TweetFollow Us on Twitter

Icon Mania
Volume Number:8
Issue Number:6
Column Tag:Getting Started

Related Info: Window Manager Memory Manager Resource Manager

Icon Mania!

More on using WIND resources

By Dave Mark, MacTutor Regular Contributing Author

Note: Source code files accompanying article are located on MacTech CD-ROM or source code disks.

Our last program, PICTWindow, used a WIND resource to create a new window, and then loaded a PICT resource, drawing it in the window. This month, we’ll explore some new resources. We’ll start off in the usual way, using a WIND resource as the basis for a window.

In this month's program, instead of using the window title described in the WIND resource, we'll load the title from a resource designed specifically to hold a text string. Once we set the window's title, we'll load a color icon from the resource file, then plot it in random locations in the window.

This may sound kind of weird, but just be patient! Once you see this program in action, I think you'll like it.

Building the IconMania Resources

Create a new folder in your Development folder named IconMania. Next, launch ResEdit by double-clicking on its icon in the Finder. When you get enough of the clown-in-the-box, click the mouse button. When the “Open FIle” dialog appears, click the New button, navigate into your new IconMania folder and create a resource file named IconMania.Π.rsrc.

The first resource you’ll create is your WIND resource. Select Create New Resource from the Resource menu. When the scrolling list of resource types appears, type WIND (or select it from the scrolling list) and click the OK button. When the WIND editing window appears, change your WIND to reflect the specifications shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1: IconMania’s WIND resource.

Next, select Set 'WIND' Characteristics... from the WIND menu and delete any text in the Window title: field. We'll pull our window title from the resource we create next. Click the OK button, then close the WIND editing window and the WIND picker window, leaving yourself at the main window for the resource file.

Figure 2: The 'WIND' Characteristics dialog box with the window title deleted.

Once again, select Create New Resource from the Resource menu. This time, type the four characters 'STR ', then click the OK button. The fourth character in the resource name is a space. If you leave the space off, ResEdit will stick it in there for you, but don't forget that resource types are always four characters long.

The 'STR ' resource allows you to store a pascal string in the resource file. Remember, a pascal string is a length byte, followed by that many bytes of text. Pascal strings are associated with the Str255 data type. When the 'STR ' editing window appears, type some text in the field labeled "The String". This text will eventually become the title of the IconMania window.

Figure 3: The STR editing window.

Close the STR editing window and the STR picker window, leaving only the main resource window. One more resource to go! Once again, select Create New Resource from the Resource menu. This time, type cicn, then click the OK button. Each cicn resource represents a color icon.

Take a look at the cicn editing window shown in Figure 4. The cicn editor uses a series of MacPaint like tools (shown on the left side of the window) to let you create a pair of icons and an icon mask (see the right side of the window). The color icon is a full-blown color icon. When you click on the color icon on the right side, you'll have access to tools that let you select colors and patterns (The items in the Tools menu help determine the colors available for icon editing).

Figure 4: The cicn editing window.

Trying to edit a color icon on a black and white Mac doesn't make much sense (and it annoys the heck out of ResEdit). To get the most out of this exercise, borrow a friend's Mac if yours doesn't support color.

Spend some time creating just the right color icon. When you are done, click on the icon labeled B & W. Use the same techniques to create a black and white version of the same icon. As you'll see when we get to our source code, the toolbox routine that draws our icon will automatically plot the color icon in a color environment, and will draw the black and white icon when color is not available.

Next, click on the icon labeled Mask. This icon determines which of the pixels in the previous two icons will be plotted. In general, it's a good idea to set all the pixels in your mask to black. Once you're satisfied with your exquisite work of art, close the cicn editing window and the cicn picker window, leaving just the main resource window.

That's it! Your main resource window should show three resource types. Compare your window against the one shown in Figure 5. Once you are satisfied, save your changes, then quit ResEdit. Let's move on to the source code.

Figure 5: The main resource window, showing all three IconMania resource types.

