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Learn how to code for the iMac, Mac mini, Mac Pro, and MacBook using Swift, Apple's hottest programming language. Fully updated to cover the new MacBook Touch Bar, macOS Programming for Absolute Beginners will not only teach complete programming novices how to write macOS programs, but it can also help experienced programmers moving to the Mac for the first time. C Programming for Beginners: Theory, Practice, and HANDS-ON! C Programming will allow to Master the Fundamentals of Programming and become a Better C Programming Developer! Linux or Mac OS. 4GB RAM (recommended) No prior knowledge is required! This course if for Absolute Beginners.
- Apple Mac Tutorials For Beginners
- Computer Programming For Beginner
- Free Programming Software For Beginners
- Programming Mac
Table of Contents
Chapter 1. Understanding Programming
Programming is nothing more than writing step-by-step instructions for a computer to follow. If you’ve ever written down the steps for a recipe or scribbled directions for taking care of your pets while you're on vacation, you’ve already gone through the basic steps of writing a program. The key is simply knowing what you want to accomplish and then making sure you write the correct instructions that will tell someone how to achieve that goal.
Firefox for Beginners. Whether you are a new Mac user or simply wish to try a web browser other than Safari, Firefox will serve you well and is an excellent option for those. Hannah Williams.
Chapter 2. Getting to Know Xcode 8
To write programs in Swift for the Macintosh, you need to use Xcode. Apple developed Xcode as a professional programming tool that they give away free to encourage everyone to write software for macOS and their other operating systems such as iOS, tvOS, and watchOS. Despite being a free program, Xcode is a powerful program used by major companies including Microsoft, Adobe, Google, and even Apple. With Xcode on a Macintosh, you have one of the most powerful programming tools for creating macOS programs and iOS, tvOS, and watchOS apps.
Chapter 3. The Basics of Creating a Mac Program
Whatever type of macOS program you want to create, such as a video game or a custom program for dentists or real estate agents, you'll always go through the same basic steps. First, you’ll need to create a macOS project. This creates a bare-bones macOS program that includes a generic user interface.
Chapter 4. Getting Help
The best way to learn any new skill is to have someone show you what you need to learn. Since that's not always possible, you'll be happy to know that Xcode comes with plenty of built-in help features to make using Xcode less stressful and more enjoyable.
Chapter 5. Learning Swift with Playgrounds
To write any program, you need to choose a programming language. A programming language lets you define commands for the computer to follow. There's no one 'best' programming language because every programming language is meant to solve a specific problem. This means that a certain programming language may be great at solving certain types of problems, but horrible at solving other types of programs.
Chapter 6. Manipulating Numbers and Strings
Every program needs to store data temporarily in variables. However, for a program to be useful, it must also manipulate that data somehow to calculate a useful result. A spreadsheet lets you add, subtract, multiply, and divide numbers. A word processor manipulates text to correct your spelling and format text. Even a video game responds to joystick movements to calculate a new position for the player's object such as a cartoon person, airplane, or car. Using data to calculate a new result is the whole purpose of every program.
Chapter 7. Making Decisions with Branches
After a program receives data, it needs to manipulate that data somehow to return a useful result. Simple programs manipulate data the same way, but more complicated programs need to make decisions on how to manipulate that data.
Chapter 8. Repeating Code with Loops
The basic goal of programming is to write as little code as possible that does as much as possible. The less code you write, the easier the program will be to understand and to modify later. The more your code does, the more powerful your program will be.
Chapter 9. Arrays and Dictionaries
Almost every program needs to accept data so it can manipulate that data and calculate a useful result. The simplest way to store data temporarily is through variables that can store numbers or text strings. However, what if you need to store multiple chunks of data such as a list of names or a list of product numbers?
Chapter 10. Tuples and Sets
Variables are good for storing individual chunks of data, and arrays and dictionaries are good for storing lists of related data. For greater flexibility, Swift also offers additional data structures called tuples and sets.
Chapter 11. Storing Code in Functions
Every program stores data (in variables or in data structures such as arrays, sets, or dictionaries) and then manipulates that data somehow. Code that manipulates data is called an algorithm.
Chapter 12. Defining Custom Data Types
To store data, Swift provides common data types such as integers (Int), decimal numbers (Float or Double), and text (String). In addition, Swift also offers Boolean data types (Bool) for holding true or false values.
Chapter 13. Creating Classes and Objects
The main idea is to divide a large program into separate objects where each object ideally represents a physical entity. For example, if you are creating a program to control a car, one object may represent the car's engine, a second object may represent the car's entertainment system, and a third object may represent the car's heating and cooling system.
