Books About Darwin/MacOS X Programming?

Otter asks: "I've been dabbling in C++ programming with Linux and Qt. I'm interested in trying Darwin or MacOS X development but am not sure where to start. Mac programming books only deal with traditional MacOS. I could use CodeWarrior and Carbon, but if I'm going to start out, I might as well use the NeXT/Cocoa methods that are the way of the future and, I've heard, a lot better. So, how do I get started? Apple's Web site is still oriented towards the traditional API's and the move to Carbon. Are there any books that would give me a good introduction? Any tutorials? Can I continue with C++ or do I need to learn Objective C or Java? Does Code Warrior support Cocoa development (in the IDE and/or in the documentation)? "

Chill!

[Citrix]

MacOS X ain't out yet.

About learning different languages, I think the more you know the better you'll be at writing good code in general but that is just an opinion.

Citrix

But *is* Cocoa the way of the future?

[netsrek]

I think that's a pretty big assumption, saying that Cocoa is going to be the way of the future.
At an Apple Dev Conf I was at recently, a whole lot of programmers were basically discussing this issue, and it's just hard to justify coding in Cocoa just yet. Most people are concentrating on Carbonizing existing applications, and can't justify jumping into Cocoa yet. The Apple reps weren't hugely pushing Cocoa either....

What do you mean, not out yet? There's a Developer Preview 3 out, 4 is coming soon, so if you want to code for it, you can get it, or there is even Mac OS X Server 1.2, which is more like OS X than 1.02 was.

The question here is, Are Apple really behind it? Or will it be just another roadside casualty in the OS changeover...? It's an interesting question...

Re:Information..

[netsrek]

So you're doing Cocoa development then? I've been weighing up options for a little while now, and have just been reluctant to jump to Cocoa, what with getting burnt by Apple regarding the upgrade from OS X Server 1.02 to 1.2... having to reinstall two servers doesn't make me delerious with joy.... ;-)

Re:But *is* Cocoa the way of the future?

[adcm]

Right now Apple is quite logically pushing Carbon as the choice API. They'll be marketing it heavily to ensure that developers will make their applications available for MacOS X. If Apple spent a lot of time pushing both Carbon and Cocoa heavily it would send mixed messages to developers.

By pushing Carbon foremost developers will see that Apple is serious about giving them a relatively easy upgrade path. Then, once OS X ships and a significant number of apps are carbonized, they can begin to tout Cocoa. The Next-based API is much better and more versatile, it's also a more robust design. That's why Cocoa is considered the future of software development. Carbon is only a necessary transitional API.

For those who are experienced Mac programmers and are updating existing products for Mac OS X Carbon is the way to go. Cocoa is the way for new programs. As new, or completely redesigned, programs begin to replace the older programs Carbon will be less important. Apple will be offering incentives in the future to ensure that developers being to transition to Cocoa (think cross-platform API).

Re:But *is* Cocoa the way of the future?

[alangmead]

I've always assumed that Apple was always mentioning Java in order to avoid turning off people who think of Objective-C as "the language that lost to C++".

The same shallow minded people probably would think of Java as a "winner".

In other words, it isn't Apple that might be pushing people to Java, but rather the market pushing Apple from ObjC. (Similar to Apple's move from Pascal to C interfaces)

GNUStep

[alangmead]

ent, I'm not sure if my path is really going to be helpful or not.

Basically reading about Rhapsody and OS X has got me interested in reading whatever I can find about NEXTSTEP and OPENSTEP. And reading about OPENSTEP has got me looking at Objective C and GNUStep.

So I'm hoping that playing around with GNUstep will give me a head start if I ever do anything with OS X. Even if it didn't, it is a fascinating subject to study.