Creating the IconMania Project

Launch THINK C. When you are prompted for a project to open, click the New button and create a project named IconMania.Π in your IconMania folder. Add MacTraps to your project. Next, select New from the File menu. When the new source code window appears, type in the following source code:

/* 1*/

#define kBaseResID 128
#define kMoveToFront (WindowPtr)-1
#define kRandomUpperLimit 32768

/***************/
/*  Functions  */
/***************/

void  ToolBoxInit( void );
void  WindowInit( void );
void  MainLoop( void );
void  DrawRandomIcon( CIconHandle theIcon );
void  RandomPoint( Point *pointPtr );
short Randomize( short range );

/****************** main ***************************/

void  main( void )
{
 ToolBoxInit();
 WindowInit();
 MainLoop();
}

/****************** ToolBoxInit *********************/

void  ToolBoxInit( void )
{
 InitGraf( &thePort );
 InitFonts();
 InitWindows();
 InitMenus();
 TEInit();
 InitDialogs( nil );
 InitCursor();
}

/****************** WindowInit ***********************/

void  WindowInit( void )
{
 WindowPtrwindow;
 StringHandle  windowTitleH;

 window = GetNewWindow( kBaseResID , nil,
 kMoveToFront );
 
 if ( window == nil )
 {
 SysBeep( 10 );  /*  Couldn't load the WIND resource!!!  */
 ExitToShell();
 }
 
 windowTitleH = GetString( kBaseResID );
 
 if ( windowTitleH == nil )
 {
 SysBeep( 10 );  /*  Couldn't load the STR resource!!!  */
 ExitToShell();
 }
 
 HLock( (Handle)windowTitleH );
 SetWTitle( window, *windowTitleH );
 HUnlock( (Handle)windowTitleH );
 
 ShowWindow( window );
 SetPort( window );
}

/****************** MainLoop ***********************/

void  MainLoop( void )
{
 CIconHandletheIcon;
 
 GetDateTime( (unsigned long *)(&randSeed) );
 
 theIcon = GetCIcon( kBaseResID );
 
 if ( theIcon == nil )
 {
 SysBeep( 10 );  /*  Couldn't load the cicn resource!!!  */
 ExitToShell();
 }

 while ( ! Button() )
 DrawRandomIcon( theIcon );
}

/****************** DrawRandomIcon *****************/

void  DrawRandomIcon( CIconHandle theIcon )
{
 Point  p;
 Rect   iconRect;
 
 RandomPoint( &p );
 
 SetRect( &iconRect, p.h, p.v, p.h+32, p.v+32 );
 PlotCIcon( &iconRect, theIcon );
}

/****************** RandomPoint *********************/

void  RandomPoint( Point  *pointPtr )
{
 WindowPtrwindow;

 window = FrontWindow();
 
 pointPtr->h = Randomize( window->portRect.right
 - window->portRect.left );
 pointPtr->v = Randomize( window->portRect.bottom
 - window->portRect.top );
}

/****************** Randomize **********************/

short   Randomize( short range )
{
 long   randomNumber;
 
 randomNumber = Random();
 
 if ( randomNumber < 0 )
 randomNumber *= -1;
 
 return( (randomNumber * range) / kRandomUpperLimit );
}

Once your source code is typed in, select Save from the File menu. Save the file under the name “IconMania.c”. Next, add the source file to the project by select Add (not Add...) from the Source menu. Your project window should look like the one shown in Figure 6.

Figure 6: The IconMania project file.

Running the Program

Now you’re ready to run IconMania. Assuming you have a Mac that supports color, use the Monitors control panel to enable the full complement of colors. Next, run IconMania by selecting Run from the Project menu. If you encounter any errors, check your source code for typos and make sure your project window has the two files shown in Figure 6. Once your program runs, the IconMania window should appear, with its own psychedelic cicn show (See Figure 7). At this point, you might want to put on Houses of the Holy or Dark Side of the Moon and kick back for a while.

Important!!!

IconMania will not run on a Mac that doesn't support color (a Mac Plus, for example). If you absolutely can not get hold of a color Mac, modify IconMania by using an ICON resource instead of a cicn resource, and using GetIcon() and PlotIcon() instead of GetCIcon() and PlotCIcon(). Not as much fun, but it will work!!! Remember that GetCIcon() and PlotCIcon() take a different parameter than GetIcon() and PlotIcon(), so change the type of theIcon throughout the code.