Chapter 14. Inheritance, Polymorphism, and Extending Classes
To protect its data and methods from other parts of a program, an object isolates or encapsulates its code. Encapsulation is one prime advantage of object-oriented programming because it creates self-contained code that you can easily modify or replace without affecting any other part of a program.
Chapter 15. Creating a User Interface
While it's possible to create programs that never interact with a user at all (such as a program that controls a traffic light), it's far more common to create programs that display a user interface of some kind. Typically, this means showing a window filled with different items such as labels to display text, text fields to allow the user to type something in, and buttons or pull-down menus to give the user control over the program.
Chapter 16. Working with Storyboards
The most common part of every program’s user interface is a window that displays items such as buttons and text fields. In Xcode, windows are called views. In all but the simplest programs, a user interface will likely consist of two or more windows or views. This means your program needs to know how to open additional windows and close them again.
Chapter 17. Choosing Commands with Buttons
Apple Mac Tutorials For Beginners
Every program needs to give the user a way to control the computer. In the old days, that meant knowing how to type the proper commands to make a program work, but with today's graphical user interfaces, the easier way to control a program is to choose from a list of available commands. The simplest way to give a command to a program is through a button.
Chapter 18. Making Choices with Radio Buttons, Check Boxes, Date Pickers, and Sliders
Rather than let the user choose a specific command through a button, user interfaces often give choices to pick from. Such choices let the user pick one or more options, such as customizing the way a program works. When a user interface needs to offer multiple choices, the two most common ways to offer options are through radio buttons and check boxes.
Chapter 19. Using Text with Labels, Text Fields, and Combo Boxes
When a program needs to offer a limited range of valid options to the user, that's when you want to use check boxes, radio buttons, date pickers, or sliders. However, sometimes a program needs to allow the user to type in data that can never be predicted ahead of time, such as a person's name. When a program needs to allow the user to type in data, that's when you need to use a text field or a combo box.
Chapter 20. Designing a User Interface with Constraints
A user interface lets people control a program, give a program data, and receive data back again. Since people can only interact with a program through its user interface, it’s crucial that the user interface is uncluttered and easy to understand.
Chapter 21. Using Alerts and Panels
In every program, you can design the unique features of your program while letting the Cocoa framework worry about making your program look and behave like a standard macOS program. To create the common features of nearly every macOS program, you can use alerts and panels.
Chapter 22. Creating Pull-Down Menus
While your program may display buttons to represent commands, too many buttons can clutter the screen. To avoid trying to cram multiple buttons on the screen, you can group related commands in multiple pull-down menus.
Chapter 23. Programming the Touch Bar
The Touch Bar displays contextual shortcuts depending on what you’re doing at the time. For example, if you’re typing, the Touch Bar might display suggested words that you can tap so you don’t have to type the entire word out. If you’re editing a video, the Touch Bar lets you scroll back and forth through the video.
Chapter 24. Protocol-Oriented Programming
When Apple introduced Swift during its Worldwide Developer's conference in 2014, it was promoted as an easier, safer, and faster programming language for iOS, macOS, tvOS, and watchOS development than Objective-C. While both Swift and Objective-C allow object-oriented programming, Swift goes one step further and offers protocol-oriented programming as well.
Chapter 25. Defensive Programming
Programmers tend to be optimistic, because when they write code, they assume that it will work correctly. However, it's often better to be more pessimistic when it comes to programming. Instead of assuming your code will work the first time, it's safer to assume your code won't work at all. This forces you to be extra careful when writing Swift code to make sure it does exactly what you want and doesn't do anything unexpected.
Chapter 26. Simplifying User Interface Design
Designing a user interface can be challenging. Not only do you need to design a user interface that's easy to use, but you also need to design an adaptive user interface that can respond to any changes the user might make to a window's size. If the user shrinks a window, your user interface must shrink accordingly without cutting any items off. If the user enlarges a window, your user interface must expand accordingly to maintain a consistent appearance.
Chapter 27. Debugging Your Programs
In the professional world of software development, you'll actually spend more time modifying existing programs than you ever will creating new ones. However, whether writing new programs or editing existing ones, it doesn't matter how much experience or education you might have because even the best programmers can make mistakes. In fact, you can expect that you will make mistakes no matter how careful you may be. Once you accept this inevitable fact of programming, you can learn how to find and fix your mistakes.
Chapter 28. Planning a Program Before and After Coding
Before you invest days, weeks, months, or years working on a program, make sure the world even wants your program in the first place. If you're writing a program for yourself, then you can ignore what the rest of the world thinks. However, if you plan on selling your programs to others, make sure your program has a future before you even begin.
