Learn Objective-C for Java Developers (Learn Series) Review
I've been programming with Java since 1998. It's a nice language/platform with automatic garbage collection and a rich set of 3rd party APIs and libraries. However, the introduction of iPhone changed the world, and I wanted to develop some apps for iPhone. Since iPhone does not support Java as their development language, I had to learn Objective-C. Even though I learned some C/C++ back from college days, Objective-C is still quite foreign to me. It's a bit frustrating to Google and searching through Apple's documentation to find something equivalent (that works in Java) to be used in Objective-C. After many fruitless searches and frustration, I thought I might never learn Objective-C. Then this book was released and I grabbed a copy. After reading it, I truly wish this book was available earlier so I didn't waste so much time searching blindly in Google.
James did a wonderful job bring Java and Objective-C comparison side by side. But keep in mind, no single book can cover EVERYTHING between Java and Objective-C. There are obviously certain things missing but for the most part, it covers many grounds between Java and Objective-C.
Part 1 - Language
Chapeter 1-7 give you some nice introduction to Objective-C, and along the way, comparing with Java, and gradually feeds you more and more Objective-C features. Chapter 5 on Protocols and Categories is very nice, but I wish it was much longer. Protocols and Categories are very powerful features in Objective-C. They alone deserve a whole book ;)
Part 2 - Translating Technologies
Chapter 8-15 touches on many fundamentals of both languages, Strings and primitive values, Garbage Collection, Introspection, Files, Serialization, Exception Handling and Threads. The author shows us side-by-side code snippets comparison between Java and Objective-C. This alone is invaluable to us readers. There are some mind-bending situations where you will say: why it's so different? and makes you feel confused and puzzled. Then if you read up Apple's official documentation, and explore the APIs further, you will realize why things are in certain way in Objective-C. Definitely lots of learning there.
Part 3 - Programming Patterns
Chapter 16-23 shows the readers some common programming and design patterns in both language flavors. Collection pattern, Delegation pattern (lots of Objective-C APIs are through the use of delegation), Provider/Subscriber pattern, Observer Pattern(you will find how easy it is to setup observers in your program), MVC, Lazy Initialization, Factory, and our favorite Singleton pattern.
Of course, there are many more patterns that are not covered here, but these basic patterns are enough to get you started. Again, patterns alone warrants a whole 900-page book, so hopefully something comes out soon.
Part 4 - Advanced Objective-C
Chapter 24-26 deals with memory management, mixing c and objective-c, and runtime.
Memory management is especially important in iPhone SDK since so far iPhone SDK does not support automatic garbage collection. So all the memory allocations you have in the codes must be taken care of. Mixing C and Objective-C is very interesting, it should be very helpful for gaming development, where in many cases, involves game engines written in C.
Overall, it's a solid book for Java developers who want to dive into Objective-C.
You might need to read it a few times to fully understand certain topics.
It's a good reference book as well if you want to look up something quick in Objective-C but you only know how to do that in Java.
Learn Objective-C for Java Developers (Learn Series) Features
- ISBN13: 9781430223696
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
Rating : 
Price : $39.99
Offer Price : $11.95
Overviews
Learn Objective-C for Java Developers will guide experienced Java developers into the world of Objective-C. It will show them how to take their existing language knowledge and design patterns and transfer that experience to Objective-C and the Cocoa runtime library. This is the express train to productivity for every Java developer who dreamt of developing for Mac OS X or iPhone, but felt that Objective-C was too intimidating. So hop on and enjoy the ride!
- Provides a translation service that turns Java problem-solving skills into Objective-C solutions
- Allows Java developers to leverage their existing experience and quickly launch themselves into a new domain
- Takes the risk out of learning Objective-C
What you'll learn
- Apply Java experience to Objective-C and Cocoa
- Use elegant alternatives that increase productivity
- Maximize the powerfully unique constructs of Objective-C, like class clusters
- Think like an object-oriented C programmer to create more reusable code
- Use all of the things in Java and Objective-C that are actually quite similar, like MVC design patterns
- Learn how to do all of it within Apple's powerful Xcode programming environment using Cocoa frameworks
Who is this book for?
Experienced Java developers interested in developing native applications for Apple's Mac OS X operating system, iPhone, and iPod touch.
Customer Review
I needed this book a year ago, but am thrilled it is finally here - Matthew McCullough - Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
Being a Java developer for more than 10 years and having explored the Objective-C platform for iPhone development for more than the last year, I struggled in the early days. I longed for a document that spoke to me, the Java emigre, and helped me map my existing knowledge into this new field of development. Finally, such a book has hit the shelves in the form of James Bucanek's Learn Objective-C for Java Developers.
James warns us that direct comparisons between these languages are insufficient, but acknowledges it gives us a great common vocabulary to start with. Once the comparisons have been drawn and as we become comfortable on the Objective-C language, James takes us beyond Obj-C as Java and shows the dynamism of this unique platform. We progress through memory management, persistence, and other platform specific critical technologies, learning each from James in a very friendly tutorial-style manner.
The book ends in a fevered pitch with an overview of mixing C and Obj-C. Overall, I was very pleased with the book, primarily because it spoke to me as a Java developer, and second because the writing style was very digestible. I highly recommend this book to any Java developer moving to the iPhone platform.
*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Apr 28, 2010 09:57:19
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