The text may be good and provide good content, but the major project through the first seven chapters does not work. You cannot add data to the GUI interface. The code from the included CD has exactly the same problem. Did any of the previous reviewers actually read the code, enter it and try to build the project?

I'm looking for a comparision between James Bucanek's "Beginning Xcode" (which I already have) and Fritz Anderson's "Xcode 3 Unleashed" (which I don't have).

I do see an advantage in that "Unleashed" is based on Xcode 3, versus "Beginning" dating back to Xcode 2 (2006). I also see lots of raves here .. but I still welcome any additions *only* because I already have "Beginning" and "Unleashed" may not have sufficient added merit to warrant the $$$.

Thanks very, very much in advance.

John

The fourth updated edition provides essential keys to learning. Fritz Anderson's XCODE3 UNLEASHED (0321552636, $44.99) comes from an acclaimed Mac developer who here writes the definitive guide to making the most of Xcode 3, showing how to manage source code in a variety of environments from solo to team, how to use the build system, and how to enhance Apple performance. An update for Xcode 3.x is also included. Programmer collections will find this specific and important.

I was given this book by being a member of the Des Moines Cocoaheads group, and as a new developer on the Mac, I was very grateful for it. While other books provide a better introduction to Cocoa and Objective-C, Xcode 3 Unleashed fills a gap by providing detailed explanations of the Xcode IDE itself.

I was able to immediately make use of Chapter 8, Version Control, in my project. That chapter alone is almost worth the cost of the book. It steps you through creating a local repository, adding your project to the repository, committing changes, comparing files, and rolling back changes. After using the built in subversion support in Xcode, relying on Time Machine for version control seems archaic.

Fritz Anderson also spends a good deal of time introducing Xcode to developers more familiar with UNIX and Linux development. Chapter 21 is dedicated to "make Veterans", and explains how Xcode builds a project under the hood. This book also includes separate chapters for using the included debugging and optimization tools like Shark and Instruments.

The last thing I'd like to say about the book is that it is beautifully laid out. Full color illustrations and syntax highlighting that matches the default Xcode editor really make the book stand out. I do not think Xcode 3 Unleashed should be the first book you read getting started in Cocoa development, but it is certainly towards the top of the list. I would recommend learning C first, then Objective-C, and then moving into the IDE. You are much more likely to appreciate all that Xcode does for you after that.

I started this book, hoping to get a quick, friendly glimpse into how to use the new IDE and how to use Objective-C. I know that the book made no promises about to use ObjC, but I felt confident in my abilities to pick up the language itself. An introduction to the IDE was all I felt would be needed, so long as the use of the IDE also included early solid examples of ObjC and Xcode.

What I found early was a unwieldy example of cobbling together an interface and using a command line binary as the core of the executable. While nice, I didn't think this was necessary as an introductory example for a few reasons. One, it doesn't make mention early on about generic programming for common cases. Writing that command line app, then using pipes to get input to, and output from, this seemed unnecessarily advanced and esoteric. Two, some of the language was a bit abrupt and harsh, and some passages were brief and exclusionary. Lastly, the approaches used in that early example seemed to break with the more strict Model-View-Controller design pattern that is strongly encouraged for OS X development. To start with something that seems like an uncommon situation was not my take on a good start to proper future development.

Maybe this book is more suited to developers of older versions of Xcode, but for a beginner, I recommend starting elsewhere.

Cocoa(R) Programming for Mac(R) OS X (3rd Edition)

As another reviewer so kindly mentioned, this book is not for those new to programming, objective-c, or object oriented development. It is Perfect for those of us with a strong background in development that are looking for a walkthrough of the Xcode development environment.

This book makes an excellent followup to Cocoa- Programming for Mac- OS X, Third edition This text moves well beyond cocoa development theory into giving readers a very visual (tons of color screenshots and diagrams) tour of the XCode environment by walking them step-by-step through building a project that implements most of the features that beginning cocoa developers will want to know about when trying to break into the OSX Development world.

One of the biggest plusses about this book has to be the attention given to the Debugger, Unit Testing, Memory Mangement, Instruments and other performance tools. It's information I didn't know how to find before reading this text, and it has given me a greater knowledge about how to better tune my apps and what to pay more attention to while coding.

Overall I would highly recommend picking up Xcode 3 Unleashed to anybody who is seriously considering making an entry into the world of Apple software development. There are too few books on Apple dev, and the fact is that a majority of them are outdated and useless as of Xcode 3 except for theory. This book is a fresh look at Apples latest development environment and I would encourage you to pick it up and get started--it's a great read.

For those of you interested in picking up Xcode skills for iPhone development, this is really a great getting started point for learning the IDE, getting your hands dirty with proper MVC, and learning how to debug and tune your apps. It is definitely worth the read and perhaps a bit more in line with your goals of learning the apple development environment than the Hillegass book. (I wish I had started here first)

And thanks go to Fritz, by the way, for taking the time to create such an in depth tutorial to what is becoming a teriffic development environment from Apple.

This is a great book. It is not a pure Cocoa Development book, although it does cover some aspects of Cocoa Development. This goes into all the critical pieces of XCode, i.e. the IDE, Debugger, Source Control, Instrumentation, etc.

Very well illustrated with great layou. I've been a developer for almost 20 years. Have lots of development books. This ranks up there with the best. Makes a perfect companion to Aaron Hillegrass's "Cocoa Programming for Mac OS X" 3RD EDITION. If you're new to Mac OS X Cocoa and iPhone development, the learning curve is steep, but these two books will get you on your way. Have Fun!

If you are looking to enter into Xcode development, look elsewhere. This book quickly jumps from the typical "Hello, World" example into complexity without acclimation. While the examples are easy to replicate, there is little explanation as to why you are doing things in the mentioned fashion. Touted as being for the beginner, I find that is highly inaccurate.