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Reference Library: Cocoa
Data management in Cocoa involves the creation and handling of the various types of data available to a program, such as strings, collections, binary data, dates, property lists, and XML data. Using the Cocoa programming interfaces for these types, developers can, for example, calculate the interval between two dates or record operations so that users can reverse an operation's effect.

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Simplifying Data Handling with Uniform Type Identifiers (HTML)
Learn to use UTIs to take advantage of key Mac OS X technologies in your application.
Articles 2005-07-12
Tiger Developer Overview Series: Developing with Core Data (HTML)
Learn to use Core Data to define your application's data model graphically.
Articles 2005-04-04
Xcode Tools for Core Data (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the Xcode modeling tools for Core Data.
Guides 2008-04-15
Atomic Store Programming Topics (HTML) (PDF)
Describes how to use the Core Data atomic store API to create persistent stores that use a custom format.
Guides 2008-02-08
Core Data Model Versioning and Data Migration Programming Guide (HTML) (PDF)
Explains the managed object model versioning and data migration features of Core Data.
Guides 2008-02-08
Core Data Programming Guide (HTML) (PDF)
Explains how to manage objects using the Core Data framework.
Guides 2008-02-08
Low-Level Core Data Tutorial (HTML) (PDF)
A hands-on guide to creating a command-line utility using low-level features of Core Data.
Guides 2008-02-08
NSPersistentDocument Core Data Tutorial (HTML) (PDF)
Step-by-step instructions for building a simple but functionally rich application using NSPersistentDocument and Cocoa bindings.
Guides 2008-02-08
Number and Value Programming Topics for Cocoa (HTML) (PDF)
Explains how to use Cocoa object wrappers for primitive C data types.
Guides 2008-02-08
Archives and Serializations Programming Guide for Cocoa (HTML) (PDF)
Explains how to put Cocoa objects into and remove them from a representation suitable for archiving.
Guides 2007-10-31
Calendar Store Programming Guide (HTML) (PDF)
Explains how to access iCal data.
Guides 2007-10-31
Collections Programming Topics for Cocoa (HTML) (PDF)
Explains how to group objects in arrays, sets, or dictionaries in Cocoa.
Guides 2007-10-31
User Defaults Programming Topics for Cocoa (HTML) (PDF)
Explains how to use the Cocoa defaults system to create and save user preferences.
Guides 2007-10-31
String Programming Guide for Cocoa (HTML) (PDF)
Explains how to create, search, concatenate, and draw strings in Cocoa.
Guides 2007-10-18
Dates and Times Programming Topics for Cocoa (HTML) (PDF)
Explains how to manage Cocoa dates and times.
Guides 2007-09-04
Creating a Managed Object Model with Xcode (HTML) (PDF)
A tutorial that shows how to create a Core Data managed object model using Xcode.
Guides 2007-08-07
Sort Descriptor Programming Topics (HTML) (PDF)
Explains how to use sort descriptors to specify the sorting of collections.
Guides 2007-07-10
Key-Value Coding Programming Guide (HTML) (PDF)
Conceptual information about how to access a Cocoa object's values using keys.
Guides 2007-06-06
Attributed Strings Programming Guide (HTML) (PDF)
Explains how to use attributed strings, which manage attributes of character strings or individual characters.
Guides 2007-06-04
Value Transformer Programming Guide (HTML) (PDF)
Explains how to create and use value transformers, which are used with the Controller Layer.
Guides 2007-04-06
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.
Guides 2007-03-20
Binary Data Programming Guide for Cocoa (HTML) (PDF)
Explains how to create and use Cocoa data objects, object-oriented wrappers for byte buffers.
Guides 2007-03-06
Event-Driven XML Programming Guide for Cocoa (HTML) (PDF)
Explains how to process XML documents using the Cocoa streaming parser.
Guides 2006-12-05
Property List Programming Guide for Cocoa (HTML) (PDF)
Explains how to use structured, textual representations of data in Cocoa.
Guides 2006-11-07
Tree-Based XML Programming Guide for Cocoa (HTML) (PDF)
Explains how to use the NSXML classes of Cocoa to process, modify, and query XML data.
