Objective-C

Full Objective-C course — 172 topics from the basics to advanced use.

Lessons

• What is C, and How Does Source Code Become a Running Program?
• C Variables: Declaring, Typing, Scoping, and Storing Data
• C Constants: const, #define, and enum
• C Operators: Arithmetic, Logic, Bits, and Precedence
• C Control Flow: Branching, Loops, and Jumps
• C Functions: Declarations, Pointers, and Variadic Arguments
• C Arrays: One-Dimensional, Multidimensional, and Decay
• C Strings: Null Termination, Standard Functions, and Buffer Safety
• C Pointers: Addresses, Dereferencing, Arithmetic, and the Road to Objective-C Objects
• C Structs: Grouping Related Data
• C Enums: Naming a Fixed Set of Values
• C typedef: Creating Type Aliases
• The C Preprocessor: Directives, Macros, and Conditional Compilation
• C Header Files: Declarations, Definitions, and Modular Code
• C Compilation and Linking: From Source Code to a Running Program
• What is Objective-C? History, Influences, and the Language Today
• Your First Objective-C Program: Reading Every Piece of Hello, SampleApp
• Objective-C File Types: .h, .m, .mm, and How Projects Mix C, C++, and Objective-C
• The Objective-C Syntax Mental Model: From Calling Functions to Sending Messages
• Objective-C Variables and Types: Object Pointers, id, Class, SEL, BOOL, and Cocoa's Portable Numeric Types
• Objective-C Class Anatomy: Reading a Complete Class, Line by Line
• @interface and @implementation: Splitting a Class into Public Contract and Private Body
• Creating Objects: alloc, init, and Why They're Always Chained
• Designated Initializers, Convenience Initializers, and Initializer Chaining
• Class Methods: The + Prefix, the Class Object, and Factory Methods
• Properties in Depth: Ownership, Atomicity, Access Control, and Synthesis
• Instance Variables: Backing Storage, Naming, Visibility, and Access Style
• Sending Messages: The Full Pipeline From Bracket Syntax to Executing Code
• Selectors: SEL, @selector, and Method Names as First-Class Values
• performSelector: Dynamic Invocation and Its Real Limitations
• Dynamic Messaging: Runtime Lookup, Optional Methods, and Existence Checks
• Methods: Instance vs. Class, Signatures, Named Parameters, and Selectors
• Inheritance: Subclassing, NSObject, super, and Composition vs. Inheritance
• What is a Protocol?
• Protocol-Oriented APIs
• Categories
• Class Extensions: Private Properties, Private Methods, and the Anonymous Category
• Blocks: Closures, Capture, Memory, and Asynchronous Callbacks
• Manual Reference Counting: retain, release, autorelease, and the Ownership Model
• ARC: Automatic Reference Counting, Ownership Qualifiers in Practice, and Bridging
• Ownership Qualifiers in Depth: __strong, __weak, __unsafe_unretained, __autoreleasing
• Retain Cycles: When Strong References Point at Each Other
• Autorelease Pools: Deferred Release and @autoreleasepool
• NSString: Foundation's Immutable String Class
• NSMutableString: Mutating Strings in Place
• NSNumber: Boxing Primitive Values into Objects
• NSValue: Boxing Arbitrary C Structs
• NSArray: Ordered, Immutable Collections
• NSMutableArray: Mutating Ordered Collections and Their Cost
• NSDictionary: Key-Value Storage, Lookup, and Generics
• NSMutableDictionary: Mutation, the Enumeration Crash, and Thread Safety
• NSSet and NSMutableSet: Unordered Uniqueness
• NSOrderedSet: Uniqueness With Order
• NSCountedSet: Counting Membership
• Foundation Collections and Modern Syntax: Bringing It Together
• Dates, Numbers, and Formatting: Getting Time and Locale Right
• Data and the File System: Bytes, Files, and Reliability
• URL and Networking: NSURLSession, Requests, and the HTTP Round Trip
• JSON and Serialization: NSJSONSerialization, Model Mapping, and Untrusted Data
• Error Handling: NSError, NSException, and Choosing the Right Tool
• Nullability Annotations: nullable, nonnull, and the Assume-Nonnull Regions
• Lightweight Generics: Typed Collections, Compile-Time Checking, and Runtime Erasure
• Objective-C Literals and Syntax Sugar: What Every Shortcut Really Expands To
• Key-Value Coding: Indirect Property Access by String Key
• Key-Value Observing: Automatic Change Notifications and Their Crash Risks
• NSNotificationCenter: Broadcast Messaging and Its Overuse Risks
• Delegation: The One-to-One Callback Pattern Behind UIKit and Cocoa
• Target-Action and Callback Patterns: Choosing the Right Tool for the Job
