Objective-C Tutorial Roadmap

Introduction to Objective-C

What is Objective-C?

Objective-C is an object-oriented programming language that extends the C language with messaging and runtime features, widely used for macOS and iOS development before Swift.

Characteristics of Objective-C

• Object-oriented and dynamic
• Superset of the C programming language
• Message-passing syntax
• Powerful runtime system
• Seamless integration with C and C++

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Variables and Data Types in Objective-C

Data Types in Objective-C

• Primitive data types
• Derived data types
• User-defined data types

Variables

• Variable declaration and initialization
• Scope and lifetime of variables

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Operators in Objective-C

Types of Operators

• Arithmetic operators
• Relational operators
• Logical operators
• Assignment operators
• Bitwise operators

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Loops in Objective-C

Types of Loops

• for loop
• while loop
• do-while loop
• Nested loops

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Functions in Objective-C

Defining and Calling Functions

• Function syntax
• Function declarations and definitions

Parameters and Return Values

• Passing arguments to functions
• Returning values

Function Pointers

• Understanding function pointers
• Use cases and examples

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Blocks in Objective-C

Introduction to Blocks

• What are blocks?
• Syntax of blocks

Types of Blocks

• Global blocks
• Stack blocks
• Heap blocks

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Numbers in Objective-C

Number Types

• Integer types
• Floating-point numbers
• NSNumber class

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Arrays in Objective-C

Working with Arrays

• Creating arrays
• Accessing and modifying array elements

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Object-Oriented Programming in Objective-C

Classes and Objects

• Syntax and keywords
• Types of classes
• Types of objects

Creating Subclasses

• Inheritance basics

Method Overriding

• Overriding parent class methods
• Using super to access parent methods

Dynamic Typing and Polymorphism

• Dynamic method resolution
• Runtime polymorphism

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Pointers in Objective-C

Pointer Basics

• Understanding pointers
• NULL pointers

Pointer Operations

• Pointer arithmetic
• Array of pointers
• Pointer to pointer

Pointers and Functions

• Passing pointers to functions
• Returning pointers from functions

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Strings in Objective-C

String Types

• C-style strings
• NSString and NSMutableString

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Structures in Objective-C

Structures

• Defining and using structures

Pointers to Structures

• Accessing structure members using pointers

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Preprocessors in Objective-C

Preprocessors

• Macro definitions
• File inclusion

Types of Preprocessors

• #define
• #include
• Conditional compilation

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Typedef in Objective-C

Typedef Usage

• Creating aliases using typedef

Typedef vs #define

• Key differences and use cases

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Type Casting in Objective-C

Type Casting

• Implicit type casting
• Explicit type casting

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Error, Log, and File Handling in Objective-C

Log Handling

• Using NSLog
• Debugging techniques

File Handling

• Reading from files
• Writing to files

Error Handling

• NSError and exception handling

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Command Line Arguments in Objective-C

Command Line Arguments

• Accessing arguments in Objective-C programs
• Practical examples

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Inheritance in Objective-C

Types of Inheritance

• Single inheritance
• Multilevel inheritance

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Data Encapsulation in Objective-C

Encapsulation Concepts

• Access specifiers
• Data hiding and abstraction

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Categories in Objective-C

Introduction to Categories

• Extending existing classes

Category Usage

• Adding methods without subclassing

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Posing in Objective-C

Posing

• Understanding posing
• Types of posing

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Extensions in Objective-C

Class Extensions

• Private methods and properties
• Difference between categories and extensions

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Dynamic Binding in Objective-C

Dynamic Binding

• Runtime method binding

Use Cases

• Flexibility and dynamic behavior

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Composite Objects in Objective-C

Composite Objects

• Object composition

Types of Composite Objects

• Aggregation
• Composition

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Foundation Framework in Objective-C

Introduction to Foundation Framework

• Core classes and utilities

Types and Subtypes

• Collections
• Strings
• Dates
• File management

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Fast Enumeration in Objective-C

Fast Enumeration

• Iterating collections efficiently

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Memory Management in Objective-C

Memory Management Concepts

• Reference counting
• ARC (Automatic Reference Counting)

Best Practices

• Avoiding memory leaks
• Managing object lifecycles