Beginning Xcode (Programmer to Programmer) Reviews

• Review for the Alaska and Military Members Apple User Group

  
  By A3N7AIHVXF80R0 on 2006-05-08
  You this will be no surprise once you read the remainder of this review, but I'm going to just say it up front: this book is great. Being a seasoned Xcode user, I can tell you that having this book back when I was first switching over to Xcode would have hugely sped the transition.
  
  The 'Programmer to Programmer' model that Wrox is known for is a an excellent style of reference. There are many benefits of targeting an existing programmer. When writing to an existing programmer there are terms and phrases that the writer can use that programmers will immediately understand, while a newcomer might not. These words and phrases allow the author to communicate to the reader in a rapid, concise and clear way.
  
  The author introduces Xcode by devoting a series of chapters to different sections of the Xcode experience. Each chapter does an excellent job of introducing those little features that you might otherwise miss for a year, and then wonder how you got anything done without it. The chapters are filled with examples and pictures which I believe even a non programmer using the book as their first introduction could follow. I do believe though that a programming book would be a better first book and this book a second. The reason is that even though this book does a great job with simple explanations there are references made to terms which a new programmer wouldn't understand and also a new programmer wouldn't be able to relate to the features without a context. The new programmer says, "That's a great feature, but why and where do I use it?" The existing programmer coming to Xcode says, "Thats a great feature! Kind of like the ---- feature in my old ------ IDE but much more useful for ------."
  
  The author even rounds off the survey of Xcode by addressing the powerful debugging and profiling tools that are included in the Xcode package. One section that I was extremely pleased to find was a section on remote debugging. Remote debugging is a method where one computer is used to run an application and another computer is used to monitor and debug. Remote debugging is a useful feature in general, but I find it indispensable when working on games or other full screen applications that take control of the entire screen. I was pleased to find this section included since I had a difficult time getting it to work the first time I tried to set it up. Again, having this excellent book at my side would have saved me enough time to justify purchasing the book.
  
  I was also pleased with the author's coverage of Shark -?the performance profiling app included in Xcode. I have had wonderful results with using Shark to determine areas of my code that are malfunctioning or just plain poorly written with respect to time efficiency. The book does a wonderful job of explaining the function of usage of all the menu's windows in the application. Another feature that I thought was very useful that fits will with the "Programmer to Programmer" method is the "How it Works" sections that give a good description of why you are doing something, what Xcode is really doing as a result and how it does it.
  
  I think that this book is incredible. I only have one recommendation to someone who's considering purchasing it. Buy it, but also purchase a book that covers the cutting edge Apple made technologies, like Carbon, Cocoa, Foundation, Core Foundation, Core Image, Core Data, Quartz, ect. The reason for this recommendation is that Xcode is built for and integrates well with these technologies and I believe that it would be beneficial to have a book to give an in depth introduction to these technologies, while this book gives an in-depth introduction to the IDE used to develop them. I have not had a chance to examine the book, but it's quite possible that Michael Trent and Drew McCormack's "Mac OS X Programming" also by Wrox is that perfect companion book.
  
  

• Lots of good information...

  
  By A3V10TJNFQM3ZG on 2007-03-19
  I have been using XCode (previously Project Builder) actively for about four years now and have to say that I'm impressed with the amount of information provided in this book. I learned a lot of things which have improved my efficiency and understanding of XCode. I now feel more comfortable using the debugger and performance analysis tools (Shark, etc.), sharing my source code (source trees are handy) and generally navigating around XCode. The book also demystified the myriad of project and target build settings and made me more comfortable altering the way my projects are built.
  
  The only drawbacks of the book are the numerous typos and the author's generally poor writing style which tends to be overly wordy, but these flaws are worth overlooking for the vast amount of information contained within. I can see returning to this book from time to time as a reference in the future.
  
  

• IT SUCKS BIG TIME -- DO NOT BUY!!!

  
  By AEP2V5V2SC1HM on 2008-05-29
  This is simply the worst of all xcode books. it should be called xcode document! instead of Beginning... It has no sample or practice page at all. NONE! ZILT! ZERO! if you want to learn xcode from examples this is NOT for you but if you just wanted to read what xcode means! then by all mean waste your money on it. I wish I could call the author and ask him for a full refund now! After reading the above 2 reviews, I decided to buy. Well I don't know what they were smoking when wrote the review. I would give it a negative 2 stars if I could. STOP! DO NOT BUY!
  
  

• Book comparison

  
  By AZUK4BO4MOXH on 2008-11-12
  I'm looking for a comparision between this book, "Beginning Xcode" (which I already have) and Fritz Anderson's "Xcode 3 Unleashed" (which I don't have).
  
  Maybe it's just me, but I have found "Beginning Xcode" to be difficult to follow and I am searching for another Xcode book that's equal in depth, but significantly easier to follow.
  
  =====
  For example, my challenge today is I have an external framework which is incorporated under "Linked Frameworks" of my main app Project.
  
  Currently, if I re-build this external framework, I then have to re-build my main app.
  
  What I wish to do is every time I re-build my main app, I want the external framework to be re-built automatically .. in short, 1 step, rather than 2.
  
  I have been told that my answer is in "Unleashed"; however, I just can't find it in "Beginning".
  =====
  
  My current challenge notwithstanding, I do see an advantage in that "Unleashed" is based on Xcode 3, versus "Beginning" dating back to Xcode 2 (2006). I also see raves for both books .. 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.
  
  

• Programming in Objective-C (Developer's Library)
• Cocoa(R) Programming for Mac(R) OS X (3rd Edition)
• Beginning Mac OS X Programming
• Cocoa(R) Programming for Mac(R) OS X (2nd Edition)
• iPhone Open Application Development: Write Native Objective-C Applications for the iPhone