Re: MAC Address Detecting Menubar App
Re: MAC Address Detecting Menubar App
- Subject: Re: MAC Address Detecting Menubar App
- From: Jordan Chark <email@hidden>
- Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2007 13:46:57 -0800
Thanks for the lengthy answer. :)
To answer your first question, I'm sorta asking how to create an extra
menu/status item which will change icons based on the presence of a
computer detecting using Bonjour. Well, specifically, I'm looking to
create a very simple application, which would show one icon when a
certain computer is on the network, and show another when it's not. In
terms of polling, Bonjour would probably be a better option. The
computer I'm looking to detect is also a Mac, which is probably easier
to accomplish as on PCs I was thinking some client-side software may
be needed (unless it'd be done with Samba).
The main reason I emailed this list, is that I did plenty of reading,
and got into that scary gotcha business, and thought maybe you guys
could help out. Even though this has taken a bit of a different
direction now, I'd really appreciate some guidance in relation to
creating this app. Also, even though I am quite the n00b, don't be
afraid to throw some terminology/code my way- I've done my fair share
of reading/practice.
On Nov 19, 2007, at 1:26 PM, I. Savant wrote:
I'm fairly new to Cocoa, so I'll try not to sound like too much of a
n00b here, but... I'd like to build a menubar application which will
change icons dependent upon whether a certain MAC address is present
on the local network. So far, I've assembled SystemUIPlugin and
MenuExtraView Classes, but I'm not sure where to proceed from here.
The only thing "n00b" is the clarity of your question. The rest is
perfectly valid. ;-)
Specifically, are you asking a) how to create a menu extra / status
item, or b) how to detect the presence of a MAC address?
Regarding "a", there are *lots* of sources (including this list's
archives), so if you run into trouble, ask a specific question,
otherwise, read, read, read.
Regarding "b", I've never done this, but it seems you'd have to
resort to 'polling' (repeatedly checking for something at regular
intervals). Polling generates a lot of unnecessary overhead (in the
case of a network, traffic). So ... that begs the question: what are
you really trying to accomplish (in general)?
If you want to detect a certain computer, you might look into
Bonjour services. If you know other computers will be running your
software, just announce via Bonjour.
If on the other hand, you want to simply see if *any* computer
(regardless of type, or software it's running), you're getting into
some pretty involved stuff with a lot of "gotcha's" and sharp teeth
for a beginner.
With that in mind, you might want to clarify your post by clearly
stating your specific goal and specific questions you have *after*
reading all available material you can find on the two subjects you
raised. Come with specific questions and you'll get specific answers.
;-)
--
I.S.
_______________________________________________
Cocoa-dev mailing list (email@hidden)
Please do not post admin requests or moderator comments to the list.
Contact the moderators at cocoa-dev-admins(at)lists.apple.com
Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription:
This email sent to email@hidden