Learn C on the Mac (Learn Series)

Learn C on the Mac (Learn Series) Review

When it comes to technical books, Apress makes some of my favorite and most useful books. Being in IT, and being a proud Mac owner and Snow Leopard user for about a year now, I figured I should start learning more about developing for Mac's, so I purchased Learn C on the Mac. When purchasing this book, we must keep in mind that just learning C will not allow us to create the coolest looking applications and software for OS X. C is what C++, the more popular Java, and what Objective-C are based on. The goal of this book is teach us the basic fundamentals that prepare us for C++, Objective-C or Java, and to allow us to feel comfortable with Xcode (Xcode is where we code, it's like Visual Studio or Eclipse for the Mac).

For the beginner, this book is perfect, as the author clearly states that to his surprise, he's found children and soccer moms are interested in learning how to code - so it should be really easy to follow. For those that already know VB and C#, the book will be even easier to follow along, and you'll learn the basics of developing for the Mac or iPhone. Overall, this book is an intro to programing (regardless of which language or platform you plan to use) and a guide to using Xcode for programing.

Anything exercises the book has us do, are all ran and debugged in Xcode. Once you finish this book, you'll be able to understand Learn Objective-C on the Mac, also by Apress. Objective-C, based on C (this book), is what Mac's actually run on, and allows for scrolling, menu's, etc... The last step, after understanding Objective C, is to decide what you want to do. Do you want to develop for the Mac or the iPhone? If you choose Mac, Learn Cocoa on the Mac by Apress would be the right book, if you choose to learn mobile Cocoa instead, for the iPhone, you would want Beginning iPhone Development: Exploring the iPhone SDK by Apress too. Cocoa would be what we really need to learn to be able and create iPhone applications and software as we know it today.

Anyways, I don't think it'll matter if your a beginner, or already a developer (non C or Java), you will likely learn from this book. Sure, Java developers might be able to review too, and learn how to use Xcode, but if your already developing in C, Java you might be ready to move on to Objective-C. Have fun learning, and remember, this is not a PC only world anymore!!

Learn C on the Mac (Learn Series) Features

• ISBN13: 9781430218098
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.

Rating :

Price : $39.99

Offer Price : $24.96

Overviews

Considered a classic by an entire generation of Mac programmers, this popular guide has been completely updated for Mac OS X. Don’t know anything about programming? No problem! Acclaimed author Dave Mark starts out with the basics and takes you through a complete course in programming C using Apple’s free Xcode tools. This book is perfect for beginners learning to program. It includes all–new Mac OS X examples!

• Provides best practices for programming newbies
• Written by the expert on C–programming for the Mac
• Presents all the basics with a pragmatic, Mac OS X-flavored approach

What you’ll learn

• Master C programming, the gateway to programming your Mac or iPhone.
• Write applications for the Mac OS X interface, the cleanest user interface around.
• Understand variables and how to design your own data structures.
• Work with the file system.
• Connect to data sources and the Internet.

Who is this book for

For anyone wanting to learn to program in Mac OS X, including developers new to the Mac, developers new to C, or students entirely new to programming. For anyone who wants to learn how to program their iPhone, this is also the core language primer.

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Customer Review

Good book to get started - James Love Lll - Mamaroneck, NY United States
So far this book has been great at introducing some of the concepts necessary for programming in C. I have had some programming experience in he past, so it is not all foreign to me. The programming examples are easy to follow and the book is well organized. This is my first use of a book from Apress, and I will likely purchase follow up books like programming in objective-c.

Great book for learning C whether on a Mac or not. - Lazy Gator - Central IL - USA
Learning to program in C can be very boring and intimidating (it was to me in my younger days). Most of the time you're writing code to run in a command environment with no fancy and colorful-looking graphical user interface (GUI) to play with - typically just black and white text. However learning this language is very important for gaining a strong programming foundation. Especially if you're going to develop using a more modern language that expands upon C (Objective-C on the Mac, Visual C# in the Microsoft environment, C++, etc.).

Learn C on the Mac is a relatively simple read. The author does not assume that you're already a C programmer and therefore takes you step-by-step from the beginning through important topics that apply to many different languages. The book flows very smoothly from one topic to another gradually taking the reader into more complex coding. Not once did I get lost on a topic.

This book does not teach you everything you need to know about programming and it does have you write plain old command environment-type programs, but all of the language features, techniques and real-life scenarios it contains is very valuable to the learning process. You will feel like a C programmer when you get finished with this book.

I purchased the Kindle edition and it was formatted very well for my 9" DX screen.

Happy programming!

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