Developing a Cocoa framework, plug-in, or other executable with a public API requires some approaches
and conventions that are different from those used in application development. The primary clients of your
product are developers, and it is important that they are not mystified by your programmatic interface. This
is where API naming conventions come in handy, for they help you to make your interfaces consistent and
clear. There are also programming techniques that are special to—or of greater importance with—frameworks,
such as versioning, binary compatibility, error-handling, and memory management. This topic includes
information on both Cocoa naming conventions and recommended programming practices for frameworks.
Organization of This Document
The articles contained in this topic fall into two general types. The first and larger group presents naming
conventions for programmatic interfaces. These are the same conventions (with some minor exceptions)
that Apple uses for its own Cocoa frameworks. These articles on naming conventions include the following:
"Code Naming Basics" (page 9)
"Naming Methods" (page 13)
"Naming Functions" (page 19)
"Naming Instance Variables and Data Types" (page 21)
"Acceptable Abbreviations and Acronyms" (page 25)
The second group (currently with a membership of one) discusses aspects of framework programming:
"Tips and Techniques for Framework Developers" (page 27)
Organization of This Document 7
2006-04-04 | © 2003, 2006 Apple Computer, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Introduction to Coding Guidelines for Cocoa