Jump To:
Leopard Reference Library
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.
Document Descriptions
On Off
Display

Sort by
Title
Sorted by
Topic
Sort by
Resource Type
Sort by
Date
NameAndAddress (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
A single window utility that gets a host name from an IP address or an IP address from a hostname.
Networking Sample Code 2003-01-14
NewsReader (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Demonstrates use of the Publication Subscription framework to create a simple RSS reader application.
Networking Sample Code 2007-06-01
NSCachedURLResponse Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a cached response to a URL load request.
Networking Reference 2008-05-02
NSHost Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a representation of a network host.
Networking Reference 2007-03-24
NSHTTPCookie Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes an opaque set of data that represents state or configuration.
Networking Reference 2008-11-13
NSHTTPCookieStorage Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a collection of cookies shared across all applications.
Networking Reference 2006-05-23
NSHTTPURLResponse Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a response to an HTTP request.
Networking Reference 2006-05-23
NSInputStream Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a read-only data stream.
Networking Reference 2007-04-05
NSMessagePort Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes an endpoint for distributed object connections or interprocess messaging.
Networking Reference 2006-05-23
NSMessagePortNameServer Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a facility that accepts and returns message ports.
Networking Reference 2007-02-23
NSMutableURLRequest Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a mutable request for a resource identified by a URL.
Networking Reference 2006-05-23
NSNetService Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a network service that an application publishes or uses as a client.
Networking Reference 2009-04-08
NSNetServiceBrowser Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a query for published network services.
Networking Reference 2009-04-08
NSNetServices and CFNetServices Programming Guide (HTML) (PDF)
Describes how to implement Bonjour in Cocoa or Carbon applications.
Networking Guides 2008-10-15
NSOutputStream Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a write-only data stream.
Networking Reference 2009-01-06
NSSocketPort Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a BSD socket for distributed object connections or raw messaging.
Networking Reference 2008-10-15
NSSocketPortNameServer Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a registrar of named TCP/IP sockets.
Networking Reference 2007-02-26
NSStream Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes an interface for reading and writing data.
Networking Reference 2008-10-15
NSURL Additions Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes additions to support pasteboards.
Networking Reference 2006-05-23
NSURL Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a string that uniquely identifies a resource.
Networking Reference 2009-02-04
NSURLAuthenticationChallenge Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a challenge from a server requiring authentication from the client.
Networking Reference 2006-05-23
NSURLAuthenticationChallengeSender Protocol Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the interface for receiving authentication challenges.
Networking Reference 2006-05-23
NSURLCache Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a collection of cached responses and data.
Networking Reference 2008-03-11
NSURLClient Protocol Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Deprecated - Describes the deprecated class replaced by the classes NSURLConnection and NSURLDownload.
Networking Reference 2006-08-01
NSURLConnection Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class that provides support for retrieving data from a server in response to a URL load request.
Networking Reference 2007-04-01
NSURLCredential Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a credential used to authenticate a URL load request.
Networking Reference 2006-06-28
NSURLCredentialStorage Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a mapping of credentials to their corresponding protection spaces.
Networking Reference 2006-05-23
NSURLDownload Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a connection used to download data to a file.
Networking Reference 2006-05-23
NSURLHandle Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a deprecated technology replaced by the NSURLDownload class.
Networking Reference 2009-02-04
NSURLHandleClient Protocol Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a deprecated technology replaced by the NSURLDownload class.
Networking Reference 2006-05-23
NSURLProtectionSpace Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes an area on a server that requires authentication of URL load requests.
Networking Reference 2006-05-23
NSURLProtocol Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the interface for protocol-specific loading of URL data.
Networking Reference 2007-04-01
NSURLProtocolClient Protocol Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the interface used by protocol objects to communicate with the URL loading system.
Networking Reference 2006-05-23
NSURLRequest Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a request for a resource identified by a URL.
Networking Reference 2007-04-01
NSURLResponse Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the metadata returned by a server for a load request.
Networking Reference 2007-12-11
PictureSharing (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Demonstrates how to use NSNetServices to advertise a service using Bonjour.
Networking Sample Code 2005-02-08
PictureSharingBrowser (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Demonstrates how to use NSNetServices to take advantage of Bonjour service discovery and name resolution.
Networking Sample Code 2005-02-08
PortMapper (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Demonstrates Bonjour's NAT port-mapping API, and provides a higher-level Objective-C interface to it.
Networking Sample Code 2008-07-25
PPPoE Server for Testing (HTML) (日本語 HTML)
QA1252: Describes how to configure Mac OS X as a PPPoE server for testing purposes.
