Macintosh OS X Interview Questions, Answers, and Explanations: Macintosh OS X Certification Review

By equitypress

The Ultimate Reference & Learning Guide for MAC OS X programmers and enthusiasts!

Understanding MAC OS X is crucial to having a working understanding of MACs and their capabilities. With this book, the newest improvements are explained such that you will be sure to stay current. Using this guide to prepare for a job interview or brush up in newest features will aid anyone in acquiring new, applicable skills and knowledge. The book covers many common errors, security, standard maintenance, and new features. More than just documentation and sales pitches, this guide explains the features of OS X from the perspective of an administrator/programmer so that you can evaluate a candidate or land a position with ease.

Key topics include:

• Overview of system construction
• Differences between the server edition and the desktop edition
• New features such as the mail server, samba server, directory server, and domain name server.
• System monitoring and maintenance
• Configuration and troubleshooting

• Language: English
• Publisher: equitypress
• Release date: Jun 4, 2011
• ISBN: 9781603322294

Book preview

Mac OS X

Developer Interview Questions

ITCOOKBOOK

Copyright 2007 Equity Press

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MAC OS X Developer Interview Questions

ISBN 10: 1-933804-69-6

ISBN 13: 978-1-933804-69-9

Edited by Emilee Newman Bowles & Farrah Stewart

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Table of Contents

Introduction

Compatibility

Versions

All-Inclusive Developer Tools

Best Graphics on a Desktop

International Recognition

Easy Server Management

Conclusion: The Uniquely Powerful Platform

Intentions

Part I: Mac OS X

Question 01: Restrict Process at Start-up

Question 02: Spotlight Can't Find Files

Question 03: File Recovery from a Dead Hard Drive

Question 04: Unable to Drag Files

Question 05: Recover Deleted Files after Emptying the Trash

Question 06: Ignore Ownership

Question 07: Startup Sound

Question 08: Customize Alert Sound

Question 09: Applescript to Remove Illegal Characters

Question 10: Missing Home Directory

Question 11: Keys Responds Very Slowly

Question 12: Accelerate Dialog Sheet Delay

Question 13: Create a Startup Message on a Mac

Question 14: Login Background

Question 15: Change the Finder Font

Question 16: Lost the Only Admin on Machine

Question 17: Failed to Enable Root via NetInfo Manager

Question 18: Terminal

Question 19: Boot Drive

Question 20: Permissions

Question 21: Troubleshooting

Question 22: Uninstall OS X

Part II: CARBON

Question 23: Carbon

Question 24: Getting Started with Carbon

Question 25: Carbon Application Tools

Question 26: Invisible Files

Question 27: Project and File templates

Question 28: Spotlight Headers

Question 29: Losing the Character Code when Using the Ctrl Key

Question 30: Changing the Volume of Audio Devices

Question 31: Core Audio Overload Warnings

Question 32: Apple Type Services

Question 33: Color Matching on Intel Based Macs

Question 34: Debug

Question 35: StdLog Like Functionality

Question 36: Set Control Background

Question 37: Determine if Application is Bundled

Question 38: Control Mouse Wheel

Question 39: CFStringRef Conversions

Question 40: Automate Window Menu

Question 41: Detect a Drag to the Trash

Question 42: Force Application Windows to the Front

Question 43: Rebuild LaunchServices Database

Question 44: Add Large Icons

Question 45: Call a Routine in InterfaceLib

Question 46: Particular Routine Availability

Question 47: Log in as root in OSX

Question 48: Carbon Events on OSX

Part III: COCOA

Question 49: Memory Management

Question 50: Object C

Question 51: Hide Controls

Question 52: Create a Cocoa Disclosure Button Control

Question 53: Alerts

Question 54: Drawing Strings

Question 55: NSTextField and NSTextView

Question 56: Folders and Files

Question 57: URL

Question 58: Application Drags and Drop Files

Question 59: Treat Selected Row as Single String in a Pasteboard Operation

Question 60: Compression of NSData

Question 61: Bitmap data

Question 62: Accelerate Drawing

Question 63: Calculate Diagonal Size of Text

Question 64: Pattern an Image without Scrolling

