Programming in Objective-C 2.0 (2nd Edition),   ISBN:9780321566157

Customer Rating: 

This book is good for explaining the basics of the Objective-C language. A number of books out there assume that you already have this knowledge and jump directly into examples. I'm glad I bought this book.

Customer Rating: 

I graduated as a mechanical engineer in 06' and during that time took one class on C programming. Being that it was 8 years ago and I guess you could say I was a beginner as a programmer. I was looking for a book on Objective-C back in December of '08 and after a lot of research ended up choosing this book. At the time I had read numerous good things about the book but I was unprepared for what I was actually getting. Learning computer programming is tough but this book is an excellent step by step guide to taking you comfortably from a beginner to someone who is comfortable with the Objective-C language. I started the book in March of this year and soon after was searching for answers to the exercises in Google. I ended up finding the authors forum for the book which has been worth ten times the price of the book and it is all free. There are numerous sections where you can get the answers to exercises, ask for help, make suggestions, help other etc. The really great part is the authors involvement. I have been a member since April and have over 100 posts on the site as I came across things I had further questions on. I would say at least 80% of the time the author was the one who responded and in less then 24 hours and most times less than 12 hours. Steve has a real passion for teaching and in my opinion has a real knack for doing so.

I just finished the book today. My approach was probably more thorough than most. I first read the chapter, then reread it taking notes and then completed the exercises at the end of each chapter I also completed all of the program examples in the chapters. There are claims in the reviews that you can get through this book in 3 weeks which I find awfully hard to believe. I spent on average 7-10 a week on the book and it took me eight months to complete it. I also took advantage of the live lessons which are available online. There is a series of 16 lessons which walk you through the book. The author guides you through the book using the material from the book and there is also additional information. Conveniently it was close to the time I was finishing the book and served as a great review of what I had learned.

While waiting for this book I picked up a copy of Learn C on the Mac and read through it. I will say that this book helped refresh my memory and did give me a good head start. I would read this again first if I had to do it over again. I am not saying that you need to learn C first I am just saying having a base knowledge didn't hurt me.

All in all I really can't say enough about the author, the forum, the book and the community of people who are behind this book. If you are looking for a way to learn about Objective-C and you don't choose this book I think you are making a big mistake. I really wish that Steve had a book on iPhone programming. I only hope that my next steps are met with as much support and dedication as I have received from Steve. Thanks Steve!

Customer Rating: 

I bought this book because I wanted to start writing Mac Applications (maybe iphone apps down the road but not right now). I come from a background in web languages (css, html, MySql, PHP) and started programming in ActionScript many years ago. If you have done any programming in the past then you should totally be able to get through this book with ease. Kochan explains aspects of the language very clearly and if you have questions he still responds to people on the book's forum site. Overall, very happy with the book. Got through it about a month and am now starting a book about Cocoa and then moving on the application design principals and then the various Mac Cores (point is that this book is probably not enough to make a 'real' application with an engaging interface and all the bells and whistles. You will need to read other books as well)

Customer Rating: 

I have two taken college courses in C++, and decided to try out Objective C. This author, and book, were highly recommended on many forums. I am very happy that I picked it up. It is a very good book (I am through Chapter 4), the language and examples are very simple to follow. The C++ books I own are not in the same league. If you want to learn Objective-C for iPhone or OS X programming, you would be hard pressed to find a book equal to this one.
Also, Stephen Kochan is hosting webcast classes of this book, which are equally awesome. This man knows his languages, and is also an astute teacher. Tough to find these days. Go with this author and you will accomplish your goals in a timely fashion.

Customer Rating: 

As soon as the iPhone SDK was released most people that you spoke with said that it was a necessity to learn C/C++ before learning ObjectiveC. This never made sense to me and I didn't believe it. It was only Steve that said that it wasn't true. Objective C, while a superset of C, does not require you to learn C first. Steve's book does not require prior knowledge of other languages and teaches you step by step the necessities of the language. His WebCast series offered on [...] is a great way to actually listen to the author in a classroom (online) and watch him develop examples for the subject that he is discussing. He also allows for a short question/answer time during and after the class. He is very conscientious and monitors the forum on his web site and answers questions there to people that are reading his book and that take the class. I highly recommend both the book and the class.

L.M.