Networking Technical Q&As 2003-04-11
Problems getting Bonjour TXT record information (HTML)
QA1389: Explains why you might have problems retrieving TXT record information from a CFNetServiceRef or NSNetService.
Networking Technical Q&As 2005-07-06
Resolves may return an IPv6 address in Panther (HTML)
QA1298: Explains why you get an IP address of 0.0.0.0 when resolving a Bonjour service.
Networking Technical Q&As 2005-01-10
Sending an Email (HTML)
QA1084: Shows how to create an email in the user's prefered email application.
Networking Technical Q&As 2004-11-05
Stream Programming Guide for Cocoa (HTML) (PDF)
Explains how to use the Cocoa stream classes to read data from and write data to streams.
Networking Guides 2009-05-06
T_DATA_REQ vs M_DATA TPI Message Blocks (HTML) (日本語 HTML)
NW42: Explains why OT passes data to a TPI module using M_DATA message blocks instead of M_PROTO+T_DATA_REQ.
Networking Technical Q&As 1996-10-25
TextLinks (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Programmatically creates links to URLs and other objects and handles clicks in non-URL links.
Networking Sample Code 2003-07-29
Updating the TXT record of a Bonjour service (HTML)
QA1302: Explains how to update a Bonjour TXT record while running on either Jaguar or Panther.
Networking Technical Q&As 2004-07-14
URL CacheInfo (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Demonstrates resource caching behavior using the Cocoa URL loading system.
Networking Sample Code 2008-06-05
URL Loading System (HTML) (PDF)
Explains how to manipulate URLs and transfer URL contents.
Networking Guides 2008-05-06
Use the Computer Name when registering your Bonjour service (HTML)
QA1228: Explains why you should use the Computer Name when advertising a Bonjour service.
Networking Technical Q&As 2004-03-05
Using the Web Services Core Framework and CFNetwork to Access Remote SOAP Services (HTML)
Learn how to access remote SOAP-based web services that require HTTP Basic or Digest authentication.
Networking Articles 2007-03-07
Web Services Core Programming Guide (HTML) (PDF)
Explains how to use the new Web Services client-side frameworks available in Mac OS X.
Networking Guides 2009-01-06
AlbumToSlideshow (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Demonstrates using CF and NSXML to create Final Cut Pro XML.
Objective-C Language Sample Code 2008-05-15
Application Kit Constants Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the constants defined in the Application Kit framework not described in individual classes.
Objective-C Language Reference 2007-10-31
Application Kit Data Types Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the data types defined in the Application Kit framework not described in individual classes.
Objective-C Language Reference 2006-05-23
Application Kit Framework Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the interface for all things related to an application's user interface.
Objective-C Language Reference 2008-11-19
Application Kit Functions Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the functions that support the Application Kit framework.
Objective-C Language Reference 2008-11-19
Assertions and Logging (HTML) (PDF)
Explains how to use assertions and logging to diagnose problems in Cocoa applications.
Objective-C Language Guides 2006-04-04
Building Objective-C static libraries with categories (HTML)
QA1490: Describes how to properly build Objective-C static libraries that contain categories on existing classes.
Objective-C Language Technical Q&As 2006-10-03
Cocoa Application Tutorial (HTML) (PDF)
Describes how to build a simple Cocoa application using Xcode.
Objective-C Language Guides 2007-10-31
Cocoa_With_Carbon_or_CPP (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Shows how to call Carbon routines and C++ code from within an Objective-C Cocoa program.
Objective-C Language Sample Code 2007-02-05
Coding Guidelines for Cocoa (HTML) (PDF)
Naming guidelines for Cocoa API and design advice to framework developers.
Objective-C Language Guides 2006-04-04
Common mistakes with delegation in Cocoa (HTML)
QA1554: The two most common errors that lead to a delegate method not being received.
Objective-C Language Technical Q&As 2008-02-27
Core Animation properties and Reference Counting (HTML)
QA1565: Describes a discrepancy between the property declarations in Core Animation and the actual behavior.
Objective-C Language Technical Q&As 2008-11-24
Core Data Constants Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the constants defined by the Core Data framework not described in individual classes.
Objective-C Language Reference 2007-01-18
Core Data Framework Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the Objective-C API for the Core Data framework.
Objective-C Language Reference 2007-07-24
Determining if an application uses Objective-C Garbage Collection (HTML)
QA1599: Shows how to determine if an application or executable is using Objective-C Garbage Collection.
Objective-C Language Technical Q&As 2008-09-08
Distributed Objects Programming Topics (HTML) (PDF)
Explains how Objective-C objects in different threads or different processes communicate.
