[smcgheek]

any ideas on what books to get for someone just starting out with xcode/objective-c/cocoa? im a competent C/C++/Java programmer, just looking for some objective-c and xcode-specific stuff.

ive seen the oreilly books on Objective-C, but they seem to be slightly dated. any word on new editions coming out soon?

[alien]

I'm not sure whether any books cover Xcode yet, or the new Cocoa controller classes either. A new version of Aaron Hillegass' book is said to be out in April, the first edition was very well received. I'm planning on buying it. I don't know when O'Reilly will update their books.

You don't necessarily need a book that is updated on Xcode, since Apple includes a short intro doc with the Dev Tools. Obj-C itself is the same as always, so any good tutorial should be fine. The same could be said about most of the classes you'll use as a Cocoa beginner.

Since you have some experience with OO languages, I'd recommend "Cocoa Programming", by Anguish, Buck & Yacktman. This book goes deep, and covers a lot of ground the other books (apparently) don't. I learned a lot from reading the first chapters about design patterns, conventions, differences between Obj-C and other languages etc.

I also found the overview of the two main frameworks (Foundation and AppKit) very good, along with the explanation of all the views, controls and their options that are available in Interface Builder.

Also, it's a good idea to subscribe to Apple's cocoa-dev mailing list. Many of the book authors post there.

[hayesk]

I would like to see an XCode book that doesn't talk about the coding at all. I want one that covers all of the compiler settings, build styles, localization, version control, general workflow, etc. - stuff that helps you from planning right through to the packaged product. Apple's docs don't quite cover everything.

For learning Cocoa though, Aaron Hillegass' book is the best. I have it and it is usable with XCode if you don't want to wait for the next edition.

[smcgheek]

thanks for the replies, guys. i think i have a good idea of what im getting into now at least. it seems that xcode isn't that much different, so the "older" books still seem to apply well.

thanks again.

[Graymalkin]

For the most part Xcode is a nice front end for all the features that used to be in Project Builder. If you've only got older Cocoa books you can use Xcode just fine as long as you figure out where everything is.