Mac Geniuses

Mac Development at WWDC

MacBook Pro

The groundbreaking innovations in Mac OS X provide developers with exciting new ways to build applications that are optimized, fully integrated, and offer an amazing user experience. Dive deep into the rich development tools, powerful technologies, and programming techniques that will help you deliver incredible applications on Mac OS X Snow Leopard — the next generation of the world’s most advanced operating system.

Snow Leopard

Explore What’s New in Mac OS X Snow Leopard

WWDC’s detailed technical sessions teach you how to take full advantage of new foundation technologies to ensure your application is ready and completely optimized for Mac OS X Snow Leopard.

  • 64-Bit From Top to Bottom

    Prepare every element of your product to take advantage of the performance benefits of the 64-bit architecture in Snow Leopard while remaining compatible with previous versions of Mac OS X.
  • Tap the Power of Multicore and GPU Computing

    Turbocharge your application by using the new performance oriented frameworks, Grand Central Dispatch and OpenCL, to efficiently tap the vast gigaflops of computing power in the CPU and GPU.
  • Transform Your Application With QuickTime X

    Learn how to transition your application to QuickTime X—the streamlined path for efficient playback of modern standards-based media.

New to Mac OS X Development

Developing an application for Mac OS X requires understanding the basics of Cocoa programming and the overall system architecture of Mac OS X. Cocoa is Apple's collection of frameworks, APIs, and accompanying runtimes that make up the development layer of Mac OS X. Learn how to write applications using the Cocoa frameworks, which give you full access to the power of the operating system, including the signature Mac look and feel. And see how the Xcode IDE provides you with everything you need to create world-class applications.

Developer Tools
  • Master the Developer Tools

    Become an expert using the Xcode build system, including SCM, project snapshots, code re-factoring, and improving performance with Instruments and Shark.
  • Explore the Entire Mac OS X Development Process

    Learn the fundamentals of building a Mac application, including designing the interface, debugging, and runtime analysis.
  • Inherit the Appearance and Behaviors of Mac OS X

    Learn about the APIs, classes, and design patterns behind AppKit and Foundation Kit—the essential building blocks of any Mac OS X application.
    Interface Builder
  • Design a Great User Interface

    Develop a solid understanding of what’s required to ensure an easy-to-use and consistent user experience.
  • Prototype a Full User Interface Without Writing Any Code

    Go through the ins-and-outs of Interface Builder including laying out an interface, wiring code to graphical controls, and loading interface nib files at runtime.
  • Bring Your Code to the Mac

    Bring your code to the Mac from other platforms, and gain insight into which system frameworks are the best match for what you need.

Experienced Mac OS X Developer

There are always more things to learn, new approaches to explore, and technology enhancements to incorporate. At WWDC you’ll find advanced sessions that dive deep into code and address a wide range of advanced topics.

  • Core Graphics

    Make the Most of Rich Graphics & Media Frameworks

    Understand the intimate relationships among Quartz, Core Image, Core Animation, Quartz Composer, Cocoa, the window system, and OpenGL. Learn how Core Animation makes it easy to merge layers of graphics, text, and video to create a stunning, media-rich application. Give your users dynamic feedback with compelling animations. Provide state-of-the-art media playback and capture of modern media formats with QuickTime X. Open your ears to the features of the Core Audio framework for professional-quality audio.
  • Harness the Power of Modern GPUs

    Get the specifics of the OpenCL execution model and memory architecture. Discover how this new framework can yield incredible performance gains in your compute-intensive application. Learn about science and medicine development at WWDC
  • Take Advantage of the Multicore CPU

    See how you can create programs that squeeze every last drop of power from multicore systems. See how new language features and high-level APIs make it easy to take advantage of the system-wide Grand Central Dispatch architecture.
  • Learn About Enhanced Application Frameworks

    Learn about new developments in Objective-C, AppKit, Foundation Kit, and other Mac OS X frameworks.
  • Bring your own code

    Whether you are an experienced game developer for Mac or are coming over from other platforms you’ll learn the complete Mac development process and the recommended approach for porting your code. Learn more about game development at WWDC
  • WebKit

    Leverage Powerful Web Standards and Cutting Edge Innovations

    Make room for Safari 4's integrated developer tools, essential for inspecting and editing CSS, debugging JavaScript , inspecting databases, optimizing performance, and more. Learn to use standard HTML 5 solutions for client-side storage, audio and video playback, and vector animation — all inside Safari’s open source WebKit engine. Discover how to seamlessly combine web technologies with Cocoa’s native desktop features in native WebKit applications, or provide an enhanced experience in the browser with CSS transforms, transitions and animations, form control styling, CSS3 downloadable fonts, and more.

OS X Lab

Put Your Code to the Test at the Mac OS X Lab

Bring your code to the lab and apply the knowledge you gain from daily sessions at the Mac OS X Lab. Work one-to-one with Apple engineers on implementing, troubleshooting, and fine-tuning the technologies and APIs that will define your product’s success.

In addition to code-level support in labs, Apple user interface designers will be available to review the user interface design of your Mac OS X application, or mature prototype, and propose alternative visual and interaction designs to consider in order to make your application more visually attractive, consistent, intuitive, and easier to use.

Science Coding Project

If you're feeling up for a challenge, come to the Coding Challenge area during your breaks to work on implementing the latest Mac OS X technologies in a collaborative open source project. Learn more about science and medicine at WWDC