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MAC PROGRAMMING
Gavin.Haines@tesco.net
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Mac programming is very tough. The only thing which is any good for the beginner is "REALBasic", a time-limited demo of which was on the Macformat coverdisk, June 2000. The functional version is expensive. I tried the demo, didn't like it, but it may only be the price which put me off! I would advise any potential Mac programmer to avoid the "CodeWarrior" tutorial available in certain outlets like PC World. There is a compiler, but it can only used for projects which they have given you. These projects only compile to 68k code. This has been done to make the package useless to DP professionals. The fully functional package costs the earth. MPW can be used, but it is very hard. There are several freeware compilers, some of which are good. Advice about these is on the Chipmunk Basic homepage. http://www.rahul.net/rhn/cbas.page.html Chipmunk BASIC is irritating. MPW is probably the best bet since the whole thing is available as a fully functional download. A problem with third-party languages is that Apple have not released technical information regarding the G3. Without this information third party language developers are unable to provide updates which work on the iMac. So, if you are asked to recommend anything for the iMac, remember this. Although very tough, it would probably be better to go with MPW rather than anything else, since the resulting code, (even if it is 68k code), will work on the iMac. There is a lot of stuff at Apples "dev" ftp site, including source code for games etc. "What about PASCAL?", you ask. Pascal was developed by Niklaus Wirth (pronounced "Virt"). It was designed to enable programming to be taught as a systematic discipline. Unlike BASIC it forces you to explicitly declare all your variables and strings before you can use them. People who have previously learned BASIC often do not like it. A drawback with Pascal is that certain lines must end with a semi-colon. Leave out the semi-colon, and you will get a mysterious error. There are many Pascal 'lookalikes', such as "Turbo Pascal", which are not the real thing. "Think Pascal" is rather in this vein, but easy for the beginner. The best real Pascal is "USCD Pascal". It is not free. It runs on a variety of computers. I don't know if you can get it for the Mac. In computer science circles, the "C" language is often rated the best. This was developed from BCPL, (which stood for "Basic Combined Programming Language"), by Ken Thompson of Bell Laboratories. I don't know why it is called "C". I have read that the language was first documented under Appendix C of the UNIX operating system manual. Another theory is that it was called "C" because an earlier version of it was known as "B". The idea with BCPL was that it was 'bit-oriented' and designed for programming operating system software, specifically UNIX. The name "UNIX" is a parody of an earlier name, "Multics", which stood for "Multi-User Computer System". The "Un" is taken from the French for "one", hence "Un+"ics" = "Unix". Pathetic isn't it? There is a lot of Unix influence in the way the AmigaDOS was programmed and the idea with MacOS X is to base it on a Unix kernal, so presumably making the Mac more like the Amiga. I personally think that Unix is worse than MacOS. I think Steve Jobs is a man who can understand a technical issue, but he's also someone who sometimes arrives as erroneous conclusions. I think he will tell his engineers to implement what is his understanding of how an operating system will work, but that understanding will not necessarily be based on sound principles. BASIC was not invented by someone in a basement somewhere (laugh). It was invented by Kemny and Kurtz - two distinguished professors of computer science. The approach adopted with UNIX is less sensible than the approach adopted with BASIC. That's the politest way of putting it. The reason you have not been able to programme the Macintosh is because the system has been made deliberately complicated, not necessarily because you are a fool. FREEBIES As compensation for not being able to program the Mac easily here is a list of freebies that are available. Aladdin StuffIt Expander 6.0 (Freeware - 10/26/00) - tool to expand most common file archives Space Bug 1.1 (Freeware - 10/27/00) - space arcade game OpenStrip 0.4 (Freeware - 10/27/00) - Aqua themed replacement for the Control Strip Clipboard Edit 1.0 (Freeware - 10/26/00) - tool to edit the contents of the clipboard CocoaMines 1.2.1 (Freeware - 10/26/00) - clone of the classic Minesweeper game Gravite 2.0.2 (Freeware - 10/26/00) - drag objects in the Finder with gravity, inertia, & friction Modem Magic 4.22 (Update - 10/26/00) - refined high speed modem scripts for most all modems UPresent 2.2.4 (Freeware - 10/26/00) - flexible multimedia presentation manager BladeEnc 1.3 (Freeware - 10/25/00) - encodes MP3s from AIFF, WAV and PCM files epicware Fire 0.16.a (Freeware - 10/25/00) - client for communicating over AIM, ICQ, & Yahoo! Glooton 1.11 (Freeware - 10/25/00) - Sherlock-compatible web search tool ProTools Free 5.0.1 (Freeware - 10/25/00) - multi-track audio editing and mixing tools Apple GameSprockets 1.7.5v1.1 (Freeware - 10/24/00) - game libraries: Draw, Input, Net, Sound Sprockets Apple iTools 1.0.5 (Freeware - 10/24/00) - installer for Apple's new Internet services for OS 9 Emacs 1.0 (Freeware - 10/24/00) - port of GNU Emacs, Unix text editor, for OS X Epson Stylus driver updater 1.1AES (Update - 10/24/00) - for all Stylus series printers Journal 0.1 (Freeware - 10/24/00) - lets you create and manage journals for different tasks MarshmallowMode p2 (Freeware - 10/24/00) - new method of browsing through your computer's files Netscape Communicator 4.7.6 (Freeware - 10/24/00) - popular web browser Pinocchio's Furniture 2.0 (Freeware - 10/24/00) - Slashdot newsreader to grab their headlines belgoNap 1.3 (Freeware - 10/23/00) - tool for trading MP3s via the Napster protocol Eudora 5.0.1 (Update - 10/23/00) - popular email client, free version also available KKGames 1.07 (Freeware - 10/23/00) - five simple activities for young children NcFTP 3.0.2 (Freeware - 10/23/00) - flexible command line FTP client NextAppearance 1.0 (Freeware - 10/23/00) - applies a NeXT like theme to your computer's desktop XTrap 1.0 (Freeware - 10/23/00) - puzzle logic game somewhat like Othello iCab Pre2.2 (Beta - 10/22/00) - lean, popular alternative Web browser Python 2.0 (Freeware - 10/22/00) - high level interactive programming language MP3 Title Fixer 1.3 (Freeware - 10/21/00) - SoundApp tool fixes MP3 files with header title & suffix mpegToaster 0.5 (Freeware - 10/21/00) - audio player featuring songlists, mp3 and mp2 support Red Bird's Quick Scripts 0.7 (Freeware - 10/22/00) - AppleScripts to automate common tasks SlideSaver 1.0 (Freeware - 10/22/00) - screensaver that displays your images in a slideshow fashion AppleSource MP3 2.3.2 (Freeware - 10/21/00) - Simple, Fast, Free, MP3 player Jack O. Lantern 1.1 (Freeware - 10/21/00) - desktop halloween pumpkin watches your moves ProcessWatcher 4.0b1 (Freeware - 10/21/00) - monitors all running apps & background processes RockNES/MacOS 1.421 (Freeware - 10/21/00) - Nintendo (NES) emulation application Search URL 3.7.1 (Freeware - 10/21/00) - e-mail and url search engine that works offline (url management) TetrisSaver 1.0 (Freeware - 10/21/00) - self-explanatory OpenGL enabled screensaver |
