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Leopard Reference
Cocoa is an object-oriented application environment designed for developing Mac OS X native applications. The Cocoa frameworks support rapid development and high productivity. Cocoa provides developers starting new Mac OS X projects the fastest way to full-featured implementations. Applications from other platforms can also be brought to Mac OS X quickly using Cocoa.

A guided introduction and learning path for developers new to Cocoa.   Essential information for developers using Objective-C.   Objective-C API references organized by framework.
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NSLayoutManager Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes an object for controlling text layout.
Text & Fonts 2008-12-20
Application Kit Framework Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the interface for all things related to an application's user interface.
General, Objective-C Language, User Experience 2008-11-19
Application Kit Functions Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the functions that support the Application Kit framework.
Objective-C Language 2008-11-19
Certificate, Key, and Trust Services Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes services to read and evaluate certificates and to use cryptographic keys.
Security 2008-11-19
ISyncSession Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
An ISyncSession object is used to manage a single sync operation.
Syncing 2008-11-19
Keychain Services Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the Keychain Services API, used to create, find, modify, and delete keychain items.
Security 2008-11-19
NSDateFormatter Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a date formatter.
Data Management, Internationalization, User Experience 2008-11-19
NSNumberFormatter Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a number formatter.
Data Management, User Experience 2008-11-19
NSOperation Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes an encapsulated, single-shot task.
Process Management 2008-11-19
NSOperationQueue Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes an object that manages a set of prioritized operations.
Process Management 2008-11-19
NSTimer Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a timer.
Events & Other Input 2008-11-19
Objective-C 2.0 Runtime Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the data structures and functions of the Objective-C runtime support library.
Objective-C Language 2008-11-19
NSMutableArray Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a mutable ordered collection.
Data Management 2008-11-17
NSHTTPCookie Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes an opaque set of data that represents state or configuration.
Internet & Web, Networking 2008-11-13
DOMDocument Additions Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the API added to the DOMDocument class to facilitate communication between WebKit and the DOM API.
User Experience 2008-10-15
DOMElement Additions Reference (HTML)
Describes the API added to the DOMElement class to facilitate communication between WebKit and the DOM API.
User Experience 2008-10-15
DOMRange Additions Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the API added to the DOMRange class to facilitate communication between WebKit and the DOM API.
User Experience 2008-10-15
Foundation Functions Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes Foundation framework functions.
Data Management 2008-10-15
IMService Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the IMService objects that each represent one service available through iChat.
Apple Applications 2008-10-15
NSAtomicStore Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a Core Data atomic persistent store.
Data Management 2008-10-15
NSAttributedString Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a character string with attributes.
Data Management, Text & Fonts 2008-10-15
NSBox Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a view that can display its border and a title.
Graphics & Imaging, Printing, User Experience 2008-10-15
NSCharacterSet Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a set of Unicode characters used in scanning and searching operations.
Data Management 2008-10-15
NSControl Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the interface for views that respond to user actions by sending action messages.
User Experience 2008-10-15
NSDate Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a single point in time.
Data Management 2008-10-15
NSDateComponents Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the components of a date.
Data Management 2008-10-15
NSDirectoryEnumerator Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the facility for enumerating the contents of a directory.
File Management 2008-10-15
NSDocumentController Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes an object for managing documents.
Design Guidelines 2008-10-15
NSExpression Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a predicate expression.
Data Management 2008-10-15
NSFileHandle Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes an object for accessing files or communication channels.
File Management 2008-10-15
NSFileManager Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes an object that performs file-system operations.
File Management, Resource Management 2008-10-15
NSFileWrapper Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a representation of a file-system node.
Data Management, File Management, Resource Management 2008-10-15
NSGarbageCollector Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the garbage collector.
Objective-C Language 2008-10-15
NSIndexPath Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a path to a node in a tree.
Data Management 2008-10-15
NSInvocation Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes an Objective-C message for use in store-and-forward operations.
Interapplication Communication, Objective-C Language 2008-10-15
NSKeyedArchiver Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the facility for encoding objects and scalar values identified by keys.
Data Management 2008-10-15
NSKeyedUnarchiver Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes an object that extracts the contents of an archive created by the NSKeyedArchiver class.
Data Management 2008-10-15
NSManagedObject Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a Core Data model object.
Data Management 2008-10-15
NSManagedObjectContext Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to represent a single "object space" in a Core Data application.
Data Management 2008-10-15
NSMatrix Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a group of cell objects that work together in various ways.
User Experience 2008-10-15
NSMethodSignature Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the types of a method's parameters and return value.
Objective-C Language 2008-10-15
NSMutableParagraphStyle Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a mutable paragraph style.
Data Management, Text & Fonts 2008-10-15
NSOpenGLPixelFormat Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a pixel format for OpenGL rendering.
Graphics & Imaging 2008-10-15
NSPasteboard Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a pasteboard.
Interapplication Communication, User Experience 2008-10-15
NSPointerFunctions Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes callout functions for managing a pointer reference held somewhere else.
Data Management 2008-10-15
NSPopUpButton Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a control for displaying pull-down or pop-up lists of items.
User Experience 2008-10-15
NSPopUpButtonCell Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a cell used in the display of pull-down or pop-up menus.
User Experience 2008-10-15
NSPredicateEditor Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a graphical predicate editor.
Data Management, User Experience 2008-10-15
NSScanner Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes an object that scans values from a string.
Data Management 2008-10-15
NSSet Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes an immutable unordered collection of distinct elements.