Figure 7: It's IconMania!!!

Stepping Through the Source Code

The #defines kBaseResID and kMoveToFront should be familiar to you by now. kRandomUpperLimit is used by the random number generator in the routine Randomize().

/* 2 */

#define kBaseResID 128
#define kMoveToFront (WindowPtr)-1
#define kRandomUpperLimit 32768

As usual, every function (except main()) has an accompanying function prototype. Since C++ requires function prototypes, this is an especially important habit to develop.

/* 3 */

/***************/
/*  Functions  */
/***************/

void  ToolBoxInit( void );
void  WindowInit( void );
void  MainLoop( void );
void  DrawRandomIcon( CIconHandle theIcon );
void  RandomPoint( Point *pointPtr );
short Randomize( short range );

main() initializes the Toolbox, creates the IconMania window, then enters the main icon drawing loop.

/* 4 */

/****************** main ***************************/
void  main( void )
{
 ToolBoxInit();
 WindowInit();
 MainLoop();
}

ToolBoxInit() is the same as it ever was.

/* 5 */

/****************** ToolBoxInit *********************/
void  ToolBoxInit( void )
{
 InitGraf( &thePort );
 InitFonts();
 InitWindows();
 InitMenus();
 TEInit();
 InitDialogs( nil );
 InitCursor();
}

As we did in PICTWindow, we call GetNewWindow() to load a WIND resource. If the WIND resource wasn't loaded successfully, beep once, then exit.

/* 6 */

/****************** WindowInit ***********************/

void  WindowInit( void )
{
 WindowPtrwindow;
 StringHandle  windowTitleH;

 window = GetNewWindow( kBaseResID , nil,
 kMoveToFront );
 
 if ( window == nil )
 {
 SysBeep( 10 );  /*  Couldn't load the WIND resource!!!  */
 ExitToShell();
 }

Next, call GetString() to load the 'STR ' resource with the specified resource ID. GetString() reads in the string and returns a handle to the first byte of the string. A handle is essentially a pointer to a pointer. By convention, we end all handle variables with a capital H, as in windowTitleH.

/* 7 */

 windowTitleH = GetString( kBaseResID );

A handle is actually a pointer to a master pointer. When the Mac's memory manager creates a handle to a block of memory, it places the pointer to the block in its list of master pointers and returns a pointer to the master pointer to you.

The reason for handles becomes clearer when the memory manager moves that block of memory. When the block moves (to make way for a larger block, perhaps), the memory manager updates the value in the master pointer, making sure it points to the block's new location. Since your handle points to the master pointer, and the master pointer hasn't moved, the value in your handle doesn't change. Therefore, your handle still references the same block of memory, even though the block changed location.

If handles seem a little abstract, don't panic. As time goes on, handles will become clearer to you. There's really not that much to them, but they can be confusing.

If the 'STR ' resource wasn't loaded, beep once, then exit.

/* 8 */

 if ( windowTitleH == nil )
 {
 SysBeep( 10 );  /*  Couldn't load the STR resource!!!  */
 ExitToShell();
 }

Next, we need to lock the handle, telling the memory manager not to move the block of memory containing the text string. In general, you always lock a handle when you directly reference the master pointer (the pointer the handle poists to). In this case, we'll be passing the master pointer as a parameter to the routine SetWTitle(). That's because the master pointer contains the address of the first byte of the string (just like any Str255 variable).

/* 9 */

 HLock( (Handle)windowTitleH );

Next, the string is passed on to SetWTitle(), which will change the title of the referenced window to the string in the 'STR ' resource.

/* 10 */

 SetWTitle( window, *windowTitleH );

Now that we are done referencing the master pointer, we can unlock the handle again.

/* 11 */

 HUnlock( (Handle)windowTitleH );

Finally, make the window visible and the current port.

