Rating: 
Summary: If you buy one Cocoa programming book, this should be it
Review: Aaron has the experience in programming Cocoa (Objective-C and Apple's dynamic runtime environment), and it clearly shows. While his book doesn't answer every question, and doesn't provide an extensive reference of the API's provided by Apple, it does cover all the essentials of style, thought, and idiom commonly used by Objective-C programmers.Aaron's book is also backed up with a website which is honestly helpful, and I hope to see more technical books follow his lead in providing an ongoing resource that matches, and even exceeds the book. I've asked and received several answers through the site, and it makes a perfect complement to the book, increasing it's value significantly. This is the first one to get. Complement it with online information created by Bill Cheeseman and his "Vermont Recipies", and you'll be fully cooking in Objective-C/Cocoa programming.
Rating:
Summary: A must-have book
Review: If you're serious about programming on Mac OS X and have at least some experience under your belt already, then you really owe it to yourself to get two books:
(*)"Building Cocoa Applications: A Step by Step Guide."
(*)"Cocoa Programming for Mac OS X" I started tinkering with Mac OS X a few years ago by reading a hodge-podge of incomplete Apple docs, sites like Stepwise, and archives of Omni-Group lists. These sources are great for reference, but it can be difficult to get answers you need unless you already have enough experience to know what questions to ask. Tough luck, newbie. O'Reilly's "Learning Cocoa" felt like an extension of Apple's docs - minimal on concepts and not entirely clear on some of the objectives of the examples. It's difficult to get an bigger-picture view of some of the capabilities offered by Cocoa and how you _could_ be doing development without a good explanation of concepts, clearly written example exercises that follow a sequence of topics, and additional information on how to make the best use of the Apple-provided developer tools. The authors of both books take great pains to explain concepts to you in basic terms and then reinforce them with very well designed examples that really make you think. They then approach component problems from varying angles in order to help you understand the different options you have for tackling them. The chapter summaries and additional follow-up exercises were a very nice touch. Best of all is the idea that these books are not teaching you how to use particular classes in a restricted situation - they're teaching you how to understand _solutions_ in terms of Cocoa and then equip you with the skills required to plan your entire development approach and execute your project. The pointers on where to find additional documentation and some very, very cool tricks on how to use the development environment really made these books worthwhile. I now feel more comfortable with Cocoa and more confident in my abilities to program on Mac OS X. Thanks, guys. :)
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent introductory tutorial
Review: I've never had the privilege of attending Aaron's highly-regarded 'Big Nerd Ranch' training program, but I have to believe that working through this book is the next best thing. The book is presented in tutorial form, with a nice flow between examples, discussion and exercises. The author doesn't hesitate to share his opinions, good or bad--particularly on subjects like Cocoa Java. The result is a frank, incisive introduction to Cocoa programming that helps beginners understand 'the right way' to do things, and will make Apple's object-oriented environment accessible to people with a wide variety of skill levels.
Rating:
Summary: A good book to learn from
Review: This is /the/ book from which to learn Cocoa programming. The author writes in a clear, friendly, and engaging style. There is a minimum of typographical errors. The end-of-chapter challenges are challenging, but not so much so as to be discouraging. The book really keeps you going, and you feel more confident and capable as a Cocoa programmer as you progress. And once you've finished this book (and, preferably, the Objective-C Programming book from Apple available on the vervante.com website), you'll be ready to write non-trivial Cocoa programs on your own. From there, you'll be able to learn more by reading the documentation Apple includes with the free developer tools, by searching Apple's cocoa-dev mailing list archives, and by visiting the various Cocoa-oriented websites. Unfortunately, at the time of this writing there are no other worthwhile Cocoa books. On the other hand, this book is great. The only nit I can pick with it is the way the last several chapters seem to have been hurriedly written (or edited poorly), as they have little or no detail given in some cases. But, overall, the book is well worth the time and money.
Rating:
Summary: A must-have book
Review: If you're serious about programming on Mac OS X and have at least some experience under your belt already, then you really owe it to yourself to get two books:
(*)"Building Cocoa Applications: A Step by Step Guide."