Data Management 2008-10-15
NSSocketPort Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a BSD socket for distributed object connections or raw messaging.
Interapplication Communication, Networking 2008-10-15
NSSound Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes an object that loads and plays audio files.
Audio, Data Management, Resource Management 2008-10-15
NSStream Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes an interface for reading and writing data.
Data Management, File Management, Networking 2008-10-15
NSTextInputClient Protocol Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the interface for receiving keyboard input as properly formed text.
Events & Other Input, Text & Fonts 2008-10-15
NSTokenField Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a text field that provides tokenized editing.
User Experience 2008-10-15
NSToolbar Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a toolbar in a window's title bar.
User Experience 2008-10-15
WebDataSource Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class for encapsulating web content for display in a web frame view.
User Experience 2008-10-15
WebDocumentView Protocol Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the protocol adopted by document view objects to display data of different MIME types.
User Experience 2008-10-15
WebDownload Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class for providing an authentication sheet before a download begins.
User Experience 2008-10-15
WebHistoryItem Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class for encapsulating information about a visited page.
User Experience 2008-10-15
WebKit Constants Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the types and constants found in the WebKit framework.
User Experience 2008-10-15
WebKit Objective-C Framework Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the Objective-C API used to display web content in windows.
General, User Experience 2008-10-15
WebPreferences Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class for the preferences you can change per WebView object, such as font, text encoding, and image settings.
User Experience 2008-10-15
Foundation Data Types Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the common data types in the Foundation framework.
Data Management, Objective-C Language 2008-09-09
NSCondition Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a pthread-style condition variable and associated mutex lock.
Process Management 2008-09-09
CAMediaTimingFunction Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the pacing of an animation as a timing curve.
Graphics & Imaging 2008-07-11
NSNotificationCenter Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes an object that synchronously broadcasts notifications.
Events & Other Input 2008-07-11
Audio File Services Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a C programming interface for reading and writing audio files.
Audio 2008-07-08
Foundation Framework Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the Foundation framework API.
General, Objective-C Language 2008-06-27
Core Animation Reference Collection (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the API for Core Animation.
Graphics & Imaging 2008-06-26
WebResourceLoadDelegate Protocol Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the protocol used to be notified on the progress of loading individual resources.
User Experience 2008-06-19
Core Image Kernel Language Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the symbols for writing image-processing kernels.
Graphics & Imaging 2008-06-09
NSArray Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to manage an immutable ordered collection of objects.
Data Management 2008-06-09
NSDatePicker Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a control for displaying and editing a date.
User Experience 2008-06-09
NSDatePickerCell Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a cell for displaying and editing a date.
User Experience 2008-06-09
NSOpenGLContext Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a target for OpenGL commands.
Graphics & Imaging 2008-06-09
NSPropertyListSerialization Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to convert property list objects to and from several serialized formats.
Data Management 2008-06-09
NSDictionaryController Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a Cocoa bindings-compatible manager of a dictionary.
Data Management, Design Guidelines 2008-06-05
NSDictionaryControllerKeyValuePair Protocol Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the interface for managing key-value pairs used by a dictionary controller.
Data Management 2008-06-05
NSText Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a basic interface for text-bearing objects.
Text & Fonts 2008-05-06
NSCalendarDate Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a Gregorian date.
Data Management 2008-05-04
NSCachedURLResponse Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a cached response to a URL load request.
Internet & Web, Networking 2008-05-02
CARenderer Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes an object that draws a layer to a Core Graphics context.
Graphics & Imaging 2008-04-30
Disc Recording Framework Reference (HTML)
Describes the Objective-C and C API for burning audio and data CDs and DVDs.
Audio, File Management 2008-04-08
Disc Recording UI Framework Reference (HTML)
Describes the Objective-C and C API for presenting a user interface when burning audio and data CDs and DVDs.
Audio, File Management, User Experience 2008-04-08
IKImageView Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to display images efficiently at the same time it supports image editing.
Graphics & Imaging 2008-04-08
Message Framework Reference (HTML)
Describes the Objective-C API for sending email messages through the Mail application.
Apple Applications 2008-04-08
Publication Subscription Framework Reference (HTML)
Describes the Cocoa framework for publishing and subscribing to RSS and Atom feeds.
Internet & Web 2008-04-08
QCCompositionRenderer Protocol Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the methods for passing and retrieving data from the ports of a composition.
Graphics & Imaging 2008-04-08
QCPlugIn Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to write custom patches for Quartz Composer.
Graphics & Imaging 2008-04-08
Quartz Core Framework Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the interfaces for Core Image and Core Video.
Graphics & Imaging 2008-03-12
CAAnimationGroup Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a grouping of multiple animations into a single animation.
Graphics & Imaging 2008-03-11
CAOpenGLLayer Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a layer that acts as a target for OpenGL commands.
Graphics & Imaging 2008-03-11
NSFontDescriptor Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a dictionary that fully specifies a font.
Objective-C Language 2008-03-11
NSPersistentStoreCoordinator Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to mediate between persistent stores and managed object contexts in a Core Data application.
Data Management 2008-03-11
NSProgressIndicator Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a control that shows that a lengthy task is under way.
User Experience 2008-03-11
NSSearchFieldCell Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a search field cell.
User Experience 2008-03-11
NSURLCache Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a collection of cached responses and data.
Internet & Web, Networking 2008-03-11
NSAnimationContext Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes nested transaction support for animating views.
Graphics & Imaging 2008-02-08
NSConnection Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes an object that manages communication between objects in different threads.
Interapplication Communication 2008-02-08