Objective-C operators, like those in other programming languages, let you perform operations on variables (hence the name). Objective-C provides many operators, and keeping track of all of them can be difficult as you program your iPhone or Mac OS X apps. Use the following tables to jog your memory as to which operator accomplishes what task.
Arithmetic Operators
| Operator |
What It Does |
| + |
Addition |
| - |
Subtraction |
| * |
Multiplication |
| / |
Division |
| % |
Modulo |
Relational and Equality Operators
| Operator |
What It Does |
| == |
Equal to |
| != |
Not equal to |
| > |
Greater than |
| < |
Less than |
| >= |
Greater than or equal to |
| <= |
Less than or equal to |
Logical Operators
| Operator |
What It Does |
| ! |
NOT |
| && |
Logical AND |
| || |
Logical OR |
Compound Assignment Operators
| Operator |
What It Does |
| += |
Addition |
| -= |
Subtraction |
| *= |
Multiplication |
| \/= |
Division |
| \%= |
Modulo |
| &= |
Bitwise AND |
| |= |
Bitwise Inclusive OR |
| ^= |
Exclusive OR |
| <<= |
Shift Left |
| >>= |
Shift Right |
Increment and Decrement Operators
| Operator |
What It Does |
| ++ |
Addition |
| -- |
Subtraction |
| *= |
Multiplication |
| /= |
Division |
| %= |
Modulo |
| &= |
Bitwise AND |
| |= |
Bitwise Inclusive OR |
| ^= |
Exclusive OR |
| <<= |
Shift Left |
| >>= |
Shift Right |
Bitwise Operators
| Operator |
What It Does |
| & |
Bitwise AND |
| | |
Bitwise Inclusive OR |
| ^ |
Exclusive OR |
| ~ |
Unary complement (bit inversion) |
| << |
Shift Left |
| >> |
Shift Right |
Other operators
| Operator |
What It Does |
| () |
Cast |
| , |
Comma |
| Sizeof() |
Size of |
| ? : |
Conditional |
| & |
Address |
| * |
Indirection |

Macs and OS X Glossary
802.11x wireless
A protocol for connections to your Ethernet network and your Apple TV unit.

Macs and OS X Glossary
Address Book
The place for addresses, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses on the Mac. You can also add a picture and note about the person.

Macs and OS X Glossary
alias
A pointer to another application of folder.

Macs and OS X Glossary
Bluetooth
A short-range wireless technology that lets your Mac communicate with other compatible gadgets, from up to 30 feet away.

Macs and OS X Glossary
ColorSync
A printer setting that lets you add black and white, blue tone, sepia, or other filters.

Macs and OS X Glossary
cookie
A small file that a web site automatically saves on your hard drive. It contains information that the site will use on your future visits. For example, a site might save a cookie to preserve your site preferences for the next time or ¯ in the case of a site such as Amazon.com ¯ to identify you automatically and help customize the offerings that you see.

Macs and OS X Glossary
Dashboard
A translucent screen that lays on top of your desktop and houses clever little applications called widgets.

Macs and OS X Glossary
desktop
The whole of your Mac’s computer screen. Also called the Finder.

Macs and OS X Glossary
Discoverable mode
Helps other Bluetooth devices find your Mac.

Macs and OS X Glossary
Dock
The colorful bar on the bottom of the Mac screen. It’s a rough cross between the Windows taskbar and the Start menu.

Macs and OS X Glossary
double-clicking
Left-clicking twice in rapid succession while keeping the cursor in the same location.

Macs and OS X Glossary
dragging
Positioning the cursor on top of a symbol or icon and then holding down the mouse button and rolling the mouse across your desk, which moves the symbol or icon to a new location.

Macs and OS X Glossary
driver
A software program provided by the printer manufacturer that tells Mac OS X how to communicate with your printer.

Macs and OS X Glossary
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol; DHCP
A protocol that enables a computer to automatically get connection information for communicating with a network or your ISP.

Macs and OS X Glossary
Exposé
A Mac feature that, with a click of a button, organizes your Mac desktop.

Macs and OS X Glossary
FileVault
A Mac feature that automatically scrambles, or encrypts, the data in your Home folder.

Macs and OS X Glossary
Finder
The application that Mac OS X runs to display the operating system’s menus and windows.

