I would normally just post this as a 'link', but it seems a bit more important than that. If you're having trouble understanding the "language of X" (Carbon, Cocoa, Classic, Quartz, etc), Apple has put up an incredibly easy-to-understand one-page snapshot of the whole system.
http://developer.apple.com/macosx/architecture/
This really helps visuall lay out the structure of X, and explains all those buzzwords you've been hearing lately (mouse over each button for the details). I found the link in one of the MacNN discussion boards, posted by 'StarfleetX' .
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Mac OS X Hints
http://hints.macworld.com/article.php?story=200104241202448