hi, im not new to programming as such as i do it in school and ive done a fair amount of pragram making and playing around on my old pc. but ive got a mac now and i havent got a clue where to start, i thought about getting like a RAD development program but i couldnt find any. all i can find is xcode and applescript stuff. could someone tell me what all this is and where i should start. oh ye, im downloading xcode tools 2.4.1 at the moment, will i find this useful? i dont wont to make highly complex programs just kinda have a mess around an make some basic programs to share with mates etc. thanks in advance!
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macOS Mac Programming for a dummy.
- Thread starter yagran
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I am working on some guides actually to help users, however if your coding for OSX only the best language would be ObjC(cocoa)
If you want to start a basic program look for my NSStatusItem thread which has a guide or head over to cocoadev.com
If you want to start a basic program look for my NSStatusItem thread which has a guide or head over to cocoadev.com
Sounds like you might like RealBasic. You can download an evaluation copy from the realsoftware site. It's very easy to create apps in it and they will also run on Windows.
b e n
b e n
Too bad it's expensive, and buggy, and expensive, oh and did I mention buggy?
If you're serious about Mac programming, you mind as well invest time in learning Objective-C/Cocoa or AppleScript Studio.
Actually, it is, but not in all cases. My advice is to learn ObjC and C++ at the same time. That way, you will have the multiplatform gate open for you. ObjC is multiplatform, but it is fully supported only on OS X. So, C++ would be a good choice for you, after you are confident with ObjC.
ok thanks alot ive got xcode tools intalled now and its pretty good to use really, nice and simple to connect objects using the outputs and actions, i like it alot, seems like theres alot to get my head round, but ive made a few little simple apps tht run just fine...as always now its gna be year to learn the rest of the possibilities. thanks for the pointers
It depends. If you're interested in learning computer science and software development, I'd recommend starting with something like Scheme. If you're interested in making cool apps without learning a lot of the underlying theory, I'd wholeheartedly recommend Real Basic. If you do run into problems (other forum posters indicated that they've found it to be buggy) there is a very active user community around it that should be able to help you. Different strokes for different folks, in any case. I don't think there's anything wrong with either approach; it's just a matter of what you're after. Learning Real Basic first certainly doesn't preclude you from going down the theory path later, either.
When I write Mac apps, I use Xcode and Objective C, but I have found them to have a pretty steep learning curve if you're just getting into programming.
Good luck!
Aaron
Re: Mac Programming for a Dummy
I teach programming in a high school and I use FutureBasic, http://www.stazsoftware.com/, which is a Mac only programming application. I have used it for years with great success and many of my students have gone on to program in other languages. With the help of the good folk at Staz Software, I have written a series of programming lessons my students use to get started. These may be found here, http://www.stonington.org/schools/shs/TeacherWebPages/McSweeny/index.html.
I teach programming in a high school and I use FutureBasic, http://www.stazsoftware.com/, which is a Mac only programming application. I have used it for years with great success and many of my students have gone on to program in other languages. With the help of the good folk at Staz Software, I have written a series of programming lessons my students use to get started. These may be found here, http://www.stonington.org/schools/shs/TeacherWebPages/McSweeny/index.html.
I'm in exactly the same boat. I have some experience in programming in straight C on Linux but that is about it. I just downloaded the newest version of Xcode and find the tutorials that come with it are brilliant and all you really need to make a start at learning Objective C and Cocoa.
I may buy a book in a little while but at the moment all I need is the documentation that comes with Xcode. As for Basic related languages, I think it is probably best to start off with a C derivative. Most programming languages take at least some of their concepts from C and as such if you know even a small amount of C and the concepts it uses you will find it much easier to learn other languages in the future.
I may buy a book in a little while but at the moment all I need is the documentation that comes with Xcode. As for Basic related languages, I think it is probably best to start off with a C derivative. Most programming languages take at least some of their concepts from C and as such if you know even a small amount of C and the concepts it uses you will find it much easier to learn other languages in the future.