Learn C on the Mac (Learn Series) |  | Author: Dave Mark
Brand: Apress
Category: Book
List Price: $39.99
Buy New: $14.89
as of 9/5/2010 00:01 CDT details
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Rating:  21 reviews
Media: Paperback
Edition: 1st ed. 2009. Corr. 3rd printing
Pages: 376
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 3
Dimensions (in): 9.2 x 7.1 x 1
MPN: 978-1-4302-1809-8
ISBN: 1430218096
Dewey Decimal Number: 005.133
EAN: 9781430218098
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| • | ISBN13: 9781430218098 | | • | Condition: New | | • | Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed |
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Product Description
Considered a classic by an entire generation of Mac programmers, this popular guide has been completely updated for Mac OS X. DonÕt know anything about programming? No problem! Acclaimed author Dave Mark starts out with the basics and takes you through a complete course in programming C using AppleÕs free Xcode tools. This book is perfect for beginners learning to program. It includes all—new Mac OS X examples! - Provides best practices for programming newbies
- Written by the expert on C—programming for the Mac
- Presents all the basics with a pragmatic, Mac OS X flavored approach
What youÕll learn - Master C programming, the gateway to programming your Mac or iPhone.
- Write applications for the Mac OS X interface, the cleanest user interface around.
- Understand variables and how to design your own data structures.
- Work with the file system.
- Connect to data sources and the Internet.
Who is this book for For anyone wanting to learn to program in Mac OS X, including developers new to the Mac, developers new to C, or students entirely new to programming. For anyone who wants to learn how to program their iPhone, this is also the core language primer.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 21
 A Great Place to Start Programming! January 18, 2009
Colin Anderson (Ontario, Canada)
13 out of 15 found this review helpful
Dave Mark has done an excellent job of presenting the material in this book! Most introductions to C programming are either dry and boring or ridiculously silly (in a failed attempt to be fun). Dave managed to find a balance, teaching the concepts in a tone that can best be described as conversational. The easier sections of the book really do feel like fun, while still maintaining the integrity demanded by the subject; the more difficult sections are rather comforting and instill the confidence that the reader will be able to master the hard concepts.
Another reason why the presentation is so successful is that Dave does not overwhelm the reader with too much information. He tells you only what you need to know in order to get your programs to work, but also provides sources to find the information you don't need but may want.
Of course, being written specifically for Mac computers is a major selling point, and rightfully so! In addition to learning the C programming language, the reader will become familiar with the Xcode development environment, the arena where Mac and iPhone/iPod development takes place.
The place where Learn C on the Mac stands out above the rest (in my opinion) is that it leaves the reader confident that he/she not only knows what the concepts are, but also understands how to use them. There are many books and websites out there that are great at teaching the theory, but lack and explanation of the practice. What good is it to know what a pointer is if you don't know how it would fit into a program?
I highly recommend this book for anyone looking to begin programming on the Mac!
Very Good Intro to C April 15, 2009
Chris Richards (Fort Wayne, IN United States)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
Even though this book is C "on the mac" it's a great intro to the C language regardless of the platform. You can use this book to learn C on windows or Linux as well.
The book is very clear and forward in the concepts and teaches them in a easy to understand way. This was the best intro to C that I've ever read. I highly recommend it.
The Gentleman who Gently teaches you C ! August 24, 2009
Viswanathan Suresh (Strasbourg, France)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
As someone who has never programmed on the Mac or in C, I found this book to be a godsend. The author starts with the preliminary steps for getting started with Xcode on the Mac, and then takes you across to the language itself. I liked the engaging and simple style in which it is written. To a newcomer to C, even a simple "hello World" program in C appears terrifying as it is always surrounded by a host of arcane statements that make no sense. The author tackles this situation in a pedagogically sound manner. The author gets the reader to focus on the central concepts that matter in the program code rather than all the distracting details. The book builds up gradually and gives you a solid platform for going on to Objective C. Highly recommended. Thanks form a grateful programmer !
Good intro to C and programming in general January 21, 2009
J. Pease (Odessa, TX United States)
11 out of 14 found this review helpful
Target Audience: The book identifies the target audience as beginners. Specifically mentioning 5th graders, soccer moms, hobbyists, and others who may have no previous experience with programming (or possibly even computers). This fits in with the book's sub-title "A Complete Course in C Programming for the Beginner".
The author faithfully sticks to this intended audience, so you find things such as "Notes" to explain that "OS stands for operating system", and half a page (complete with Xcode screenshot) dedicated to things like step-by-step instructions of "Saving Your New Project".
If you are within the target audience, you will likely find these explanations very valuable. Generally I found that little previous knowledge was assumed, and thus terms and concepts that may be confusing to a beginner in other books were well explained.
I gave this book 5 stars because it very effectively conveys the information from simple to more complex concepts in a manner that could be understood by it's intended audience. The enthusiasm that I noticed in the first few pages is carried on right till the end, and will no doubt help keep the beginning programmer engaged in the learning process.
A Book for Future & Interested Programmers January 17, 2010
Lelouch vi Britannia (CO,USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
When it comes to technical books, Apress makes some of my favorite and most useful books. Being in IT, and being a proud Mac owner and Snow Leopard user for about a year now, I figured I should start learning more about developing for Mac's, so I purchased Learn C on the Mac. When purchasing this book, we must keep in mind that just learning C will not allow us to create the coolest looking applications and software for OS X. C is what C++, the more popular Java, and what Objective-C are based on. The goal of this book is teach us the basic fundamentals that prepare us for C++, Objective-C or Java, and to allow us to feel comfortable with Xcode (Xcode is where we code, it's like Visual Studio or Eclipse for the Mac).
For the beginner, this book is perfect, as the author clearly states that to his surprise, he's found children and soccer moms are interested in learning how to code - so it should be really easy to follow. For those that already know VB and C#, the book will be even easier to follow along, and you'll learn the basics of developing for the Mac or iPhone. Overall, this book is an intro to programing (regardless of which language or platform you plan to use) and a guide to using Xcode for programing.
Anything exercises the book has us do, are all ran and debugged in Xcode. Once you finish this book, you'll be able to understand Learn Objective-C on the Mac, also by Apress. Objective-C, based on C (this book), is what Mac's actually run on, and allows for scrolling, menu's, etc... The last step, after understanding Objective C, is to decide what you want to do. Do you want to develop for the Mac or the iPhone? If you choose Mac, Learn Cocoa on the Mac by Apress would be the right book, if you choose to learn mobile Cocoa instead, for the iPhone, you would want Beginning iPhone Development: Exploring the iPhone SDK by Apress too. Cocoa would be what we really need to learn to be able and create iPhone applications and software as we know it today.
Anyways, I don't think it'll matter if your a beginner, or already a developer (non C or Java), you will likely learn from this book. Sure, Java developers might be able to review too, and learn how to use Xcode, but if your already developing in C, Java you might be ready to move on to Objective-C. Have fun learning, and remember, this is not a PC only world anymore!!
Showing reviews 1-5 of 21
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