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The Reference Library is a comprehensive collection of Apple technical resources, including Articles, Guides, Reference, Release Notes, Sample Code, Technical Notes, and Technical Q&As. Each of the links below leads to the resources for a specific topic.

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NSTextField Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a control that displays editable text.
Cocoa, User Experience Reference 2009-01-06
NSTextFieldCell Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the user interface of a text field.
Cocoa, User Experience Reference 2009-01-06
Objective-C 1 Runtime Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Deprecated - Describes the data structures and functions of the Objective-C 1.0 runtime support library.
Cocoa Reference 2009-01-06
PackageMaker User Guide (HTML) (PDF)
Describes how to use PackageMaker to create installation packages.
Tools Guides 2009-01-06
Quartz Composer WebKit Plug-in JavaScript Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the API for manipulating Quartz Composer compositions in webpages and Dashboard widgets via the Quartz Composer WebKit Plug-in.
Apple Applications, Graphics & Imaging, Internet & Web, Scripting & Automation Guides 2009-01-06
Resource Programming Guide (HTML) (PDF)
Explains how to work with nib and bundle resources in Mac OS X applications.
Carbon, Cocoa, Core Foundation Guides 2009-01-06
Safari JavaScript Database Programming Guide (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the JavaScript Database, a SQLite database built into Safari that provides local storage accessible to JavaScript applications.
Apple Applications, Internet & Web Guides 2009-01-06
Safari User Guide for Web Developers (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the developer tools built into Safari for analyzing, testing, and debugging HTML, JavaScript, style sheets, and DOM structure.
Apple Applications, Internet & Web, Networking, Scripting & Automation Guides 2009-01-06
SFAuthorization Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to restrict a user's access to particular features in a Mac OS X application or daemon.
Cocoa, Security Reference 2009-01-06
vDSP Correlation, Convolution, and Filtering Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes an interface for performing correlation, convolution, and filtering operations on real or complex signals.
Carbon, Performance Reference 2009-01-06
vDSP Matrix Operations Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes an interface for matrix arithmetic operations.
Carbon, Performance Reference 2009-01-06
vDSP One-Dimensional Fast Fourier Transforms Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes an interface for performing one-dimensional fast Fourier transforms on an input signal.
Carbon, Performance Reference 2009-01-06
vDSP Vector-To-Scalar Operations Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes functions that receive a vector as input and compute scalars as output.
Carbon, Performance Reference 2009-01-06
vDSP Vector-to-Vector Arithmetic Operations Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes functions that receive a vector as input and return a vector as output.
Carbon, Performance Reference 2009-01-06
vecLib Framework Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the C API for vector mathematical functions in the vecLib subframework of the Accelerate framework.
Performance Reference 2009-01-06
Web Services Core Framework Reference (HTML)
Describes the client-side APIs for accessing web services.
Carbon, Cocoa, Core Foundation, Internet & Web Reference 2009-01-06
Web Services Core Programming Guide (HTML) (PDF)
Explains how to use the new Web Services client-side frameworks available in Mac OS X.
Carbon, Cocoa, Internet & Web, Networking Guides 2009-01-06
What's New in Xcode (HTML) (PDF)
Provides an overview of new and improved features in the Xcode application.
Tools Guides 2009-01-06
Xcode Debugging Guide (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the Xcode debugging facilities and the recommended debugging techniques.
Performance, Tools Guides 2009-01-06
Xcode Overview (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the Xcode IDE and its major components, and provides and overview of the development process.
Carbon, Cocoa, Tools Guides 2009-01-06
Xcode Project Management Guide (HTML) (PDF)
Provides practical descriptions of the major development tasks developers perform with Xcode.
Carbon, Cocoa, Internationalization, Tools Guides 2009-01-06
Xcode Refactoring Guide (HTML) (PDF)
Shows how to improve readability of source code while retaining its functionality.