Guides 2006-11-07
Predicate Programming Guide (HTML) (PDF)
Describes how to specify queries in Cocoa.
Guides 2006-10-03
Stream Programming Guide for Cocoa (HTML) (PDF)
Explains how to use the Cocoa stream classes to read data from and write data to streams.
Guides 2006-10-03
Key-Value Observing Programming Guide (HTML) (PDF)
Explains the Cocoa key-value observing protocol.
Guides 2006-06-28
Search Kit Programming Guide (HTML) (PDF)
Describes Search Kit architecture and workflow, and how to add search capabilities to Carbon and Cocoa applications.
Guides 2005-12-06
Undo Architecture (HTML) (PDF)
Explains how to record information in Cocoa so a user can reverse an operation's effect.
Guides 2002-11-12
Foundation Functions Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the functions defined in the Foundation framework.
Reference 2008-07-11
NSExpression Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to represent expressions in a predicate.
Reference 2008-07-11
NSArray Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to manage an immutable ordered collection of objects.
Reference 2008-06-09
NSCalendar Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to define and operate on the divisions of a year.
Reference 2008-06-09
NSDate Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to define and operate on specific and relative time values.
Reference 2008-06-09
NSPropertyListSerialization Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to convert property list objects to and from several serialized formats.
Reference 2008-06-09
NSDictionaryController Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used with Cocoa bindings to manage a dictionary of objects.
Reference 2008-06-05
NSDictionaryControllerKeyValuePair Protocol Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the protocol used by the Cocoa bindings NSDictionaryController class.
Reference 2008-06-05
NSCalendarDate Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to define dates and perform date computations based on the Gregorian calendar.
Reference 2008-05-04
Foundation Data Types Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the data types defined in the Foundation framework not described in individual classes.
Reference 2008-03-11
NSPersistentStoreCoordinator Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to mediate between persistent stores and managed object contexts in a Core Data application.
Reference 2008-03-11
NSSet Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class for managing an immutable set of objects; a set is an unordered collection of distinct elements.
Reference 2008-03-11
NSString Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to define and operate on immutable strings.
Reference 2008-03-11
NSData Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to provide an immutable object-oriented wrapper for a byte buffer.
Reference 2008-02-08
NSDictionary Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class for managing associations of keys and values.
Reference 2008-02-08
NSFetchRequest Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to describe search criteria used to retrieve data from a persistent store in Core Data.
Reference 2008-02-08
NSNumber Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class whose instances encapsulate C scalar values of types such as int, unsigned int, long, double, and Boolean.
Reference 2008-02-08
NSPersistentDocument Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to to define and operate on a document that integrates into the Core Data framework.
Reference 2008-02-08
NSTimeZone Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the abstract class used to define the behavior of time zone objects.
Reference 2008-02-08
NSObjectController Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class that is used with Cocoa bindings to access and modify model values.
Reference 2007-12-11
NSUserDefaults Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class for managing preference information.
Reference 2007-12-11
NSAttributedString Application Kit Additions Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes extensions to Foundation's NSAttributedString class that add support for document types, text attributes, and string handling.
Reference 2007-12-04
Apple Applications Schema Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the schemas used by Apple Applications to sync records such as contacts, calendars, and bookmarks.
Reference 2007-10-31
NSAtomicStore Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the Core Data class used to represent an atomic persistent store.
Reference 2007-10-31
NSDateComponents Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to specify and operate on the components of a date.
Reference 2007-10-31
NSDecimalNumber Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to specify an object-oriented wrapper for doing base-10 arithmetic.
Reference 2007-10-31
NSIndexPath Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to represent a path to a node in a tree.
Reference 2007-10-31
NSKeyValueObserving Protocol Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the informal protocol that allows objects to be notified of changes to the specified properties of other objects.
Reference 2007-10-31
NSManagedObject Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to represent model objects in Core Data.
Reference 2007-10-31
NSNumberFormatter Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to convert between the textual representation of NSNumbers objects and their stored values.
Reference 2007-10-31
NSPointerFunctions Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to define callout functions appropriate for managing a pointer reference held somewhere else.
Reference 2007-10-31
NSSortDescriptor Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used for specifying how an array of objects is sorted.