• The Objective-C Runtime
• Dynamic Method Resolution
• Message Forwarding: What Happens When a Message Send Fails
• Method Swizzling: Swapping Implementations at Runtime (Advanced / Specialized)
• Associated Objects: Attaching Extra State to an Existing Instance
• Runtime Introspection: Examining Classes and Objects at Runtime
• Blocks + Runtime + Memory: One Unified Mental Model
• Concurrency Fundamentals: Threads, GCD, and Queues
• Concurrency: Synchronization, Safety, and NSOperation
• Grand Central Dispatch in Practice
• NSOperation and NSOperationQueue
• Thread Safety: Protecting Shared Mutable State
• Foundation Threading Utilities
• Persistence: Choosing the Right Storage Tool
• UserDefaults in Depth
• Keychain: Secure Storage for Secrets
• SQLite: Calling a C Library Directly from Objective-C
• Core Data Fundamentals: Stack and Model
• Core Data: Change Tracking, Concurrency, and Migration
• Cocoa and Cocoa Touch: The Apple Object Ecosystem
• UI Development Concepts: How Objective-C Drives Apple's Interfaces
• The View Controller Lifecycle: From Creation to Deallocation
• Auto Layout: Constraints, Anchors, and Resolving Ambiguity
• UITableView and UICollectionView: Data Sources, Reuse, and Scroll Performance
• Core Animation, CALayer, and UIView Animations
• Accessibility: Building UI That Works for Everyone
• Network Security: Protecting Data in Transit
• App Security
• C Interoperability
• C++ / Objective-C++
• Swift Interoperability: How Objective-C and Swift Talk to Each Other
• Bridging Headers: Letting Swift See Your Objective-C Code
• Objective-C Generics and Swift: Why NSArray<NSString *> * Matters at the Boundary
• API Design for Swift: A Practical Checklist for Objective-C Headers That Import Cleanly
• Modules and Frameworks: How Objective-C Code Gets Packaged
• The Build System: From Source Files to a Runnable App
• Xcode: The IDE That Ties the Course Together
• LLDB Debugging: Commanding the Debugger Behind Xcode's UI
• Instruments: Measuring Before You Optimize
• Memory Debugging: A Troubleshooting Guide to Objective-C Memory Failures
• Testing: Test Types, XCTest, and Writing Tests That Actually Catch Bugs
• Mocking and Dependency Injection: Fakes, Stubs, Spies, Mocks, and Testable Design
• Architecture: Organizing an Objective-C App at the Structural Level
• Design Patterns: Creational and Structural
• Design Patterns: Behavioral and Cocoa-Specific
• Performance: Finding and Fixing Real Bottlenecks
• Production Reliability
• Legacy Objective-C
• Modernizing Legacy Objective-C
• Source Control and Code Quality
• Documentation
• Security Checklist
• Common Objective-C Errors: Compile-Time and Build Errors
• Common Objective-C Errors: Runtime Crashes and Exceptions
• Objective-C vs C vs C++ vs Swift: A Comparative Map
• The Objective-C Mental Model: From C Pointers to Production App
• Module 80 Projects — Part 1: Calculator, Contact Manager, Network Client, Download Manager
• Module 80 Projects — Part 2: Notes App, Core Data App, Swift Mixed App, Legacy Modernization
• Final Capstone — Building a Production Objective-C Application
• Advanced Objective-C Type System
• Ownership Qualifiers and Out Parameters
• Core Foundation
• Toll-Free Bridging
• NS_ENUM and NS_OPTIONS
• Objective-C API Annotations
• Swift API Customization
• Objective-C Method Family Conventions
• Initializer Design
• Fast Enumeration Internals
• NSInvocation
• NSMethodSignature
• Objective-C Type Encodings
• objc_msgSend in Depth
• objc_msgSendSuper
• doesNotRecognizeSelector:
• Runtime Class Creation
• Associated Object Policies
• Runtime Loading and Initialization
• NSObject Fundamentals
• Equality and Hashing
• description and debugDescription
• Class Clusters
• Copy Semantics
• NSCopying and NSMutableCopying
• NSCoding and NSSecureCoding
• Run Loops
• Timers
• Streams
• NSPredicate and NSExpression
• NSCache
• Advanced NSOperation / OperationQueue
• Main-Thread Correctness
• Objective-C Concurrency Memory Model
• Method and Runtime Metadata
• Advanced Pointer and Casting Patterns
• Objective-C + C Callback Interoperability
• Objective-C + C++ Exception/Ownership Boundaries
• Property Semantics in Depth
• Objective-C Compiler and Preprocessor Details
• Header Architecture
• Modules and Module Maps — Deeper Coverage
• Availability and Version Compatibility
• Objective-C Runtime vs Static Compilation
• Dynamic Features vs Type Safety