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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

Average Customer Rating:

Comparision?

Customer Rating:

I'm looking for a comparision between James Bucanek's "Beginning Xcode" (which I already have) and Fritz Anderson's "Xcode 3 Unleashed" (which I don't have). I do see an advantage in that "Unleashed" is based on Xcode 3, versus "Beginning" dating back to Xcode 2 (2006). I also see lots of raves here .. but I still welcome any additions *only* because I already have "Beginning" and "Unleashed" may not have sufficient added merit to warrant the $$$. Thanks very, very much in advance. John

The fourth updated edition provides essential keys to learning

Customer Rating:

The fourth updated edition provides essential keys to learning. Fritz Anderson's XCODE3 UNLEASHED (0321552636, $44.99) comes from an acclaimed Mac developer who here writes the definitive guide to making the most of Xcode 3, showing how to manage source code in a variety of environments from solo to team, how to use the build system, and how to enhance Apple performance. An update for Xcode 3.x is also included. Programmer collections will find this specific and important.

Not My Style

Customer Rating:

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)

Good intro to Xcode, but not Cocoa

Customer Rating:

I was given this book by being a member of the Des Moines Cocoaheads group, and as a new developer on the Mac, I was very grateful for it. While other books provide a better introduction to Cocoa and Objective-C, Xcode 3 Unleashed fills a gap by providing detailed explanations of the Xcode IDE itself. I was able to immediately make use of Chapter 8, Version Control, in my project. That chapter alone is almost worth the cost of the book. It steps you through creating a local repository, adding your project to the repository, committing changes, comparing files, and rolling back changes. After using the built in subversion support in Xcode, relying on Time Machine for version control seems archaic. Fritz Anderson also spends a good deal of time introducing Xcode to developers more familiar with UNIX and Linux development. Chapter 21 is dedicated to "make Veterans", and explains how Xcode builds a project under the hood. This book also includes separate chapters for using the included debugging and optimization tools like Shark and Instruments. The last thing I'd like to say about the book is that it is beautifully laid out. Full color illustrations and syntax highlighting that matches the default Xcode editor really make the book stand out. I do not think Xcode 3 Unleashed should be the first book you read getting started in Cocoa development, but it is certainly towards the top of the list. I would recommend learning C first, then Objective-C, and then moving into the IDE. You are much more likely to appreciate all that Xcode does for you after that.

The BEST way to get familiar with the Xcode Environment.

Customer Rating:

As another reviewer so kindly mentioned, this book is not for those new to programming, objective-c, or object oriented development. It is Perfect for those of us with a strong background in development that are looking for a walkthrough of the Xcode development environment. This book makes an excellent followup to Cocoa- Programming for Mac- OS X, Third edition This text moves well beyond cocoa development theory into giving readers a very visual (tons of color screenshots and diagrams) tour of the XCode environment by walking them step-by-step through building a project that implements most of the features that beginning cocoa developers will want to know about when trying to break into the OSX Development world. One of the biggest plusses about this book has to be the attention given to the Debugger, Unit Testing, Memory Mangement, Instruments and other performance tools. It's information I didn't know how to find before reading this text, and it has given me a greater knowledge about how to better tune my apps and what to pay more attention to while coding. Overall I would highly recommend picking up Xcode 3 Unleashed to anybody who is seriously considering making an entry into the world of Apple software development. There are too few books on Apple dev, and the fact is that a majority of them are outdated and useless as of Xcode 3 except for theory. This book is a fresh look at Apples latest development environment and I would encourage you to pick it up and get started--it's a great read. For those of you interested in picking up Xcode skills for iPhone development, this is really a great getting started point for learning the IDE, getting your hands dirty with proper MVC, and learning how to debug and tune your apps. It is definitely worth the read and perhaps a bit more in line with your goals of learning the apple development environment than the Hillegass book. (I wish I had started here first) And thanks go to Fritz, by the way, for taking the time to create such an in depth tutorial to what is becoming a teriffic development environment from Apple.