Slashdot Mirror
Programming Challenges for Mac Developers
Carlos Camacho writes "iDevGames, a Macintosh Game Developer's Site has started issuing small programming challenges to Mac developers. The first challenge just wrapped up and the result is two nifty apps. The source code for both apps, and all apps entered into the programming challenges, will be released as open source. The next challenge has added an extra day, so developers have 72 hours. The focus is on creating an application to demonstrate 'A* pathfinding.'"
Just in case you didn't already know, the general consensus is that Aaron Hillegass's "Cocoa Programming for Mac OSX" is the best Cocoa book out there.
/ Ap plicationKit/ObjC_classic/index.html#//apple_ref/d oc/uid/20001093
/ Fo undation/ObjC_classic/index.html#//apple_ref/doc/u id/20001091
Just as important as the the Cocoa book, is bookmarking the Apple Developer Documentation in Safari
file:///Developer/Documentation/Cocoa/Reference
file:///Developer/Documentation/Cocoa/Reference
I wasted money on a couple other books before I found that one.
If you're still having trouble learning, just ask someone for the source code to a finished app that isn't too big and study it. (If you're really desperate, I've got some code you can study).
- - - - -
Caffeine is not a substitute for sleep
Another good thing to do is to get your hands on a Cocoa class browser. Here's one:
- br owser/
http://homepage2.nifty.com/hoshi-takanori/cocoa
Seems like a pretty obvious concept, so I'd be surprised if there aren't others. In any case, it can be handy.
Aaron Hillegass's most excellent Cocoa introduction Cocoa Programming for Mac OS X
When you're done with that one, skip on over and check out my defacto Cocoa bible, Cocoa Programming. Just a fantastic book, application design reference and compilation of knowlege from many years of working with these frameworks.
O'Reilly's Cocoa in a Nutshell, the API listing you've been yearning for.
Always remember to include Apple's own Cocoa developer pages.