Macs and OS X Glossary
FireWire
A speedy connector often used with digital cameras.

Macs and OS X Glossary
FTP
Part of the TCP/IP protocol suite; (the hoary acronym FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. FTP is one of the oldest methods for sharing files between computers

Macs and OS X Glossary
function keys
Housed on the top row of the Mac keyboard, the keys with the letter F followed by a number.

Macs and OS X Glossary
iCal
The Mac’s built-in calendar.

Macs and OS X Glossary
iDVD
The application that lets you burn movies onto a disk.

Macs and OS X Glossary
iMac
A Mac desktop computer.

Macs and OS X Glossary
iPhoto
The application where you store and touch up digital images.

Macs and OS X Glossary
iSync
The application that keeps your calendar, Address Book, and Internet bookmarks synchronized across multiple devices.

Macs and OS X Glossary
iTunes
Apple’s renowned musical jukebox.

Macs and OS X Glossary
iWeb
The tool that lets you create personal Web sites, blogs, and podcasts.

Macs and OS X Glossary
Lightweight Directory Access Protocol; LDAP
With LDAP, you can search a central company directory from anywhere in the world as long as you have an Internet connection.

Macs and OS X Glossary
Lightweight Extensible Authentication Protocol
An encryption protocol developed by Cisco Systems for superior security in the business world.

Macs and OS X Glossary
Mac Mini
Apple’s budget desktop computer. Weighing less than 3 pounds, it’s portable, but not in the same sense as a notebook.

Macs and OS X Glossary
Mac OSx
The operating system that Apple included with all new Mac computer systems since 2002.

Macs and OS X Glossary
Mac Pro
A Mac desktop intended for professionals facing demanding graphics and other computing tasks. Its arrival completed the transition of the Mac line to Intel processors.

Macs and OS X Glossary
MacBook Air
Apple’s super-thin Mac. Encased in aluminum with a 13.3-inch display, Air measures just 0.16 inches at its skinniest point and just 0.75 inches at its thickest. But it still boasts a full-size keyboard and very good battery life.

Macs and OS X Glossary
MacBook, MacBook Pro
Apple’s successor to the PowerBook.

Macs and OS X Glossary
Mail
Apple’s built-in calendar.

Macs and OS X Glossary
MobileMe
The application that keeps your e-mail, contacts, and calendar synchronized, no matter what device you’re using.

Macs and OS X Glossary
Network interface card
A hardware device that your computer uses to talk to the rest of the network.

Macs and OS X Glossary
operating software
The software that makes a Mac work.

Macs and OS X Glossary
parental controls
Safety features that let you place limitations on your child’s computer use.

Macs and OS X Glossary
partition
A formatted section of a disk that contains data.

Macs and OS X Glossary
PDF
A special document display format developed by Adobe; they display like a printed document but take up minimal space.

Macs and OS X Glossary
phishing
A form of Internet fraud where identity thieves, posing as a respectable financial or Internet company, tries to dupe you into clicking phony links to verify personal or account information.

Macs and OS X Glossary
RAID set
A group of multiple separate disks, working together as a team.

Macs and OS X Glossary
Safari
The Mac’s Web browser.

Macs and OS X Glossary
Smart Groups
A way to group contacts in your Address Book.

Macs and OS X Glossary
Smart Mailboxes
Searches for e-mail that matches specific search criteria.

Macs and OS X Glossary
Spotlight
The Mac’s search technology.

Macs and OS X Glossary
start-up disk
The boot drive that contains the Mac OS X system you’re using at the moment

Macs and OS X Glossary
thread
Contains an original message and all related replies, which makes it easy to follow the flow of an e-mail discussion without bouncing around within your Inbox, searching for the next message in the conversation.

Macs and OS X Glossary
trackpad
The smooth surface below your Mac keyboard that’s your laptop’s answer to using a mouse.

Macs and OS X Glossary
USB port
The place on your Mac where you plug in devices you want to connect, such as printers, scanners, digital cameras, and more.

Macs and OS X Glossary
Voiceover
A screen reader designed to make using a Mac easier by speaking the contents of the screen.

Macs and OS X Glossary
wireless network
A network that isn’t connected by wires but uses radio waves, instead.