[comp.sys.mac] Documentation

tooch%mongoose@Sun.COM (Michael J. Tuciarone) (05/20/87)

In article <6352@ism780c.UUCP> tim@ism780c.UUCP (Tim Smith) writes:
>>I'm programming in Lightspeed Pascal.  I don't have Inside Macintosh.
>
>Why are you trying to write Mac programs without having Inside Macintosh?

I was talking to a guy yesterday who's just getting into Mac programming.
He's settled on LightspeedC for price/performance (yes, we know about
68020 problems). The next step is, as he put it, to "acquire the
critical mass of Macintosh documentation that enables one to write 
programs."

Now the big question for you folks: 
After perusing the bookshelf at ComputerWare, he asked me if he had
to pop $80+ for Inside Macintosh, or could he get by if he bought
one or two of the other "Macintosh Revealed" type books.

I didn't know the answer. He understands that IM is the Bible,
and ultimately he's going to have to get the set.
But for the time being, getting started writing fairly straightforward
applications that want to draw on the screen and read/write files,
is there a stopgap or primer that would fill the bill for a few months?

Myself, I have IM, but no other Mac books. Is there an indipensable
tome I don't own? (I would class myself as a Mac apprentice.)

I'll summarize all direct replies.

--Mike Tuciarone
  Sun Microsystems
  ...sun!tooch | tooch@sun.COM

tecot@apple.UUCP (Ed Tecot) (05/21/87)

I'd recommend Scott Knaster's book on programming the Macintosh.  It's a good
way to get your feet wet before attempting to swim in the rapids (IM).

						_emne

oliver@bsu-cs.UUCP (05/22/87)

In article <19319@sun.uucp>, tooch%mongoose@Sun.COM (Michael J. Tuciarone) writes:
> Now the big question for you folks: 
> After perusing the bookshelf at ComputerWare, he asked me if he had
> to pop $80+ for Inside Macintosh, or could he get by if he bought
> one or two of the other "Macintosh Revealed" type books.

If he is a beginner, I would recommend _both_ of the "Macintosh Revealed"
books.  They give good examples on how to use the toolbox without getting too
detailed.  After he has a firm grip on the basics (putting up windows, doing
event loops, etc...), he should buy IM to get the detailed information that
is needed to understand one's Mac.

I would also recommend the magazine MacTutor (on that subject, I remember
seeing the names David Smith and Joel West appearing in there... :-)