blog.grahamallen.net

OK. So maybe a title such as ‘fail’ is a bit on the pessimistic side and doesn’t accurate describe the truth of my current situation.

Here’s what I’m toiling over now: Frameworks are not libraries, global variables are unnecessary and methods pass messages rather than variables and values. You could write the Controller and Model code into the same class, but this would be unconventional. Cocoa is merely a term that is used to described a framework that is simply a conglomerate of several other frameworks that make up the core developmental set for OS X (but do NOT confuse this with a library).

In all seriousness, I’m really starting to understand the Model/View/Controller (MVC)  design pattern. It is very similar to the integration of CSS into the web with the seperation of content (Model) and presentation (View). Integrating client-side or server-side logic to automate the interaction between content and presentation thus becomes your Controller.

So most of this is coming together. The only problem is I can see each individual piece quite clearly, however, when looking at the whole from a greater distance, the edges get fuzzy. I have a feeling I’m one or two blanks away from filling them all in and THAT is the exciting moment in such an endeavor. Can’t wait to put the pieces together and roll it all up into a tangible and meaningful knowledgebase to build and grow on.

More to come.

Or should this more aptly be named “the objective-c follies”? Seriously. This is an entirely new code structure and I’m having a hard time grasping even the simplest concepts. I mean, I understand how to create algorithms in code and I understand objects, classes and methods. What I’m trying to understand are the specific underlying principles in Objective-C, XCode 3.0 and Cocoa that vary greatly from what I am accustomed to.

The biggest example to date is the ‘id’ object. I think I’m starting to understand, but it would REALLY be nice for someone out in virtual space…..actually, ANYONE out in virtual space to post a finite answer in layman’s terms for those of us who are trying to soak all of this in (NOTE: This is foreshadowing to a day when I finally understand it fully….I’ll be that guy….it’s in my DNA).

What I am understanding ‘id’ that is declared without a type until runtime. Almost like a placeholder object. Typically this is given the name ’sender’. At least that’s what I’m seeing thus far…..some random reference out on the web stated that this was a Cocoa convention.

I think the difficulty I’m having is that the syntax in the header files and implementation files seems to change depending on context. More on this later as it sinks in more….

FYI, for anyone seeking tangible information, I wouldn’t look here just yet. ha! But check back soon. I’ll get it down well enough before long……

So after an early start to the day, posting resumes and applying for various jobs around the virtual job board world, I watched a dismal display of a baseball game and then set out to really dig into the world of XCode 3.0. Whew, I think that might have been a run-on sentence. Don’t tell anyone.

Honestly, I know that when I establish familiarity with the interface, it will be a VERY easy IDE to navigate. I can visualize everything by watching some of the tutorials that have been posted on YouTube and the like. But, right now, it seems a bit overwhelming. Of course, this is mostly due to a lack of thorough documentation in the form of available books. There is quite a variety of books pertaining to the earlier version of XCode, however, due to the changes to the Interface Builder, it is difficult to follow the instruction (I’m working with my father on this and he warned me about it- I’m starting to see it first-hand).

Nonetheless, I am invested and intrigued. And, of course, up far too late reading and playing.

I remember my first exposure to developing applications. Sadly, as a student of Information Technology in a Windows world, this early exposure was through Visual Studio 6. Granted, once one has the funds to afford such a pricey development package (yes, an outright indictment of Microsoft from me…..go figure), it’s a fairly easy IDE to navigate. Coding and building projects in Visual Basic became second-nature. Of course, most of this work was centered around developing front-end user interfaces for database integration. Nonetheless, it was challenging, yet fun. It actually gave me the tools and the abilities to build a comprehensive database application to automate some of the tasks that we were still performing in a paper environment at the time.

But looking at XCode 3.0 reminds me of the first time I opened Visual Studio .NET. I could see the wide variety of default classes, objects and methods, but felt overwhelmed by the major undertaking it would be to learn what each was and how to use them effectively in developing an application. Keep in mind, I gave up on .NET fairly early on as I had other projects brewing that were web-based. So my time was dedicated to learning and working with PHP, for the most part, with some Flash sprinkled in here and there.

But here I am, having come full-circle back to a place away from the web world, and I am trying to overcome the intimidation factor once again. Though I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of new books this fall, I don’t have that kind of time to waste. So I have to work with the tools at hand, limited as they may be.

But I’m excited. I’m looking forward to that day when (as my Dad said) the lightbulb goes off in my head. I think that’s the feeling that is most rewarding in any learning endeavor or new project. Of course, I’m trying to overcome my tendency to dig into building applications with the integrated Ruby on Rails classes….certainly a subject of much curiosity, not only on the Apple development front, but on the web front as well…….

This blog will hopefully be a helpful resource for those of you out there who are using legacy software with the sleek new Leopard OS (Mac OS X 10.5). Thus far, I have installed the Adobe Creative Suite, Macromedia Studio MX 2004, Logic Pro 7, Microsoft Office 2004 and Reason 2.5 with only a couple of minor issues. It should also be noted that I am doing a completely CLEAN install and am not porting anything over from Panther. I do not reccomend anything other than clean install on any Operating System on any platform. That’s just the geek in me knowing the problems that can arise from such activity.To be completely legal in all of this, all of my software is 100% licensed and owned by me and was paid for in full. This helpful information is not designed to assist in correcting these problems with pirated software.

The Adobe Creative Suite installed without much problem. This is for Creative Suite version 1. The only problem I had was with the Photoshop CS Personalization file. Fortunately, I found a very helpful Adobe KB which helped me fix this issue that I thought I should share: http://kb.adobe.com/selfservice/viewContent.do?externalId=326496. This fix will work if you get the error:

Could not fully start the application because of invalid personalization information.

In order to fix this, I had to follow steps 3 AND 4 in the KB Article. Once both files were replaced, Photoshop started and worked fine. I had grave concerns with Logic Pro 7 before installing because of information I had read on the internet about having to upgrade to 7.2.3 and part of that upgrade path no longer being available (I believe this was the 7.1.1 upgrade that was a $20 upgrade). Myself, I had no issues installing Logic Pro 7. I have yet to perform any upgrades on it and don’t intend to as long as it is working. I’d much rather spend time with a functional application than spend my time fixing something that I managed to break.

Likewise, Reason 2.5 installed and is running 100% without repair and without issues. Macromedia Studio MX 2004 is installed and should be working, but I seem to have a registration issue that I’ve experienced before. I’m pretty certain that when I resolve this issue, everything will be fine. Microsoft Office 2004 installed and working 100% without repair and without issues. I am still in the process of installing software on Leopard, but I will keep this up-to-date as time permits.

Update: Leopard is now fully functional with ALL legacy software without much in the way of problems. Adobe Creative Suite, Macromedia Studio MX 2004, Microsoft Office 2004, Reason 2.5 and Stylus RMX are working without upgrading anything. Awesome. In a Microsoft world, I’d be swimming in OS failures, compatibility issues and possibly worse. Tickled pink that this all came together and I absolutely LOVE Leopard!!!!!

Alas, I am a liar!!!! I keep forgetting this one weird problem I am experiencing with the MOT828: Seems to lose itself every day or two and power has to be reset. Works fine, but it’s a minor nuisance.

Free to questions for anyone who might be experiencing problems.