TweetFollow Us on Twitter

Tiger Time

Volume Number: 21 (2005)
Issue Number: 5
Column Tag: Programming

Tips From Big Nerd Ranch

Tiger Time

by Aaron Hillegass, Chris Campbell, and Marquis Logan

For this special Tiger issue, it seems appropriate to pass on a few tips that may help as you move your development efforts to Mac OS X 10.4.

All-In-One

Xcode 2 has several nifty new features, but our absolute favorite is "All-In-One Layout." In previous versions of Xcode, if you had a few projects open and each project had a build panel, a run log, a debugger panel, and an editor window, you were quickly lost in a sea of windows. In Xcode 2, all of these functions can be done in a single window. To experience the pure joy of All-In-One, you must close all your projects and open the General Preferences:


Figure 1.

When you open a project, there will be a segmented controller labeled Page on the left end of the toolbar:


Figure 2.

There are three pages:

    The editor page handles editing, project search, and revision management.

    The build page handles the building, the build log, and the run log.

    The debug page handles debugging.

If you often work with several projects simultaneously, this will make your life a much more pleasant place.

Backwards Compatibility

If only users would update immediately to Tiger, we would not have to worry about backwards compatibility. The most common source of backwards compatibility issues is inadvertent use of new Tiger APIs. This will prevent your application from running on 10.3. There are two good solutions to the problem.

    Solution 1: Use the 10.3 SDK (or 10.2 if needed) for apps that should only use Panther APIs.


Figure 3.

This will cause the application to link against stub libraries that match the APIs available on 10.3.

    Solution 2 (our favorite): Use the "Current Mac OS" SDK to take advantage of all the latest APIs on the current system:


Figure 4.

and set the "Mac OS X Deployment Target" in the target build settings to 10.3:


Figure 5.

This causes the newer APIs to be weak-linked into the application. It requires a little additional work by the developer to check the availability of an API in the code and gracefully handle cases where API is missing (running on an earlier version of the OS).

C function symbols need to be checked if their value is valid:

if (CGContextFillEllipseInRect != NULL)
{
   CGContextFillEllipseInRect(context, rect);
} else {
   // Older OS version actions
}

Objective-C methods can be detected using -[NSObject respondsToSelector:]


if ([tableView respondsToSelector:@selector(setColumnAutoresizingStyle)])
{
   [tableView setColumnAutoresizingStyle:NSTableViewLastColumnOnlyAutoresizingStyle];
} else {
   // Older OS version actions
}

This is the most powerful solution as it allows the developer to take advantage of the latest features while maintaining the broadest compatibility.

See Apple's documentation on cross development for more details:

http://developer.apple.com/documentation/DeveloperTools/Conceptual/cross_development/index.html

Debugging Bindings

There have been many complaints that bindings are difficult to debug. This is sadly still true, but Apple has begun to make things easier for us. There is now a default NSBindingDebugLogLevel. Set it to 1 to turn on logging. The easiest way is to pass it as an argument on the command-line. Under the Executables group in Xcode, select your application, and look at the info panel. Add the argument -NSBindingDebugLogLevel 1.


Figure 6.

In the short time that we have been using Tiger, we have found it to be a superior platform for developers. It is chock-full of fun new technologies and is even more beautiful than 10.3. Enjoy!


Aaron Hillegass, Chris Campbell, and Marquis Logan

 

Community Search:
MacTech Search:

Software Updates via MacUpdate

Latest Forum Discussions

See All

Combo Quest (Games)
Combo Quest 1.0 Device: iOS Universal Category: Games Price: $.99, Version: 1.0 (iTunes) Description: Combo Quest is an epic, time tap role-playing adventure. In this unique masterpiece, you are a knight on a heroic quest to retrieve... | Read more »
Hero Emblems (Games)
Hero Emblems 1.0 Device: iOS Universal Category: Games Price: $2.99, Version: 1.0 (iTunes) Description: ** 25% OFF for a limited time to celebrate the release ** ** Note for iPhone 6 user: If it doesn't run fullscreen on your device... | Read more »
Puzzle Blitz (Games)
Puzzle Blitz 1.0 Device: iOS Universal Category: Games Price: $1.99, Version: 1.0 (iTunes) Description: Puzzle Blitz is a frantic puzzle solving race against the clock! Solve as many puzzles as you can, before time runs out! You have... | Read more »
Sky Patrol (Games)
Sky Patrol 1.0.1 Device: iOS Universal Category: Games Price: $1.99, Version: 1.0.1 (iTunes) Description: 'Strategic Twist On The Classic Shooter Genre' - Indie Game Mag... | Read more »
The Princess Bride - The Official Game...
The Princess Bride - The Official Game 1.1 Device: iOS Universal Category: Games Price: $3.99, Version: 1.1 (iTunes) Description: An epic game based on the beloved classic movie? Inconceivable! Play the world of The Princess Bride... | Read more »
Frozen Synapse (Games)
Frozen Synapse 1.0 Device: iOS iPhone Category: Games Price: $2.99, Version: 1.0 (iTunes) Description: Frozen Synapse is a multi-award-winning tactical game. (Full cross-play with desktop and tablet versions) 9/10 Edge 9/10 Eurogamer... | Read more »
Space Marshals (Games)
Space Marshals 1.0.1 Device: iOS Universal Category: Games Price: $4.99, Version: 1.0.1 (iTunes) Description: ### IMPORTANT ### Please note that iPhone 4 is not supported. Space Marshals is a Sci-fi Wild West adventure taking place... | Read more »
Battle Slimes (Games)
Battle Slimes 1.0 Device: iOS Universal Category: Games Price: $1.99, Version: 1.0 (iTunes) Description: BATTLE SLIMES is a fun local multiplayer game. Control speedy & bouncy slime blobs as you compete with friends and family.... | Read more »
Spectrum - 3D Avenue (Games)
Spectrum - 3D Avenue 1.0 Device: iOS Universal Category: Games Price: $2.99, Version: 1.0 (iTunes) Description: "Spectrum is a pretty cool take on twitchy/reaction-based gameplay with enough complexity and style to stand out from the... | Read more »
Drop Wizard (Games)
Drop Wizard 1.0 Device: iOS Universal Category: Games Price: $1.99, Version: 1.0 (iTunes) Description: Bring back the joy of arcade games! Drop Wizard is an action arcade game where you play as Teo, a wizard on a quest to save his... | Read more »

Price Scanner via MacPrices.net

Apple’s M4 Mac minis on sale for record-low p...
B&H Photo has M4 and M4 Pro Mac minis in stock and on sale right now for up to $150 off Apple’s MSRP, each including free 1-2 day shipping to most US addresses. Prices start at only $469: – M4... Read more
Deal Alert! Mac Studio with M4 Max CPU on sal...
B&H Photo has the standard-configuration Mac Studio model with Apple’s M4 Max CPU in stock today and on sale for $300 off MSRP, now $1699 (10-Core CPU and 32GB RAM/512GB SSD). B&H also... Read more

Jobs Board

All contents are Copyright 1984-2011 by Xplain Corporation. All rights reserved. Theme designed by Icreon.