C.P.Com Dev Blog

I’ve been working on an app that every Mac user can use, not only the graphics/Prepress crowd. It’s something that I honestly wanted to make/have for myself for a long time and I finally got around to starting it. It’ll be here online in a few weeks I’m estimating, also on the App Store, but that always takes more time to massage and dumb down for Apple’s app requirements.

I’ve been kicking around the idea for another app and I’ve started some work on it. It involves images, but no InDesign nor Applescript. My first rev is working OK, but is far from “high performance”. I’ve got to learn some new Cocoa skills to make it work as smoothly as I’d like (and you’d expect). There’s no due date, but like usual it’s an app “I want for myself” and then build it out to be something really polished.

One of the teachers at the Big Nerd Ranch had said that the greatest gift to programming was the internet. Truly without the help of other experienced programmers and sample code, I’d never get nearly as far as I do with applications.

ID Font Catalog is now available on the App Store! I had tried to submit it “as-is” but then some technical glitches showed up. I ended up rewriting the entire app in ASOC in about 2 weeks. Fastest turn around ever on that. Thankfully the core logic didn’t need any changes. I was pleasantly surprised when I could add in saving of a big array of preference items with just 3 lines of code! ASOC is pretty nice!
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/id-font-catalog/id464149293?mt=12

ID Image Catalog is now available via the App Store! It seemed like forever to get through the approval process. But thankfully there were no coding issues, only some store submission and naming issues. This is one of the few Applescript/ASOC applications on the store. I had to get it in before the Nov 1 deadline for sandboxing, since that means after that date any apps that freely “talk” to other applications on your computer will be off limits. Seriously, this outlaws any and all ASOC apps that drive other applications even though Applescript is supposed to be a first class programming citizen on the Mac. Sandboxing also outlaws Find applications that search your hard drive for file types. Not to get technical but there are certain permissions that apps must only allow in the future. I find it commendable Apple is pre-empting practically any possibility of serious viruses on OSX. But that restriction does hamper some app concepts.

Next up I am going to get to work putting ID Font Catalog on the store. That may require more work as I want it to be 10.5 compatible and not rewrite the whole thing just yet. I need to just find out how to sign the app in XCode 3.

I was out for 2 weeks on vacation, and now I need to get back to programming and finishing up PDF Bee. After that I think I am going to try to make versions for the App store. That my apps are Applescript based isn’t a problem, but I think that they ONLY direct InDesign to build documents, I know there will be some people that buy it, even if they don’t have InDesign. The App Store has no way to verify if a user has a given target application. So it’s a tough decision.

Welcome to my new developer blog. Here is where I’ll post thoughts, updates, and any other information I think it relevant but perhaps not important enough to go into a mass email regarding my applications, scripts, and programming work in general.