Tools Guides 2009-01-06
Xcode Source Management Guide (HTML) (PDF)
Describes how to manage source changes using source control and snapshots.
Tools Guides 2009-01-06
Xcode User Default Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the user defaults developers can use to customize Xcode behavior.
Tools Reference 2009-01-06
Xcode Workspace Guide (HTML) (PDF)
Provides an overview of the Xcode workspace, and shows how to use its components and features.
Carbon, Cocoa, Internet & Web, Tools Guides 2009-01-06
NSAutoreleasePool Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the interface to the deferred-release mechanism in Cocoa's reference-counted memory management system.
Cocoa, Performance Reference 2009-01-02
NSObject Protocol Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the interface used to define basic object behavior.
Cocoa Reference 2008-12-22
NSLayoutManager Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes an object for controlling text layout.
Cocoa, Text & Fonts Reference 2008-12-20
Installer JavaScript Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the JavaScript object model used in distribution definition files.
Games, Tools, User Experience Reference 2008-12-16
Core Animation properties and Reference Counting (HTML)
QA1565: Describes a discrepancy between the property declarations in Core Animation and the actual behavior.
Cocoa, Core Foundation, Games, Graphics & Imaging Technical Q&As 2008-11-24
Video Digitizers - Adding Clean Aperture and Pixel Aspect Ratio Information (HTML)
QA1512: Discusses the importance of adding 'pasp' and 'clap' image description extensions to the ImageDescription returned by a VDIG.
QuickTime Technical Q&As 2008-11-20
Apple JavaScript Coding Guidelines (HTML) (PDF)
Provides an overview of the JavaScript language, its object-oriented features, and coding best practices.
Apple Applications, Internet & Web, QuickTime, Scripting & Automation, Tools Guides 2008-11-19
Application Kit Framework Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the interface for all things related to an application's user interface.
Cocoa, Graphics & Imaging, User Experience Reference 2008-11-19
Application Kit Functions Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the functions that support the Application Kit framework.
Cocoa Reference 2008-11-19
Certificate, Key, and Trust Services Programming Guide (HTML) (PDF)
Shows how to evaluate trust for a certificate and recover from a trust failure.
Carbon, Cocoa, Security Guides 2008-11-19
Certificate, Key, and Trust Services Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes services to read and evaluate certificates and to use cryptographic keys.
Carbon, Cocoa, Security Reference 2008-11-19
Cocoa Fundamentals Guide (HTML) (PDF)
Introduces the basic concepts, terminology, architectures, and design patterns of the Cocoa frameworks and development environment.
Cocoa, Mac OS X Guides 2008-11-19
Code Signing Guide (HTML) (PDF)
Explains how you can sign your code and why you should.
Carbon, Cocoa, Darwin, Hardware & Drivers, Internet & Web, Java, Mac OS X Server, Networking, Open Source, Security, Tools Guides 2008-11-19
Core Audio Data Types Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes data types and constants used throughout Core Audio.
Audio Reference 2008-11-19
Garbage Collection Programming Guide (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the garbage collection system for Cocoa.
Cocoa Guides 2008-11-19
Interface Builder User Guide (HTML) (PDF)
Conceptual information and tasks explaining how to use the Interface Builder application to design user interfaces.
Carbon, Cocoa, Tools, User Experience Guides 2008-11-19
ISyncSession Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
An ISyncSession object is used to manage a single sync operation.
Cocoa Reference 2008-11-19
Keychain Services Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the Keychain Services API, used to create, find, modify, and delete keychain items.
Carbon, Cocoa, Security Reference 2008-11-19
NSDateFormatter Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a date formatter.
Cocoa, Internationalization, User Experience Reference 2008-11-19
NSNumberFormatter Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a number formatter.
Cocoa, User Experience Reference 2008-11-19
NSOperation Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes an encapsulated, single-shot task.
Cocoa Reference 2008-11-19
NSOperationQueue Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes an object that manages a set of prioritized operations.
Cocoa Reference 2008-11-19
NSTimer Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a timer.
