macOS Programming

[Nicolasdec]

I want to start to make applications for Macs and PC’s. But I have no experience with any type of programming language. What is the best Syntax to learn I was thinking of Ruby, Which is the easiest to learn? Do you know any good website that will help me learn them. I prefer reading from the internet rather than a book.

 

[robbieduncan]

Do you mean desktop applications or web applications? Ruby is more common in web applications. If you want to make something that runs on both without significant alteration then Java may be a good bet. The problem with targeting both platforms is that your app may end up feeling like it does not belong on either platform. If you want to take full advantage of the Mac platform Cocoa or Carbon are you best bets (or even a combination) but this will result in a Mac only app.

 

[Nicolasdec]

Do you mean desktop applications or web applications? Ruby is more common in web applications. If you want to make something that runs on both without significant alteration then Java may be a good bet. The problem with targeting both platforms is that your app may end up feeling like it does not belong on either platform. If you want to take full advantage of the Mac platform Cocoa or Carbon are you best bets (or even a combination) but this will result in a Mac only app.

Thanks for the reply, Im fine making apps just for macs. whitch is easyer cocoa or carbon? Also what programs will i need. I Have xcode. can you tell me any good websites were i can lern cocoa or carbon.

 

[robbieduncan]

I've never tried to use Carbon for a whole app. I think Cocoa is pretty easy to learn. Start off with learning Objective-C (the language that the framework uses) then work through a few of the tutorials. Ensure you understand how the memory management system works, delegation and perhaps bindings.

In terms of tools XCode+Inteface Builder are all you need. That's what Apple use to write their apps so it should be good enough for you

You can get some basic tutorials from Apple and there are more here.

If you get stuck you can always ask us question here but make sure you have checked the documentation first

 

[Nicolasdec]

I've never tried to use Carbon for a whole app. I think Cocoa is pretty easy to learn. Start off with learning Objective-C (the language that the framework uses) then work through a few of the tutorials. Ensure you understand how the memory management system works, delegation and perhaps bindings.

In terms of tools XCode+Inteface Builder are all you need. That's what Apple use to write their apps so it should be good enough for you

You can get some basic tutorials from Apple and there are more here.

If you get stuck you can always ask us question here but make sure you have checked the documentation first

Thanks, How long do you think it will take me to lern it and make a simple app? How do you think programming compairs to HTML?

 

[Fearless Leader]

html is to programming as
safety-scissors are to a chainsaw.

 

[kainjow]

html is to programming as
safety-scissors are to a chainsaw.

Nice

 

[ChrisA]

Thanks for the reply, Im fine making apps just for macs. whitch is easyer cocoa or carbon? Also what programs will i need. I Have xcode. can you tell me any good websites were i can lern cocoa or carbon.

Do you haven any programming experience at all? I sounds like maybe not.

If you are starting from scratch. It will be a while before you will be able to write even simple graphical applications. Start with simple stuff that works on the console. The classic first program simply prints "Helo World" then quits and accepts no user input.

If you were to take a programming class they'd have you write text based programs to do things like computer the lowest common denominator of two fractions or simulate a vendiong machine or read key presses on a microwave oven and controls the display and the on/off switch for the magnitron. Get this to work first then try the graphic user interfaces.

You need to learn about loops and pointers and arrays and exceptions and so on and so on.

Which language? It hardly matters. Once you learn one the basics tranfer over to another one. Read the above paragraph again. all languages have loops, conditionals and so on.
It is easiest to learn an interpeted language because you get fast turnaround, just edit and run. Python is not bad. But for serious cross platform programming C++ has become the standard.

 

[MongoTheGeek]

Complete novice I would say download XCode and start going through the examples. There are a lot of things you can do in cocoa without much if any programming.

 

[Trogloxene]

Depending on what you want to make, most things can be made Flash or Director. This would be way easier then learning C++, and the stuff you make will run on Mac, Windoze, and the Web.

-T

 

[mags631]

Complete novice I would say download XCode and start going through the examples.

Seconded.

Don't worry too much about which language to learn at this point. In the end, once you master the basics of computer programming, you can learn new languages without too much fuss.

Learning to program well... well, that's a different story and has very little to do with the programming language.

 

[Soulstorm]

I want to start to make applications for Macs and PC’s. But I have no experience with any type of programming language. What is the best Syntax to learn I was thinking of Ruby, Which is the easiest to learn? Do you know any good website that will help me learn them. I prefer reading from the internet rather than a book.

First things first, you will need to learn a programming language prior to learning how to program with a GUI. Learn C++ or objective-c, both will come in handy in the future, especially if you are programming for OS X.

Secondly, do not use internet as your only resource. Buy a good book, go through it all, then open the internet, go into the forums, and ask many things. That's the best method to learn how to program. The value of a good book is great, in my opinion.

 

[Muncher]

I want to start to make applications for Macs and PC’s. But I have no experience with any type of programming language. What is the best Syntax to learn I was thinking of Ruby, Which is the easiest to learn? Do you know any good website that will help me learn them. I prefer reading from the internet rather than a book.

First start off with C. Once you've mastered that, go on to Obj-C if you are sure you're going to program for the Mac, and C++ if you're going to code in Windows or Linux. The reason I say this is because it might take a while to pick up your first OOP language (sure took me a while) and C++ is highly supported on just about all platforms. Otherwise, Obj-C is a nicer, cleaner language.

Don't start with Ruby. It's too abstract for a beginner.

Good Luck!

 

[Les Kern]

Think about RealBasic. All the tools and terms are there for you to learn, it's simple to use initially, it makes Mac, WIN and Linux apps. If price is an issue, this is a little steep if you want the version you can make commercial SW, but the EDU rate is 70 bucks. Here's a screen shot of an app I'm making to give you an idea of what the UI looks like.