There are several development/language option on the Mac, but in the long run developing using the Cocoa framework in Objective C or Java have the most potential. (RealBasic is probably simpler, but not free).
The best start is probably to learn C if you're not familar with it. Obj-C is just and extension of this, and the Java syntax is very similar too, so it's a good start. There are countless good books and webpages on learning C, so you won't have any problem there.
Next you probably should learn Object Oriented Programming - just the basic principles of classes, methods and inheritance in particular. Books on the topic tend to be very "dry" and boring, so you might want to look at some of the sample code at the same time.
Cocoa has a massive "library" of classes which do a lot of the work for you, but it takes a while to become familiar with them. A good start is to start messing around with the NSString class, for storing and manipulating strings (text). You'll be using these all over your program, when you use files (e.g. filepaths are strings) or the web (URLs), or displaying dialogs on screen.
Then start picking individual features, and try to write a sample program using it; such as a button that causes a beep. Or a menu item that displays a window. Then try adding a text box and getting the text out of it. Then more complex items like a list box, etc.
There are lots of Cocoa related websites to help you, two of my favorites are
CocoaDevCentral and
MacDevCenter.
If you've any questions, here's the place to ask!
Best of luck!
I have no idea where to begin learning about creating mac programs. Its pretty hard to figure out a starting point when there are so many technologies out there, which one to get a hold of first. If anyone has any words of wisdom...or helpful resources...it would be much appreciated.
