Documentation Question

Objective-C Programming (2nd Edition) 16. NSString
1

When I select Help>Documentation & API Reference within Xcode, the window opens as it should, however the righthand pane referenced on Page 111 of the book does not appear on my screen. Did the interface change subsequent to the book’s publication or am I a moron?

Thx,

DCD

2

It in fact did change. The info button they are talking about is now permanently situated at the top of the window!

3

Greetings everyone.

This Documentation could be really helpful…but it isn’t. I just don’t understand what I am looking at here. Take [color=#4080BF]+ stringWithFormat[/color] for example; right after the line that tells you what it does there is the Declaration, and then…

[color=#008000]OBJECTIVE-C[/color]

  • ([color=#8000BF]instancetype[/color])stringWithFormat:([color=#800080]NSString *[/color])format

Now how it is used in the book…

I don’t see the square brackets in the declaration or ANY simular syntax. Can anyone clue me in? Am I expecting too much?

[color=#404080]JR[/color]

4

Declarations of methods do not use square brackets; they are only used when invoking methods.

@interface FooBar: NSObject

// Declare methods
- (Bar *)makeBar;
- (void)jibberBar:(Bar *)b1 withBar:(Bar *)b2;

@end
...
// Send messages to (invoke methods on) a FooBar
FooBar *fooBar = [FooBar new];
Bar * bar1 = [fooBar makeBar];
Bar * bar2 = [fooBar makeBar];
[fooBar jibberBar:bar1 withBar:bar2]

Remember: Programming languages have their own grammars, just as natural languages do. To be able to express ideas in a particular language, you need to learn how to use its grammar correctly.

[Become a competent programmer faster than you can imagine: pretty-function.org]

5

Hello again ibex10.

I understand your point. Your foobar modle you gave me is a good one. Thank you.

Oh on an aside, is there any way for us to send private messages to each other or does the system not allow that to happen?

[color=#004040]JR[/color]

6

I’m still confused - can someone describe this new “info button”? I’ve played with the Documentation window and while I can get a cascaded list of all the NSString classes, I can only get the information on the right side of the window shown on page 116 (with Sample Code, Related Documents, etc.) by clicking on the “More related items…” 4 lines down from the top of the main window. Is that the new and only way? I don’t see an “info button”.

Would be great if someone who understood this better posted how/where to find everything mentioned in the book in the new interface.