Re: Some architecture questions
Re: Some architecture questions
- Subject: Re: Some architecture questions
- From: Chris Williams <email@hidden>
- Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2007 11:36:35 -0700
- Thread-topic: Some architecture questions
Do not pass go, do not collect $200, go directly to Amazon (or your
bookstore) and get Aaron Hillegass's remarkably good book "Cocoa Programming
for Mac OS/X:
http://www.amazon.com/Cocoa-Programming-Mac-OS-2nd/dp/0321213149/ref=pd_bbs_
sr_1/002-3298731-1863218?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1187116439&sr=8-1
I beleive it hits every one of these topics thoroughly and with examples.
> From: Chris Rose <email@hidden>
> Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2007 11:49:48 -0600
> To: <email@hidden>
> Subject: Some architecture questions
>
> Hola, all;
>
> I'm new to Cocoa development in specific, although not new to
> programming in general, and I'm trying to get my feet wet with a new
> model. For some background, my programming experience to date is
> largely in backend C/Java service applications with scripting engines
> built in and some minimal experience developing plugins for Eclipse
> RCP and similar applications, along with some ObjectPascal back in the
> day.
>
> So, I'm trying to learn Objective-C, Cocoa, and Xcode/IB development
> all in one go. Sounds daunting, and so far it has been, mostly
> because I'm having a hard time sussing out the _right_ way to do
> things, as opposed to just a working way.
>
> So, in no particular order here are some questions I hope that the
> folks on this list will be kind enough to answer for me:
>
> 1. What is the _right_ way to manage application state data? Suppose,
> for example, I want to scan a directory on disk and build a database
> of its contents that is, if not static, rarely going to change. I
> want to persist this between starts of the app because I anticipate
> this taking no small amount of time. Where would I store this? Are
> there good tools for doing so built in? And, assuming so, where do I
> locate documentation on those that does not presuppose knowledge of
> Cocoa/Xcode to do it?
>
> 2. In Interface Builder, I wish to perform some layout tasks that are
> stumping me. Specifically, I want to do layout of three components
> such that, given these three components:
>
> [----].[++++++].[****]
>
> The left(-) and right(*) components will remain fixed in size, with
> the middle(+) enlarging to fit the space in between when the container
> grows, but (and this is the part that nails me) the spaces between
> them (denoted by '.') do _not_ change size; I want the middle
> component to be anchored, not to the edges of the container, but to
> its neighboring components.
>
> 3. Toolbars. I found this article on how to interact with them
>
(http://developer.apple.com/documentation/Cocoa/Conceptual/Toolbars/index.html>
)
> but I can't grok how to build them at all. I think it has something
> to do with loading new Nibs, but I'm not completely sure how to do
> that, nor am I sure where it should be done.
>
> 4. Application lifecycle. I realize that there's a framework sitting
> around any app I write, so it behooves me to figure out the right way
> to start up, shut down, and manage global state in the application.
> My C service apps typically have a mix of an option database
> (analogous to the Defaults mechanism, I think) and a global state
> structure that is configured at startup to provide operational
> information. What is the right way to configure apps in Cocoa? This
> is part of a larger question involving the instantiation of classes in
> IB (who does it? How to configure them?) and the right place/time to
> do all kinds of neat things. Suppose I want to rescan the data I
> mentioned above. When should I do that? What class/method is right
> for it?
>
> 5. Information in general. What I see online for Cocoa development
> information seems to be evenly split between information for
> specialized tasks that experienced Cocoa developers might use to
> enhance an established application and tutorials geared at total
> programming newbies. The latter have some minor use to me because
> they offer an introduction to the capabilities of the tools (IB still
> confuses me, sometimes) but don't answer this type of question at all.
> Are there any resources for cocoa geared at people whose programming
> skills don't need help, but want to understand the way it all hangs
> together, along with examples?
>
> I think that's it for now, although I expect I'll have more questions
> as I get into this. Thanks, in advance, for any and all answers that
> come out of this.
>
> --
> Chris R.
> ======
> Not to be taken literally, internally, or seriously.
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