(*)"Cocoa Programming for Mac OS X" I started tinkering with Mac OS X a few years ago by reading a hodge-podge of incomplete Apple docs, sites like Stepwise, and archives of Omni-Group lists. These sources are great for reference, but it can be difficult to get answers you need unless you already have enough experience to know what questions to ask. Tough luck, newbie. O'Reilly's "Learning Cocoa" felt like an extension of Apple's docs - minimal on concepts and not entirely clear on some of the objectives of the examples. It's difficult to get an bigger-picture view of some of the capabilities offered by Cocoa and how you _could_ be doing development without a good explanation of concepts, clearly written example exercises that follow a sequence of topics, and additional information on how to make the best use of the Apple-provided developer tools. The authors of both books take great pains to explain concepts to you in basic terms and then reinforce them with very well designed examples that really make you think. They then approach component problems from varying angles in order to help you understand the different options you have for tackling them. The chapter summaries and additional follow-up exercises were a very nice touch. Best of all is the idea that these books are not teaching you how to use particular classes in a restricted situation - they're teaching you how to understand _solutions_ in terms of Cocoa and then equip you with the skills required to plan your entire development approach and execute your project. The pointers on where to find additional documentation and some very, very cool tricks on how to use the development environment really made these books worthwhile. I now feel more comfortable with Cocoa and more confident in my abilities to program on Mac OS X. Thanks, guys. :)
Rating:
Summary: 2nd edition is even better than 1st!
Review: Just because one is an expert at a given subject does not mean they make the best person to teach it. Aaron Hillegass is in a group of those few rare individuals who knows the subject and can help the reader to better understand it. His book is a well written and thought out tutorial that has been tested and refined by actual teaching conditions. If you haven't had the pleasure of attending Big Nerd Ranch then this is the next best thing. Don't think about it...just buy the book!
Rating:
Summary: A gentle introduction, somewhat out of date
Review: Probably the most popular book on Cocoa programming. A somewhat more gentle (but less in-depth) introduction than "Cocoa Programming" by Scott Anguish et al. More of a tutorial and guide than a reference work. Published in 2001, it is probably starting to fall out of date a bit, but most of the changes in OS X 10.2 and 10.3 versus 10.1 will not affect the typical beginner much. It sounds like the next edition, out soon, will update it well; it might be worth waiting for that.
Rating:
Summary: Yes, I'm reviewing the 2nd edition
Review: I had the pleasure to attend the April 2004 Cocoa programming class at the Big Nerd Ranch. We used a looseleaf version of the final proofs of the 2nd edition of "Cocoa Programming for Mac OS X". Short summary: Excellent. I have the first edition of the book, so let me summarize some changes: The book uses Xcode. Cocoa bindings are covered, including key value coding and key value observing. The document architecture is introduced early, and this is coupled to an early discussion of implementing undo. Topics are developed logically and incrementally. The discussion on Java has been dropped, while class notes on OpenGL have been moved into the book. An early example has been simplified to flatten out the learning curve in the first part of the book. Code examples that are developed in stages now show the new lines of code in BOLD, a vast improvement when you're typing it in. This book has been refined systematically based on feedback from real students at the BNR classes. This attention to detail really shows. I recommend the book very highly. My only suggestion would be to use Apples "Objective C Programming Lanaguage" or "Programming in Objective C" (Steve Kochan) as an adjunct to this book if you need a slower introduciton to Objective C.
Rating:
Summary: 2nd Edition due out in April 2004 (ignore rating)
Review: I was sooo close to buying this book, and then found out a new edition is due out this month. Looks like I'll need to wait a week or two to get my copy. My guess is that, in addition to other changes, the book will use Xcode instead of Project Builder in the examples.
Rating:
Summary: Your Cocoa Must Buy.
Review: This is an excellent book. I looked at some of the others and bought these too. Most are very good; but this IS the definitive guide. It gets you writing Cocoa straight away, so you do it, it gets explained, and reinforced. I like this approach. It also emphasizes the need to have a good grip on Objective-C, which I think is vital. It provides a good introduction to Objective-C, Obeject Oriented Programming and Cocoa. I liked the book so much that I now buy any book by this author.
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