Cocoa
Updated: 12/31/2022 by Computer Hope
Cocoa is the native API (application programming interface) of the macOS X operating system. Apps written using the Cocoa API have the distinctive look and feel of Apple software. There are similarities in the appearance of the windows and menus, and how the application behaves. Cocoa apps are written using Apple's official IDE (integrated development environment), called Xcode.
Cocoa has three major sets of Objective-C libraries, or frameworks, that comprise its main features and functions.
- The Foundation Kit, also known as Foundation, which provides string and value manipulation, containers, iteration, distributed computing, and looping. The Foundation libraries are fundamental tools not related to the GUI (graphical user interface) of the OS X operating system.
- The Application Kit, also known as the AppKit, contains all the GUI functions.
- Core Data, the library that provides an aspect of application development known as object persistence.
The iOS version of Cocoa is called Cocoa Touch. It provides similar functionality as Cocoa, with the addition of functions specific to mobile devices, such as gesture recognition.