Learning the iOS 4 SDK for JavaScript Programmers

Glossary

accessor methods

Two complementary methods of a class that allow instance variable values to be read and/or modified, usually known as getter and setter methods.

affine transform(ation)

A geometrically calculated change to a rendered object. Predefined transforms in the Quartz 2-D drawing system include operations such as rotation, inversion, and scaling of the displayed object.

application programming interface (API)

A description of the objects and methods programmers can use to control a particular system.

autorelease pool

A collection of references to memory allocations for objects. In iOS, autorelease pools automatically release memory for those objects at each cycle of the run loop. May also be manually created and drained on command.

autoreleased

An object that becomes a member of an autorelease pool.

base class

The class from which all other classes of a system are derived. For most (but not all) Cocoa Touch frameworks classes, NSObject.

bit mask

A system that uses the binary representation of numbers and the binary OR operator to arrive at unique values signifying each potential combination of values.

buffer

A memory space designed to accumulate data until its contents are retrieved and/or emptied.

bundle (application bundle)

A container of files consisting of the application binary and supporting files, such as images, nib files, and other resources.

cast

A conversion of one data type to another.

category

A definition of methods that are added to an existing class without subclassing. ...