Cocoa Reference 2008-11-19
Object-Oriented Programming with Objective-C (HTML) (PDF)
Describes object-oriented programming from the perspective of an Objective-C developer.
Cocoa Guides 2008-11-19
Objective-C 2.0 Runtime Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the data structures and functions of the Objective-C runtime support library.
Cocoa Reference 2008-11-19
Property List Programming Guide (HTML) (PDF)
Explains how to use structured, textual representations of data in Cocoa.
Cocoa Guides 2008-11-19
Quartz Display Services Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the interface for configuring and controlling display hardware.
Carbon, Graphics & Imaging, Hardware & Drivers Reference 2008-11-19
Safari CSS Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the Cascading Style Sheet (CSS) properties that are supported by Safari and WebKit.
Apple Applications, Internet & Web, Open Source Reference 2008-11-19
Safari Visual Effects Guide (HTML) (PDF)
Describes how to add visual effects to web content that is supported by Safari on the desktop and iPhone OS.
Internet & Web Guides 2008-11-19
System Startup Programming Topics (HTML) (PDF)
Explains the boot process used to initialize the Mac OS X operating system.
Darwin, Mac OS X, Mac OS X Server, Open Source, Scripting & Automation Guides 2008-11-19
Timer Programming Topics for Cocoa (HTML) (PDF)
Explains how to use timers for scheduling automatic, repeating message invocations in Cocoa.
Cocoa Guides 2008-11-19
vDSP Two-Dimensional Fast Fourier Transforms Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Improved function discussions and corrections.
Carbon, Performance Reference 2008-11-19
WebKit Reference Update (HTML) (PDF)
Summarizes the symbols added to the WebKit framework.
Cocoa, Internet & Web Release Notes 2008-11-19
WebObjects File Format Reference (HTML) (PDF)
New document that describes the bundle format of WebObjects documents such as the EOModel and WOComponent bundles.
Internet & Web, Java, Mac OS X Server Reference 2008-11-19
Xcode Release Notes (HTML)
Lists changes to Xcode.
Tools Release Notes 2008-11-19
NSMutableArray Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a mutable ordered collection.
Cocoa Reference 2008-11-17
Core Animation Programming Guide (HTML) (PDF)
Introduces the main components and services of Core Animation.
Cocoa, Graphics & Imaging Guides 2008-11-13
NSHTTPCookie Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes an opaque set of data that represents state or configuration.
Cocoa, Internet & Web, Networking Reference 2008-11-13
Kernel Core Dumps (HTML)
TN2118: Explains how to gather and use remote kernel core dumps.
Darwin, Networking, Tools Technical Notes 2008-11-12
Safari HTML Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) tags and properties that are supported by Safari and WebKit.
Apple Applications, Internet & Web, Open Source Reference 2008-11-12
Xcode 3 Project Compatiblity (HTML)
QA1572: Describes the minimum requirements for opening Project Builder or older Xcode projects in Xcode 3.
Tools Technical Q&As 2008-11-12
OpenGL Performance Optimization : The Basics (HTML)
TN2093: This document describes some of the concepts and techniques for optimizing performance in OpenGL applications.
Graphics & Imaging Technical Notes 2008-11-05
Opening a Web page using an HREF track in QuickTime Player (HTML)
QA1621: Opening a Web page using an HREF track in QuickTime Player
Internet & Web, QuickTime Technical Q&As 2008-11-05
Playback of QuickTime movie audio through a multi-channel speaker system (HTML)
QA1627: Specify a specific pair of channels for QuickTime audio movie playback through a multi-channel speaker system
Audio, QuickTime Technical Q&As 2008-11-05
QuickTime Audio - Retrieving the correct audio format bit depth value (HTML)
QA1477: Discusses how to retrieve accurate audio format bit depth.
Audio, QuickTime Technical Q&As 2008-11-05
Animating the frame of a CALayer. (HTML)
QA1620: Explains how the frame property of a layer interacts with animations.