Question 65: Help Needed in NSSplitView

Question 66: Combo Box in a Table Column

Question 67: Change or Hide Color in NSTableView

Question 68: Drag Color Out of NSView Subclass

Question 69: Import Header

Question 70: NSArray Exc_Bad _Access

Question 71: Strength of a Password

Question 72: Application Linking Issue

Question 73: Best Way to Display Dictionary in a Table

Question 74: Disabling ToolTips

Question 75: Time Creation and Storage

Question 76: Copy and Paste

Question 77: Keeping an NSDocument Open

Question 78: Updating Minimized Windows

Question 79: Coordinates of an Object on Screen

Question 80: Crash Reasons

Question 81: Find All Subclasses of a Class

Part IV: JAVA

Question 82: Detect Mac OS X in Java Code

Question 83: Identifying an Apple J2SE Release

Question 84: Bind Several Times to the Same Port in Mac OS X

Question 85: HTTPS Proxy Settings and Java Applets

Question 86: Java Home in OSX

Question 87: Hardware Graphics Acceleration

Question 88: Cut/Paste Rich Text on Mac/Safari Text Area

Question 89: Printing java.awt.Images on Max OS X

Question 90: java.lang.NoClassDefFoundError in Mac OS X

Question 91: Instantiating Errors on PC from Mac

Question 92: LiveConnect Location

Question 93: Set Default Look-and-Feel for Swing Applications

Question 94: Prompting the User with MRJQuitHandler

Question 95: Unsolicited About Boxes

Question 96: Hiding Mac File

Question 97: FileNotFound Exception Mac OS X

Question 98: Code in Windows to Mac

Question 99: Text in Mac vs Text in PC

Question 100: Retail MAC

Question 101: Include Bin Directory in Classpath

Question 102: CFBundleIdentifier and User Application Access

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Mac OS X is a radical departure from previous Macintosh operating systems as its underlying code base is completely different from previous versions. Its core, named Darwin, is an open source, Unix-like operating system, built around the XNU kernel with standard Unix facilities available from the command line interface. On top of this core, Apple designed and developed a number of proprietary closed source components, including the Aqua themed Quartz Compositor and the Finder shell.

Mac OS X included a number of features intended to make the operating system more stable and reliable than Apple's previous operating systems. Pre-emptive multitasking and memory protection, for example, improved the ability of the operating system to run multiple applications simultaneously without their interrupting or corrupting each other. Many aspects of Mac OS X's architecture are derived from OPENSTEP, which was designed with portability in mind, thus easing the transition from one platform to another.

The most visible expression of Mac OS X's integration and elegance is its Aqua user interface. Aqua incorporates the visual appearance of icons, menus, windows, and controls with high-quality graphics and user-centric design to produce a user experience that is as functional as it is appealing. Consistent with Apple's design philosophy, visual enhancements such as color, transparency, and animation serve not just as beautiful images but also as cues to the user about the functionality and operation of the system and its applications.

Compatibility

PowerPC

PowerPC versions of Mac OS X retain compatibility with older Mac OS applications by providing an emulation environment called Classic, which allows users to run Mac OS 9 as a process within Mac OS X, so that older applications run as they would under the older operating system. In addition, the Carbon APIs for Mac OS 9 and Mac OS X were created to permit code to be written to run natively on both systems. The OpenStep APIs are still available, but Apple now calls the technology Cocoa. (This heritage is visible in the Cocoa APIs, in which the class names mostly begin with NS for NEXTSTEP.) A fourth option for developers is to write applications in the Java platform, which Mac OS X has supported as a first class citizen—in practice this means that Java applications fit as neatly into the operating system as possible while still being cross-platform, and that GUIs, although being written in Swing, look almost exactly like native Cocoa interfaces. Traditionally, Cocoa programs have been