Objective-C Language Guides 2007-06-06
DynamicProperties (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Demonstrates dynamically resolved properties, using a new Objective C 2.0 feature: dynamically resolved methods.
Objective-C Language Sample Code 2006-08-01
Error Handling Programming Guide For Cocoa (HTML) (PDF)
Describes NSError objects, related Application Kit support for error handling, and how to use these features in your code.
Objective-C Language Guides 2009-03-04
Exception Handling Framework Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the API used to monitor and debug exceptional conditions in Objective-C code.
Objective-C Language Reference 2006-10-03
Exception Programming Topics for Cocoa (HTML) (PDF)
Explains how to raise and handle exceptions in Cocoa applications.
Objective-C Language Guides 2007-10-02
Foundation Constants Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes constants in the Foundation framework.
Objective-C Language Reference 2009-05-06
Foundation Data Types Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the common data types in the Foundation framework.
Objective-C Language Reference 2008-09-09
Foundation Framework Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the Foundation framework API.
Objective-C Language Reference 2008-06-27
Garbage Collection Programming Guide (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the garbage collection system for Cocoa.
Objective-C Language Guides 2008-11-19
Garbage Collection Release Notes (HTML)
Describes features, issues, and workarounds related to Mac OS X v10.5 and its support of garbage collection.
Objective-C Language Release Notes 2007-10-31
How do I get the hexadecimal value of an NSColor object? (HTML)
QA1576: Describes how to convert an NSColor object to its Hexadecimal value.
Objective-C Language Technical Q&As 2007-12-19
Leopard Technology Series for Developers: Objective-C 2.0 Overview (HTML)
Describes features and capabilities introduced in Objective-C 2.0.
Objective-C Language Articles 2007-12-11
Memory Management Programming Guide for Cocoa (HTML) (PDF)
Explains how to allocate and deallocate objects in Cocoa.
Objective-C Language Guides 2009-05-06
MethodReplacement (HTML) (DMG) (ZIP)
Demonstrates an Objective C 2 compatible way to replace a method in an existing Objective C class.
Objective-C Language Sample Code 2006-08-01
NSAttributeDescription Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to define attributes of an entity in a Core Data managed object model.
Objective-C Language Reference 2007-10-31
NSAutoreleasePool Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the interface to the deferred-release mechanism in Cocoa's reference-counted memory management system.
Objective-C Language Reference 2009-01-02
NSCopying Protocol Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the interface for providing immutable duplicates of objects.
Objective-C Language Reference 2006-05-23
NSDeserializer Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a deprecated technology replaced by the NSPropertyListSerialization class.
Objective-C Language Reference 2006-05-23
NSEntityDescription Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to specify entities in a Core Data managed object model.
Objective-C Language Reference 2008-02-08
NSException Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes an exceptional condition.
Objective-C Language Reference 2007-01-30
NSExceptionHandler Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a facility for monitoring and debugging exceptional conditions.
Objective-C Language Reference 2006-10-03
NSFastEnumeration Protocol Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the interface for supporting the Objective-C 2.0 fast-enumeration feature.
Objective-C Language Reference 2007-06-27
NSFetchedPropertyDescription Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a fetched property of an entity in a Core Data managed object model.
Objective-C Language Reference 2006-07-11
NSFontDescriptor Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a dictionary that fully specifies a font.
Objective-C Language Reference 2008-03-11
NSGarbageCollector Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the garbage collector.
Objective-C Language Reference 2008-10-15
NSInvocation Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes an Objective-C message for use in store-and-forward operations.
Objective-C Language Reference 2008-10-15
NSInvocationOperation Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a nonconcurrent operation for executing a single encapsulated task.
Objective-C Language Reference 2007-04-12
NSMethodSignature Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the types of a method's parameters and return value.
Objective-C Language Reference 2008-10-15
NSMutableCopying Protocol Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the interface for providing mutable duplicates of objects.
Objective-C Language Reference 2006-05-23
NSObject Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the Cocoa root class.
Objective-C Language Reference 2009-02-04
NSObject Protocol Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the interface used to define basic object behavior.
Objective-C Language Reference 2008-12-22
NSPropertyDescription Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to define properties of an entity in a Core Data managed object model.
Objective-C Language Reference 2006-10-03
NSProtocolChecker Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes an object that restricts the messages that can be sent to another object.
Objective-C Language Reference 2006-05-23
NSProxy Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the interface for object surrogates used in distributed messages and lazy instantiation.
Objective-C Language Reference 2007-04-06