---
title: About the Basic Programming Concepts for Cocoa and Cocoa Touch
framework: general
role: article
path: apple-archive/documentation/General/Conceptual/CocoaEncyclopedia/Introduction
---

# About the Basic Programming Concepts for Cocoa and Cocoa Touch

Contains, in alphabetical order, descriptions of design patterns, architectures, and other concepts important in Cocoa development.

## At a Glance

This document contains articles that explain central concepts, design patterns, and mechanisms of the Cocoa and Cocoa Touch frameworks. The articles are arranged in alphabetical order.

## How to Use This Document

If you read this document cover-to-cover, you learn important information about Cocoa and Cocoa Touch application development. However, most readers come to the articles in this document in one of two ways:

- Other documents—especially those that are intended for novice iOS and OS X developers—which link to these articles. - In-line mini-articles (which appear when you click a dash-underlined word or phrase) that have a link to an article as a “Definitive Discussion.”

## Prerequisites

Prior programming experience, especially with object-oriented languages, is recommended.

## See Also

*[Programming with Objective-C](../../../../Cocoa/Conceptual/ProgrammingWithObjectiveC/Introduction/Introduction.html#//apple_ref/doc/uid/TP40011210)* offers further discussion of many of the language-related concepts covered in this document.

[Next](../ClassClusters/ClassClusters.html)

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