Reference 2007-10-31
NSValue Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to specify an object container for a single C or Objective-C data item.
Reference 2007-10-31
Core Data Framework Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the Objective-C API for the Core Data framework.
Reference 2007-07-24
NSValueTransformer Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the abstract class used to transform values from one representation to another when using Cocoa bindings.
Reference 2007-07-24
NSStream Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class for reading and writing data to and from memory, files, and network sockets in a device-independent way.
Reference 2007-07-23
NSMapTable Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the Cocoa class used to contain an array of objects, optionally using weak references.
Reference 2007-07-22
NSPersistentStore Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
New document that describes the abstract Core Data class that represents a persistent store.
Reference 2007-07-22
NSBundle Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to specify and operate a directory in the file system that groups related resources together.
Reference 2007-07-19
NSManagedObjectContext Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to represent a single "object space" in a Core Data application.
Reference 2007-07-19
NSFormatter Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the abstract superclass for objects that create, interpret, and validate the textual representation of cell contents.
Reference 2007-07-09
Calendar Store Framework Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the Calendar Store framework classes and methods used to access iCal data.
Reference 2007-07-08
NSHashTable Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the Cocoa class used to contain a set of objects, optionally using weak references.
Reference 2007-06-26
Core Endian Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the C API for creating and installing callbacks to byte swap custom data.
Reference 2007-05-29
NSEntityMapping Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to specify the mapping of an entity in a Core Data migration.
Reference 2007-05-22
NSEntityMigrationPolicy Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the Core Data class used to customize the migration process for an entity mapping.
Reference 2007-05-22
NSMappingModel Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the Core Data class used to specify a mapping from one schema to another during migration.
Reference 2007-05-22
NSMigrationManager Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the Core Data class that performs a migration of data from one persistent store to another.
Reference 2007-05-22
NSPropertyMapping Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to specify how to map a Core Data property during migration.
Reference 2007-05-22
NSComparisonPredicate Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to define a predicate used to compare the results of two expressions.
Reference 2007-04-30
NSDecimalNumberHandler Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to specify the way an NSDecimalNumber object rounds off and handles errors.
Reference 2007-04-30
NSSound Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to load a sound into memory and play it.
Reference 2007-04-27
NSKeyValueBindingCreation Protocol Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the informal protocol that provides methods to manage bindings between view objects and controllers or controllers and model objects.
Reference 2007-04-10
NSTreeController Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class that is used with Cocoa bindings to manage a tree of objects.
Reference 2007-04-10
NSArrayController Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class that is used with Cocoa bindings to manage a collection of objects.
Reference 2007-04-09
NSInputStream Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class that implements a read-only stream.
Reference 2007-04-05
NSOutputStream Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class that implements a write-only stream.
Reference 2007-04-05
Foundation Constants Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the constants defined in the Foundation framework not described in individual classes.
Reference 2007-04-03
NSController Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the abstract class that implements the informal protocols required by controller classes used with Cocoa bindings.
Reference 2007-04-02
NSFileWrapper Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to represent the contents of a file in memory.
Reference 2007-03-27
NSMutableData Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to provide a mutable object-oriented wrapper for a byte buffer.
Reference 2007-03-26
NSIndexSet Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to represent an immutable collection of unique unsigned integers.
Reference 2007-03-24
NSMutableArray Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to manage a mutable ordered collection of objects.
Reference 2007-03-07
NSMutableString Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to specify and operate on immutable strings.
Reference 2007-03-06
NSXMLDocument Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class for representing XML documents as a logical tree structure.
Reference 2007-02-27
NSXMLDTD Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to represent a Document Type Definition.
Reference 2007-02-27
NSXMLDTDNode Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to represent element, attribute-list, entity, and notation declarations in a Document Type Definition.
Reference 2007-02-27
NSXMLElement Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used to represent element nodes in an XML tree structure.
Reference 2007-02-27
NSXMLNode Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class whose instances are nodes in the abstract, logical tree structure that represents an XML document.
Reference 2007-02-27
NSEnumerator Class Reference (HTML) (PDF)
Describes the class used for enumerating collections of other objects, such as arrays and dictionaries.
Reference 2007-02-23