Cocoa, Games, Graphics & Imaging Technical Q&As 2008-10-24
Apple Publications Style Guide (PDF)
Describes style and usage of Apple terms, including user interface terms that should be used in applications.
User Experience Guides 2008-10-16
Accessibility (ApplicationServices/HIServices) Reference (HTML)
Describes the low-level API for making applications accessible to assistive applications.
User Experience Reference 2008-10-15
Animation Overview (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the animation facilities provided by Mac OS X.
Carbon, Cocoa, Games, Graphics & Imaging Guides 2008-10-15
Audio File Stream Services Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the interface for reading non-random access audio file streams.
Audio Reference 2008-10-15
Bluetooth Framework Reference (HTML)
Describes the C and Objective-C APIs that support user-space access to Bluetooth devices.
Darwin, Hardware & Drivers Reference 2008-10-15
Button Programming Topics for Cocoa (HTML) (PDF)
Explains how to use Cocoa buttons.
Cocoa, User Experience Guides 2008-10-15
CFMutableString Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a mutable character string.
Core Foundation, Internationalization Reference 2008-10-15
CFNetwork Error Codes Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes error codes used by the CFNetwork API.
Core Foundation, Networking Reference 2008-10-15
CFSocket Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a network communications channel.
Core Foundation Reference 2008-10-15
CFString Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes an immutable character string.
Core Foundation, Internationalization Reference 2008-10-15
CFTimeZone Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a representation of a time zone.
Core Foundation Reference 2008-10-15
CFXMLParser Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes an object for finding and extracting data in XML documents.
Core Foundation Reference 2008-10-15
CFXMLTree Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes an XML document as a tree structure.
Core Foundation Reference 2008-10-15
CGPDFArray Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes an array structure in a PDF document.
Graphics & Imaging Reference 2008-10-15
CGPDFContentStream Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the appearance of a PDF page.
Graphics & Imaging Reference 2008-10-15
CGPDFDictionary Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a dictionary structure in a PDF document.
Graphics & Imaging Reference 2008-10-15
CGPDFObject Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a PDF object in a PDF document.
Graphics & Imaging Reference 2008-10-15
CGPDFScanner Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes an opaque type for parsing a PDF content stream.
Graphics & Imaging Reference 2008-10-15
CGPDFStream Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a PDF data stream, which typically represents an image or a page description.
Graphics & Imaging Reference 2008-10-15
CGPDFString Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a character string in a PDF document.
Graphics & Imaging Reference 2008-10-15
Control and Cell Programming Topics for Cocoa (HTML) (PDF)
Explains the relationship between Cocoa control and cell objects.
Cocoa, User Experience Guides 2008-10-15
CTFontDescriptor Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes a dictionary that fully specifies a font.
Carbon, Text & Fonts Reference 2008-10-15
Data Formatting Programming Guide for Cocoa (HTML) (PDF)
Explains how to use Cocoa formatters to create and validate text in text fields and other cells.
Cocoa Guides 2008-10-15
DNS Service Discovery Java Reference (HTML)
Describes DNS Service Discovery API features of ZeroConf networking for Java on Mac OS X in Javadoc format.
Hardware & Drivers, Java, Networking Reference 2008-10-15
DOMDocument Additions Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the API added to the DOMDocument class to facilitate communication between WebKit and the DOM API.
Cocoa Reference 2008-10-15
DOMElement Additions Reference (HTML)
Describes the API added to the DOMElement class to facilitate communication between WebKit and the DOM API.
Cocoa Reference 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.
Cocoa Reference 2008-10-15
Foundation Functions Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes Foundation framework functions.
Cocoa Reference 2008-10-15
Handling Unicode Text Editing With MLTE (HTML) (PDF)
Explains how to use Apple's multilingual text engine.
Carbon, Graphics & Imaging, Internationalization, Text & Fonts Guides 2008-10-15