Editor's Notes, Overview

Don Sawtelle

This issue of FrameWorks is unprecedented-a record number of excellent technical articles, the beginning of the FrameWorks Disk subscription, and a completely new format.

Bill Anderson, the authors and I have worked hard to make this an issue that will really get your attention. Let us know what you think-send a note to one of the addresses listed under FrameWorks Editor on page 6.

The lead technical article of this issue is Approaching MacApp 3.0 by Chris Knepper. It's a complete overview of MacApp 3.0 changes and new features, written for an audience currently familiar with MacApp 2.0.

New! The FrameWorks Disk

In order to print more technical articles, we needed a way to distribute source code that is more efficient than printing complete source code listings in the pages of FrameWorks. Starting with this issue, source code and other electronic materials associated with FrameWorks articles-plus the complete text of each article-are published on a FrameWorks Disk with each issue.

To start your FrameWorks Disk subscription, turn to the order form that's bound in the center of this issue. Once your FrameWorks Disk subscription is started, you'll receive the FrameWorks Disk at the same time you receive your copy of FrameWorks.

Unfortunately, it wasn't possible to pre-announce availability of the FrameWorks Disk subscription. It's probably frustrating to have this issue in your hands without the disk; we apologize. Your orders will be processed as quickly as possible, and once your subscription starts, subsequent disks and issues will be properly synchronized.

Bill Anderson's EIGHT-day Workweek

This issue unveils Bill Anderson's complete redesign of FrameWorks. He's designed a new masthead and cover layout; selected new fonts; redesigned the page layouts; set up a system of icons that reflect the type of article; and added a big new index page. There are separate page styles for news articles and technical articles, and fewer article continuations.

For every FrameWorks issue, Anderson does all that's required to transform the edited final article copy into the journal that you're holding now. This includes laying the articles out in PageMaker; creating sidebars, advertisements, and placing illustrations and photos; selling advertising space; creating the cover of each issue; and working with printers to produce the final product. MADA Services Assistant Chuck Sohnly handles subscriptions and works with national and international postal services to get FrameWorks to your door.

What with Anderson's redesign, my learning curve as the new editor, and the increased volume of articles in this issue of FrameWorks, we've worked though a number of weekends during the last two months.

ArVid Jedlicka- '90-91 Volunteer of the year

Arvid Jedlicka was designated 1990-91 MADA Volunteer of the Year at the MADA conference in Phoenix. It's easy to see why-Arvid was responsible for orchestrating the transcription of sessions at the conference, and produced the CD-ROM; he's coordinating the MADA Software Awards; he produced the MADA Goodies Disks for the past year, and is now mastering the new FrameWorks Disk subscription, which will replace the goodies disks.

UPCOMING MADA EVENTS at the WORLDWIDE DEVELOPERS CONFERENCE

MADA will hold a meeting at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference on Friday, May 17, 7:30-8:45 a.m., in the San Jose Convention Center. The exact meeting location (which hall of the SJCC) has yet to be announced. Unfortunately, only those attending the WWDC will have access to the meeting room.

While you're at the WWDC, stop by MADA's concourse display. New members can join, and all MADA products will be on sale. The concourse display will be staffed by Bill Anderson, Arvid Jedlicka, and myself. Stop by and say hello-the concourse display will be open Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

1991 MADA CONference CD-ROM released

Be sure to read Arvid Jedlicka's article The Phoenix '91 CD-ROM to get the scoop on MADA's new CD-ROM. The CD-ROM has complete coverage of the entire conference, and as an added bonus, contains every MacApp.Tech$ message back to the beginning of time-unpacked, indexed with On Location, and ready to search.

Jedlicka has orchestrated a vast and amazing compendium of MacApp material for this CD-ROM. The order form bound in the center of this issue can be used to order a copy.

MacApp 2.0.2, MacApp 3.0 and SourceBug

At press time, Tom Chavez, MacApp Product Manager, said the MacApp 2.0.2 upgrade is expected to ship in mid-April. MacApp 3.0 alpha is already in the hands of selected developers; a version of MacApp 3.0 alpha will be on ETO 4 in May, along with the first release of SourceBug.

Chavez also said that Apple is considering whether to provide a Pascal version of MacApp 3.0, based on feedback from the MADA conference and a survey of developers that Apple is conducting. The survey attempts to determine the impact on developers of changing the MacApp source language to C++.

MacApp Online retires

With this issue, FrameWorks no longer prints MacApp Online, an extensive formatted listing of MacApp.Tech$ messages that was previously included in every issue.

MacApp Online is being dropped because every MADA member can now interactively access MacApp.Tech$-if not through AppleLink, through America Online. And all past MacApp.Tech$ messages are now available, decompressed and indexed for searching, on the CD-ROM of the 1991 MADA Conference. Because of this improved access to current and past MacApp.Tech$ messages, it's an appropriate time to redirect the human resources and FrameWorks pages previously required to process and reprint MacApp.Tech$.

MacApp Online really did take an unreasonable amount of work. Although I semi-automated the formatting process by writing some utilities that read raw links and wrote styled Microsoft Word RTF files, it still took several people several days of work to sort, cull, edit and format the messages for publication. By the time MacApp Online reached print much of it was out-of-date, because of the timely but ephemeral nature of many MacApp.Tech$ messages.

The elimination of MacApp Online does present an excellent opportunity for a FrameWorksÊauthor to create an article that is derived from an interesting series of recent MacApp.Tech$ messages on a particular topic. Or, as Tony Meadow and others have suggested, someone could collect "new user" questions and answers from MacApp.Tech$, then edit them to create a MacApp Q&A FrameWorks column directed at the beginning MacApp programmer. Contact me if you're interested.

Call for authors

Anyone who is interested in writing an article for FrameWorks, please contact me as soon as possible to request an author's kit. Contact information is listed under FrameWorks Editor on page 6, opposite the index page. When you request the author's kit, please include a short description of your idea for the article.

FrameWorks now pays authors for published material. The current rate is eight cents per word; a FrameWorks page runs about 500-525 words, so that should work out to an average of a little over forty dollars per page.

The final copy deadline for the June issue is May 15.

Kudos To Katz

Thanks again to Howard Katz, who served excellently for many years as editor of FrameWorks. In this issue, Katz rejoins us in his new incarnation as the author of Man about town. Welcome back!