will also find this same material of great interest - and these readers will also benefit from the lengthy section on porting existing Mac OS 8 and 9 applications to Mac OS X. Finally, all readers will appreciate the Carbon API reference section that provides information and example code for dozens of the most commonly used Carbon routines.

About the Author

Dan Parks Sydow is a software engineer and writer based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He has written over twenty computer-related books, including a dozen Macintosh programming books. Whether it's by way of a beginner-level book, such as Mac Programming for Dummies 3rd Edition (IDG Books Worldwide, 1999), or an advanced-level text, such as The Metrowerks CodeWarrior Professional Book (Ventana, 1997), Dan welcomes the opportunity to help others master the art of Macintosh programming. When functioning in the real world (that is, when working in business as opposed to writing), he has worked on Macintosh programs that performed tasks such as the manipulation of hear magnetic resonance (MR) images, and he has designed complex fourth dimension databases that interface Macs to mainframe computers.

These reviewers contributed their considerable hands-on expertise to the entire development process for Mac OS X Programming. As the book was being written, these dedicated professionals reviewed all the material for technical content, organization, and flow. Their feedback was critical to ensuring that Mac OS X Programming fits our reader's need for the highest-quality technical information.

Dennis Groves was born and raised in Seattle, Washington. While a sophomore in high school, Dennis began his career as a software engineer for a well known CADD company. It was there that he discovered UNIX and began to run a multi-user BBS with Usenet news feed. Since that time he has advised clients on the large scale implementation of systems and network administration software with a focus on security. Dennis also has over six years with system administration, network administration, integrating heterogeneous platforms and information security. He has spent the last five years pen-testing high profile websites, and web application security consulting for many significant companies in the financial arena.

Since graduation, Bill Larson has worked for software vendor companies in the semiconductor and security software industries. He has worked with the Macintosh since Mac OS 6.5 and UNIX since Solaris 2.2. He is currently working on security consulting projects and with an application security company. His newest toy is Mac OS X 10.1 with OpenBase, PHP 4.0, Apache, and XDarwin. He's starting to explore the new changes with Project Builder and Interface Builder and to write wrapper GUI's for open source security tools using the Mac OS X development tools. Bill lives in Phoenix, Arizona with his wife, Karen, and three children. He has an AA in Applied Science Electronics Technology and a BS in Electrical Engineering.

Customer Reviews

Misleading title�only deals with C/C++ for Carbon
With a title like "Mac OS X Programming", I expected a book which would treat each of the Mac OS X Frameworks (Cocoa, Carbon, Java and BSD) and languages (Objective-C, Java, C/C++) in an even fashion. Instead, after a quick overview of what's available, the book concentrates almost exclusively on developing C/C++ programs for Carbon.

I have the impression that the author took the easy route and repurposed his existing material on Mac Programming (which is mostly C/C++ on Mac OS 8/9) rather than writing a completely new book. This is fine if your then call the book "C/C++ Programming for Carbon" or similar.

My interest lies in Java (both the Cocoa and "pure" Java frameworks), and as such only a few pages of this book were of any use, and that material was already well covered in books like Jesse Feiler's "Mac OS X Developer's Guide".

If your interest is in C/C++ development under Carbon, then this book is probably worth three or four stars. If your interest lies elsewhere, one star.