macOS Books & literature about programming

[juhani]

So I've got no previous programming experience but i'd like to get myself started and broaden my knowledge about Macintosh and computers in general. So is there any really good book about programming for beginners?? And books about programming in Mac environment? And also some books about some specific programming language like suggested Java or Phyton that are great to learn first? I've seen those Dummies books - are these worth to check or is there anything better available?

And yeah.. what about AppleScript? Isn't it a great place to start??

Thanks in advance

j.

 

[jeremy.king]

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/90331/ is a good start.

I suggest a you choose a language based on your needs. What exactly do you want to do with your skill?

 

[widgetman]

there is a cocoa book by Aaron Hillglass that's exceptional for starting to learn cocoa, called "Cocoa Programming for Mac OS X" (second edition is best). It can be found at Big Nerd Ranch . I highly recommend it if cocoa is going to be your prefered language.

 

[juhani]

I suggest a you choose a language based on your needs. What exactly do you want to do with your skill?

Is it really that important at first... for the beginner?? I mean.. to know what exactly do i want to do with my skill. 'Cause to be honest I really don't know yet. That's why i need some basic skills to figure out what is possible to do and what not. 'Cause if I say that "ok, i wanna write a new Grand Theft Auto" then obviously that's just not possible, is it?! Also I thought the principles of programming are pretty much the same in every language anyway. I'm sure you know what i mean...

 

[jeremy.king]

Is it really that important at first... for the beginner?? I mean.. to know what exactly do i want to do with my skill. 'Cause to be honest I really don't know yet. That's why i need some basic skills to figure out what is possible to do and what not. 'Cause if I say that "ok, i wanna write a new Grand Theft Auto" then obviously that's just not possible, is it?! Also I thought the principles of programming are pretty much the same in every language anyway. I'm sure you know what i mean...

In that case, I suggest you study programming pricipals in general. I would even suggest starting with a procedural language (Pascal, javascript, Perl, etc.). Study data structures, algorithms, and grammars - even finite state machines could apply. These are all general non language specific areas to study. Look for books that are used in College courses if you must.

THEN if you want to venture into the world of Object Oriented languages (OO). Java, C++, Obj-C, Ruby, Smalltalk, and others are appropriate languages Of course it wouldn't make sense to learn Smalltalk if you want to write Cocoa Applications - that would be Obj-C. Or if you wanted to write web based applications - you may want to consider C# or Java - heck even PHP 5 is moving toward the OO. Again it all depends on what you want to do.

 

[all-devourer]

Programming Logic and Design from Thompson Course Technology. Best book for the real basics of programming I've ever found.

Introductory: http://www.course.com/catalog/product.cfm?isbn=0-619-21690-5
Comprehensive: http://www.course.com/catalog/product.cfm?isbn=0-619-21691-3

There's also an object-oriented version: http://www.course.com/catalog/product.cfm?isbn=0-619-21563-1

 

[KD7IWP]

I'm in Computer Science right now, and yes, you do need to know what you want to do. There are programming languages out there that are good for certain tasks. While many will do it, one sticks out above the others. I just wrote a paper about raising Exceptions in different languages, and they syntax is quite similar in lets say ython, Delphi, and Modula-2, however, the Modula-2 version of exceptions is more tedious and not as specific to each exception unless you put more code in to recognize different errors. This is a minor thing, but what I am saying is that you kind of do have to have a goal. You can't just sit down and say "I'm going to write a program!" You have to know what you want to do, then document it, break it into small steps and go from there. I recommend you tell this forum what you want to start with. Good luck to you.

 

[juhani]

Right.. well in the end i would like to write some kind of music software like plug-ins for music programs and sequencers and stuff like this... 'cause in the end i see myself in a music studio. So basically that's why i want to do some homework before next autumn when i go to university to study all this stuff formally. But in the mean time, i could learn how to write 'simple' programs and you know.. 'cause you all started somewhere right?? In my case it would be from the scratch...