Want to write iOS apps or desktop Mac applications? This introduction to programming and the Objective-C language is your first step on the journey from someone who uses apps to someone who writes them.

Based on Big Nerd Ranch's popular Objective-C Bootcamp, Objective-C Programming: The Big Nerd Ranch Guide covers C, Objective-C, and the common programming idioms that enable developers to make the most of Apple technologies. Compatible with Xcode 5, iOS 7, and OS X Mavericks (10.9), this guide features short chapters and an engaging style to keep you motivated and moving forward. At the same time, it encourages you to think critically as a programmer.

Here are some of the topics covered:

• Using Xcode, Apple's documentation, and other tools
• Programming basics: variables, loops, functions, etc.
• Objects, classes, methods, and messages
• Pointers, addresses, and memory management with ARC
• Properties and Key-Value Coding (KVC)
• Class extensions
• Categories
• Classes from the Foundation framework
• Blocks
• Delegation, target-action, and notification design patterns
• Key-Value Observing (KVO)
• Runtime basics