Editing Cocoa (API) (section)

{{Short description|MacOS framework}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2013}}
{{Infobox software
| name                   = Cocoa
| logo                   = 
| developer              = [[Apple Inc.]]
| released               = <!-- {{start date and age|df=yes/no|199?|MM|DD}} -->
| latest release version =
| latest release date    = 
| latest preview version =
| latest preview date    = 
| programming language   = [[C (programming language)|C]], [[C++]], [[Objective-C]], [[Swift (programming language)|Swift]]
| operating system       = [[macOS]]
| genre                  = [[Software framework]]
| license                = [[Proprietary software|Proprietary]]<br />with some open source components{{citation needed|date=June 2016}}
| website                = {{URL|developer.apple.com/library/archive/documentation/Cocoa/Conceptual/CocoaFundamentals/WhatIsCocoa/WhatIsCocoa.html|Apple Developer}}
}}
'''Cocoa''' is [[Apple Inc.|Apple]]'s native [[object-oriented programming|object-oriented]] [[application programming interface]] (API) for its [[Desktop computer|desktop]] [[operating system]] [[macOS]].

Cocoa consists of the [[Foundation Kit]], [[Application Kit]], and [[Core Data]] frameworks, as included by the <code>Cocoa.h</code> header file, and the libraries and frameworks included by those, such as the C standard library and the Objective-C runtime.<ref name="apple1">[https://developer.apple.com/library/mac/#documentation/MacOSX/Conceptual/OSX_Technology_Overview/SystemFrameworks/SystemFrameworks.html Mac Technology Overview: OS X Frameworks]. Developer.apple.com. Retrieved on September 18, 2013.</ref>

Cocoa applications are typically developed using the development tools provided by Apple, specifically [[Xcode]] (formerly [[Project Builder]]) and [[Interface Builder]] (now part of Xcode), using the [[programming language]]s [[Objective-C]] or [[Swift (programming language)|Swift]]. However, the Cocoa programming environment can be accessed using other tools. It is also possible to write Objective-C Cocoa programs in a simple [[text editor]] and build it manually with [[GNU Compiler Collection]] (GCC) or [[Clang]] from the command line or from a [[Make (software)|makefile]].

For [[end user]]s, Cocoa [[application software|applications]] are those written using the Cocoa programming environment. Such applications usually have a familiar look and feel, since the Cocoa programming environment provides a lot of common [[User interface|UI elements]] (such as buttons, scroll bars, etc.), and automates many aspects of an application to comply with Apple's [[human interface guidelines]].

For [[iOS]], [[iPadOS]], [[tvOS]], and [[watchOS]], APIs similar to Application Kit, named [[UIKit]] and WatchKit, are available; they include [[gesture recognition]], [[animation]], and a different set of [[graphical control element]]s that are designed to accommodate the specific platforms they target. Foundation Kit and Core Data are also available in those operating systems. It is used in [[application software|applications]] for Apple devices such as the [[iPhone]], the [[iPod Touch]], the [[iPad]], the [[Apple TV]], and the [[Apple Watch]].