Computer Science
Is Windows or Mac better for programming? Another in a long line of questions about which of the two is better for what activity. The Windows vs Mac debate has been going on for as long as the two have existed.
When you choose a laptop for programming, it seems as though the internet is rife with opinion posts about which is better for what subject whether it be personal use, photo or video editing, web development, gaming, cat video playing, etc. Today, we take a look at whether Windows or Mac is better for programming. By the way, read this if you are unsure about a laptop or desktop for programming.
The Mac appears to hail as the go-to for software engineers but does it really stand out against Windows for programming specifically? The answer is not as simple as you might think.
In short, this choice really comes down to the programming you will be doing and your own personal preference. Before we get into the breakdown between the two, there are a few things to remember when it comes to programming.
Mac Vs. Windows For Programming In 2020
Linux and UNIX
Linux and UNIX are very important to programming. Before Linux came UNIX. UNIX is an operating system and is crowned as one of, if not the best, operating systems ever created, so called for its stability, flexibility, and security.
Linux is an operating system as well, just like Windows and macOS and has become one of the most popular development operating systems available. It powers everything from your phone to your refrigerator. Linux is Unix-like, meaning it is similar in many ways to Unix despite not being the same. You must be able to run Linux on your laptop to be able to program. That being said, both Mac and Windows can run Linux just fine.
…UNIX called for its stability, flexibility, and security . Linux powers everything from your phone to your refrigerator ..
What Are You Programming For
The laptop you choose will also depend on what sort of programming and development you are working on. Simply stated, if you’re doing programming work for macOS, it will likely be easier on you if you have macOS running on your device; likewise with Windows.
Simply stated, there are some stacks which just work better with Windows and some that just work better with Mac. So, before choosing a platform to program on, first think about what sort of programming you are going to be doing.
Personal Preference
To be perfectly frank, this debate really comes down to personal preference. If you’ve been using Windows your whole life, don’t take this article (or any of the opinionated, indoctrinated debates you see online) as proof that you need to switch to Mac or vice versa.
There is really no right answer to this question and it all comes down to your needs as a programmer i.e. what and who you are programming for as well as your needs as a consumer of technology. So, relax and have fun! That’s what programming is about.
Familiarity Of UX
Mac laptops are versatile, high tech machines that can get the job done. They will be able to handle most any coding and programming work you do. Especially if you’re doing programming work for an Apple ecosystem, then a Mac is your best option.
Almost any hiccups can be worked around using alternate software, apps, programs, etc. Some programmers claim that Mac will give you far fewer headaches than Windows when it comes to certain stacks or languages which may be true but the bottom line is your ability to program.
MacOS is Unix-like, meaning it is similar to, but not the same as, Unix and by extension, Linux. This means that development may just be a tiny bit easier and slightly less time-consuming on a Mac as compared to Windows.
Your Budget
The main drawback to Mac for the first time buyer is the price. Most new Macs range well over $2000 at the time of writing.
If you’re into programming as a career, Mac is definitely an option to consider for its programming ability and ease of use in certain stack development.
For casual programmers though, there are other, more budget-friendly, options available to you that will work for your purposes.
Do You Need Windows Specific Tools
With Windows, you would be developing on the platform used by the most users. Despite the Macs’ popularity in the media, Windows still reigns as the most used platform and thus the most developed for. You’ll find it more popular with software engineers who develop for the enterprise.
That being said, you can’t develop for iOS on a Windows computer so keep in mind the type of development you want to work on.
Computer Programming For Beginner
Windows is not Unix-like, as macOS is, but Linux can be run on Windows now and updates are being made relatively regularly to support it. This can bring Windows nearly up to the level of ease that a Mac gives with more compatibility and stability.
Stability Of O.S
While Windows is great for front end development, for back end developers, the platform can be a pain to use. You’ll be sitting through several hours of updates, drivers, installers, etc. to get a good system running but after that, you’ll find your development easier.
Does This Really Matter
Free Programming Software For Beginners
While Windows may be better for some programming and Mac other, most all programming can be done on either with some workarounds. ‘Better’ (in terms of programming) here really means ‘easier’. Both types of laptops are very similar and you’ll find that programming ease often comes with practice and knowledge and not necessarily equipment.
Conclusion
Always keep in mind the type of programming you want to be doing and what your own personal preferences are when choosing between Mac and Windows for your programming needs.
Both types of laptops are very similar and you’ll find that programming ease often comes with practice and knowledge and not necessarily equipment. Always keep in mind the type of programming you want to be doing and what your own personal preferences are when choosing between Mac and Windows for your programming needs.
Resources
LINFO. Linux for Absolute Beginners, The Linux Info Project.