/* 12 */

 ShowWindow( window );
 SetPort( window );
}

MainLoop() starts by loading the current date and time into the global variable randSeed. This serves to initialize the Mac's random number generator.

/* 13 */

/****************** MainLoop ***********************/

void  MainLoop( void )
{
 CIconHandletheIcon;
 
 GetDateTime( (unsigned long *)(&randSeed) );

Next, we call GetCIcon() to load the cicn resource from the resource file.

/* 14 */

 theIcon = GetCIcon( kBaseResID );

If the cicn resource wasn't found, beep once then exit.

/* 15 */

 if ( theIcon == nil )
 {
 SysBeep( 10 );  /*  Couldn't load the cicn resource!!!  */
 ExitToShell();
 }

Next, draw random icons until the mouse button is pressed.

/* 16 */

 while ( ! Button() )
 DrawRandomIcon( theIcon );
}

DrawRandomIcon() draws the specified color icon at a random point in the frontmost window.

/* 17 */

/****************** DrawRandomIcon *****************/

void  DrawRandomIcon( CIconHandle theIcon )
{
 Point  p;
 Rect   iconRect;

First, call RandomPoint() to pick a random location in the window.

/* 18 */

 RandomPoint( &p );

Next, use that point as the upper left corner to create a Rect that is 32 pixels by 32 pixels, the size of a color icon.

/* 19 */

 SetRect( &iconRect, p.h, p.v, p.h+32, p.v+32 );

Finally, call PlotCIcon() to draw the icon in the specified Rect. If you like, try changing the 32's in the previous line to 16's or to 64's, to get a feel for plotting an icon in a different size rectangle.

/* 20 */

 PlotCIcon( &iconRect, theIcon );
}

PlotCIcon() is pretty smart. If color is turned off (or simply not available) PlotCIcon() will plot its black and white icon instead. To prove this, try running IconMania with color turned off (see Figure 8).

Figure 8: IconMania in black and white.

RandomPoint() uses the function Randomize() to generate a point somewhere inside the frontmost window.

/* 21 */

/****************** RandomPoint *********************/

void  RandomPoint( Point  *pointPtr )
{
 WindowPtrwindow;

 window = FrontWindow();
 
 pointPtr->h = Randomize( window->portRect.right
 - window->portRect.left );
 pointPtr->v = Randomize( window->portRect.bottom
 - window->portRect.top );
}

Randomize() uses an algorithm from the Mondrian program in the Macintosh Programming Primer, Volume I.

/* 22 */

/****************** Randomize **********************/

short   Randomize( short range )
{
 long   randomNumber;
 
 randomNumber = Random();
 
 if ( randomNumber < 0 )
 randomNumber *= -1;
 
 return( (randomNumber * range) / kRandomUpperLimit );
}

...and for you Pascal Folks

Here's the IconMania source code for you THINK Pascal folks. Type in the code, then work your way through the C commentary. Use this as an opportunity to come up to speed on C.

Remember to select Run Options... from the Run menu and add the resource file to the project.

program IconMania;
 const
  kBaseResID = 128;
  kRandomUpperLimit = 32768;

{--------------------------------> Randomize <---}

 function Randomize (range: INTEGER): INTEGER;
  var
   randomNumber: LONGINT;
 begin
  randomNumber := Random;
  randomNumber := abs(randomNumber);

  Randomize := (randomNumber * range) div kRandomUpperLimit;
 end;

{--------------------------------> RandomPoint     <---}

 procedure RandomPoint (var thePoint: Point);
  var
   window: WindowPtr;
 begin
  window := FrontWindow;

  thePoint.h := Randomize(window^.portRect.right -             
 window^.portRect.left);
  thePoint.v := Randomize(window^.portRect.bottom - 
 window^.portRect.top);
 end;

{--------------------------------> DrawRandomIcon  <---}

 procedure DrawRandomIcon (theIcon: CIconHandle);
  var
   p: Point;
   iconRect: Rect;
 begin
  RandomPoint(p);

  SetRect(iconRect, p.h, p.v, p.h + 32, p.v + 32);
  PlotCIcon(iconRect, theIcon);
 end;

