Xcode 3 Unleashed

• Cover Type: Paperback with 560 pages
• Published by: Sams; 1 Pap/Cdr edition July 27, 2008
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0321552636
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0321552631
• Book Dimensions: 9.1 x 7 x 1.2 inches
• Weighs: 2.4 pounds

Apple’s new Xcode 3 is the most powerful Mac development suite ever created. In Xcode 3 Unleashed, renowned Mac developer Fritz Anderson has written the definitive guide to making the most of Xcode 3 to build any Macintosh or iPhone application.

Anderson leads you through a simple project that covers the entire Xcode 3.x development lifecycle. You’ll walk through building and debugging command-line tools, creating Mac OS X user interfaces, modeling data, localizing languages, compiling applications, and much more. Along the way, he introduces each of Apple’s remarkable development tools from the latest version of Interface Builder to Instruments—a powerful new tool for analyzing and optimizing your code.

Anderson shows how to manage your source code in any environment, whether you’re working solo or participating in a worldwide team. He thoroughly illuminates Xcode 3’s build system and shows how to make the most of Apple’s performance tools, led by the deep and powerful Shark statistical profiler.

Systematically updated for Xcode 3.x, this is a comprehensive revision of Anderson’s previous bestseller, Step into Xcode. Its breadth, depth, and practical focus will make it indispensable to every Mac developer: experienced programmers upgrading from Xcode 2 or migrating from CodeWarrior; UNIX/Linux programmers moving to Mac OS X; even new programmers.

Detailed information on how to…

• Succeed with every stage of the Mac OS X application lifecycle
• Make the most of Xcode 3’s core tools for editing, debugging, testing, and compilation
• Get the most from new improvements to Interface Builder
• Create robust applications using the Model-View-Controller paradigm
• Utilize dynamic libraries and frameworks
• Build Universal Binaries to run on both Intel and PowerPC Macs
• Add Spotlight searchability to data files
• Profile memory, I/O, graphics, and threading in real-time
• Accelerate both your applications and your development processes
• Leverage new improvements to the Xcode documentation system
• Avoid header ambiguity, disappearing links, and other Xcode development pitfalls

Introduction 1

Part I: The Life Cycle of a Mac OS X Application

Chapter 1: Kicking the Tires 11

Chapter 2: Simple Workflow and Passive Debugging 19

Chapter 3: Simple Active Debugging 29

Chapter 4: Compilation: The Basics 39

Chapter 5: Starting a Cocoa Application 47

Chapter 6: A Cocoa Application: Views 63

Chapter 7: A Cocoa Application: Controllers 75

Chapter 8: Version Control 93

Chapter 9: Property Lists 117

Chapter 10: Libraries and Dependent Targets 141

Chapter 11: File Packages and Bundles 153

Chapter 12: Unit Testing 167

Chapter 13: Creating a Custom View 181

Chapter 14: Dynamic Libraries and Frameworks 203

Chapter 15: Documentation in Xcode 221

Chapter 16: Using the Data Modeling Tools 243

Chapter 17: Cross-Development 267

Chapter 18: Spotlight (or, How to Build a Plug-in) 281

Chapter 19: Finishing Touches 301

Part II: Xcode Tasks

Chapter 20: Navigating an Xcode Project 331

Chapter 21: Xcode for make Veterans 353

Chapter 22: More About Debugging 373

Chapter 23: Xcode and Speed 395

Chapter 24: A Legacy Project 403

Chapter 25: Shark and the CHUD Tools 421

Chapter 26: Instruments 437

Chapter 27: Closing Snippets 461

Appendices

Appendix A: Some Build Variables 475

Appendix B: Project and Target Templates 485

Appendix C: Other Resources 501

Index 507

 

About The Author

Fritz Anderson has been writing software, books, and articles for the Macintosh since 1984. He has worked for research and development firms, consulting practices, and freelanced. He has been admitted to the Indiana bar but thought better of it. He now lives in Chicago, where he works for a large university.

Reader Reviews
I started this book, hoping to get a quick, friendly glimpse into how to use the new IDE and how to use Objective-C. I know that the book made no promises about to use ObjC, but I felt confident in my abilities to pick up the language itself. An introduction to the IDE was all I felt would be needed, so long as the use of the IDE also included early solid examples of ObjC and Xcode. What I found early was a unwieldy example of cobbling together an interface and using a command line binary as the core of the executable. While nice, I didn't think this was necessary as an introductory example for a few reasons. One, it doesn't make mention early on about generic programming for common cases. Writing that command line app, then using pipes to get input to, and output from, this seemed unnecessarily advanced and esoteric. Two, some of the language was a bit abrupt and harsh, and some passages were brief and exclusionary. Lastly, the approaches used in that early example seemed to break with the more strict Model-View-Controller design pattern that is strongly encouraged for OS X development. To start with something that seems like an uncommon situation was not my take on a good start to proper future development. Maybe this book is more suited to developers of older versions of Xcode, but for a beginner, I recommend starting elsewhere. Cocoa(R) Programming for Mac(R) OS X (3rd Edition)