{--------------------------------> MainLoop  <---}

 procedure MainLoop;
  var
   theIcon: CIconHandle;
 begin
  GetDateTime(randSeed);

  theIcon := GetCIcon(kBaseResID);

  if theIcon = nil then
  begin
   SysBeep(10);
   ExitToShell;
  end;

  while (not Button) do
   DrawRandomIcon(theIcon);
 end;

{--------------------------------> WindowInit      <---}

 procedure WindowInit;
  var
   window: WindowPtr;
   windowTitleH: StringHandle;
 begin
  window := GetNewWindow(kBaseResID, nil, WindowPtr(-1));

  if window = nil then
  begin
   SysBeep(10);
   ExitToShell;
  end;

  windowTitleH := GetString(kBaseResID);

  if windowTitleH = nil then
  begin
   SysBeep(10);
   ExitToShell;
  end;

  HLock(Handle(windowTitleH));
  SetWTitle(window, windowTitleH^^);
  HUnlock(Handle(windowTitleH));

  ShowWindow(window);
  SetPort(window);
 end;

{--------------------------------> Mondrian  <---}

begin
 WindowInit;
 MainLoop;
end.

 

Community Search:
MacTech Search:

Software Updates via MacUpdate

Latest Forum Discussions

See All

Tokkun Studio unveils alpha trailer for...
We are back on the MMORPG news train, and this time it comes from the sort of international developers Tokkun Studio. They are based in France and Japan, so it counts. Anyway, semantics aside, they have released an alpha trailer for the upcoming... | Read more »
Win a host of exclusive in-game Honor of...
To celebrate its latest Jujutsu Kaisen crossover event, Honor of Kings is offering a bounty of login and achievement rewards kicking off the holiday season early. [Read more] | Read more »
Miraibo GO comes out swinging hard as it...
Having just launched what feels like yesterday, Dreamcube Studio is wasting no time adding events to their open-world survival Miraibo GO. Abyssal Souls arrives relatively in time for the spooky season and brings with it horrifying new partners to... | Read more »
Ditch the heavy binders and high price t...
As fun as the real-world equivalent and the very old Game Boy version are, the Pokemon Trading Card games have historically been received poorly on mobile. It is a very strange and confusing trend, but one that The Pokemon Company is determined to... | Read more »
Peace amongst mobile gamers is now shatt...
Some of the crazy folk tales from gaming have undoubtedly come from the EVE universe. Stories of spying, betrayal, and epic battles have entered history, and now the franchise expands as CCP Games launches EVE Galaxy Conquest, a free-to-play 4x... | Read more »
Lord of Nazarick, the turn-based RPG bas...
Crunchyroll and A PLUS JAPAN have just confirmed that Lord of Nazarick, their turn-based RPG based on the popular OVERLORD anime, is now available for iOS and Android. Starting today at 2PM CET, fans can download the game from Google Play and the... | Read more »
Digital Extremes' recent Devstream...
If you are anything like me you are impatiently waiting for Warframe: 1999 whilst simultaneously cursing the fact Excalibur Prime is permanently Vault locked. To keep us fed during our wait, Digital Extremes hosted a Double Devstream to dish out a... | Read more »
The Frozen Canvas adds a splash of colou...
It is time to grab your gloves and layer up, as Torchlight: Infinite is diving into the frozen tundra in its sixth season. The Frozen Canvas is a colourful new update that brings a stylish flair to the Netherrealm and puts creativity in the... | Read more »
Back When AOL WAS the Internet – The Tou...
In Episode 606 of The TouchArcade Show we kick things off talking about my plans for this weekend, which has resulted in this week’s show being a bit shorter than normal. We also go over some more updates on our Patreon situation, which has been... | Read more »
Creative Assembly's latest mobile p...
The Total War series has been slowly trickling onto mobile, which is a fantastic thing because most, if not all, of them are incredibly great fun. Creative Assembly's latest to get the Feral Interactive treatment into portable form is Total War:... | Read more »

Price Scanner via MacPrices.net

Early Black Friday Deal: Apple’s newly upgrad...
Amazon has Apple 13″ MacBook Airs with M2 CPUs and 16GB of RAM on early Black Friday sale for $200 off MSRP, only $799. Their prices are the lowest currently available for these newly upgraded 13″ M2... Read more
13-inch 8GB M2 MacBook Airs for $749, $250 of...
Best Buy has Apple 13″ MacBook Airs with M2 CPUs and 8GB of RAM in stock and on sale on their online store for $250 off MSRP. Prices start at $749. Their prices are the lowest currently available for... Read more
Amazon is offering an early Black Friday $100...
Amazon is offering early Black Friday discounts on Apple’s new 2024 WiFi iPad minis ranging up to $100 off MSRP, each with free shipping. These are the lowest prices available for new minis anywhere... Read more
Price Drop! Clearance 14-inch M3 MacBook Pros...
Best Buy is offering a $500 discount on clearance 14″ M3 MacBook Pros on their online store this week with prices available starting at only $1099. Prices valid for online orders only, in-store... Read more
Apple AirPods Pro with USB-C on early Black F...
A couple of Apple retailers are offering $70 (28%) discounts on Apple’s AirPods Pro with USB-C (and hearing aid capabilities) this weekend. These are early AirPods Black Friday discounts if you’re... Read more
Price drop! 13-inch M3 MacBook Airs now avail...
With yesterday’s across-the-board MacBook Air upgrade to 16GB of RAM standard, Apple has dropped prices on clearance 13″ 8GB M3 MacBook Airs, Certified Refurbished, to a new low starting at only $829... Read more
Price drop! Apple 15-inch M3 MacBook Airs now...
With yesterday’s release of 15-inch M3 MacBook Airs with 16GB of RAM standard, Apple has dropped prices on clearance Certified Refurbished 15″ 8GB M3 MacBook Airs to a new low starting at only $999.... Read more
Apple has clearance 15-inch M2 MacBook Airs a...
Apple has clearance, Certified Refurbished, 15″ M2 MacBook Airs now available starting at $929 and ranging up to $410 off original MSRP. These are the cheapest 15″ MacBook Airs for sale today at... Read more
Apple drops prices on 13-inch M2 MacBook Airs...
Apple has dropped prices on 13″ M2 MacBook Airs to a new low of only $749 in their Certified Refurbished store. These are the cheapest M2-powered MacBooks for sale at Apple. Apple’s one-year warranty... Read more
Clearance 13-inch M1 MacBook Airs available a...
Apple has clearance 13″ M1 MacBook Airs, Certified Refurbished, now available for $679 for 8-Core CPU/7-Core GPU/256GB models. Apple’s one-year warranty is included, shipping is free, and each... Read more

Jobs Board

Seasonal Cashier - *Apple* Blossom Mall - J...
Seasonal Cashier - Apple Blossom Mall Location:Winchester, VA, United States (https://jobs.jcp.com/jobs/location/191170/winchester-va-united-states) - Apple Read more
Seasonal Fine Jewelry Commission Associate -...
…Fine Jewelry Commission Associate - Apple Blossom Mall Location:Winchester, VA, United States (https://jobs.jcp.com/jobs/location/191170/winchester-va-united-states) Read more
Seasonal Operations Associate - *Apple* Blo...
Seasonal Operations Associate - Apple Blossom Mall Location:Winchester, VA, United States (https://jobs.jcp.com/jobs/location/191170/winchester-va-united-states) - Read more
Hair Stylist - *Apple* Blossom Mall - JCPen...
Hair Stylist - Apple Blossom Mall Location:Winchester, VA, United States (https://jobs.jcp.com/jobs/location/191170/winchester-va-united-states) - Apple Blossom Read more
Cashier - *Apple* Blossom Mall - JCPenney (...
Cashier - Apple Blossom Mall Location:Winchester, VA, United States (https://jobs.jcp.com/jobs/location/191170/winchester-va-united-states) - Apple Blossom Mall Read more
All contents are Copyright 1984-2011 by Xplain Corporation. All rights reserved. Theme designed by Icreon.