On this issue's CD is a new version of the floating windows library that fixes this
problem, and others. The problem was that Apple finally "caught up" with Dean and
defined things in the universal headers that he had defined, in his forward-looking
way, back when he first wrote the article. Also on the CD you'll find an even newer
version of the library that compiles with STRICT_WINDOWS defined. This necessitated
a complete rewrite of some portions of the code, so consider it risky. Please try it and
send me any bugs you find!
-- Dave Johnson
POWERPC ASSEMBLY NITS
Great article on PowerPCTM assembly language in develop Issue 21! It was clear, and I
learned a lot reading it. But I have two nitpicks. On page 27 you show glue code for a
cross-TOC call. The second instruction should be
stw RTOC, 20(SP)
And the third instruction has a typo in it. It should be
lwz r0, 0(r12)
-- David Shayer
Thanks for catching these. The interesting thing is that the second instruction appears
that (wrong) way in the PPCAsm manual. Whoops!
-- Dave Evans
UP ON THE DOWNSIDE
I just wanted to tell you that I really liked the Veteran Neophyte column in Issue 21,
about the downside of programming. It struck a nerve with me. The thing that goes
through my mind whenever I sit down to write some code is "There has to be a better
way!" Alas, by the time there is a better way, I will probably have moved on to some
other profession.
-- Jamie Osborne
Your Veteran Neophyte column on the pains of programming really struck a nerve (and
not just because I have carpal tunnel syndrome). I often spend a while putting things
on paper, only to abandon the project once I become convinced that I've figured out the
solution and its implementation would just be hours and hours of typing. Sort of
meta-programming.
-- Tom Busey
I just finished reading the Veteran Neophyte columns in Issue 17 and Issue 21, "Why
We Do It" and "The Downside." They were given to me by a friend who is an avid
programmer. The type of things you described sounded just like my friend; I think he
showed the columns to me to explain why every time I see him he's sitting in front of
the computer, and why he stays up till all hours of the morning working on programs
that end up frustrating him.
I thought I should let you know that your columns were appreciated not only by those
who program, but by those who are close to programmers and wonder sometimes what
unseen force has gotten hold of them and sucked them into their work.
-- Greta Meussling
The "Downside" column seems to have hit home with many people; I got a lot of
comments about it. It's nice to be assured that I'm not the only reluctant programmer
in the world, and that I'm not the only one who thinks there ought to be a better way.
-- Dave Johnson
ACROBAT: PRETTY DARN FINE
This probably isn't the first time you've heard this, but how about off ering develop in
Acrobat (PDF format) as well? For me, Acrobat is more convenient than Apple
DocViewer as an application and, most important, its files are a lot smaller. I
routinely convert develop to PDF and then add PDF hyperlinks and bookmarks. For one
issue I converted, for instance, the DocViewer version (without the index) is 2.9 meg,
while the PDF version is only 770K. It's even smaller than the StuffIt version of the
DocViewer document (1.2 meg). And the onscreen appearance is identical. I still like
the HTML versions for their immediacy, but for true WYSIWYG, low conversion
effort, and small file size, you can't beat PDF.
-- Shannon Spires
We agree with you. You'll notice that on this issue's CD, every issue of develop has
been converted to Acrobat -- along with all the other files on the CD that used to be in
Apple DocViewer format. Enjoy!
-- Caroline Rose
UP ON THE WEB
Thanks for making both develop and Apple Directions available on the World Wide
Web. We're on a very tight budget and can't afford a subscription at this time. The
online versions allow us to access the infor - mation and still come out with a product
on budget.
-- Mattias Fornander
I'm a student who reads develop online via the Internet through UCLA's (UNIX ® )
workstations. Your putting develop on the World Wide Web is great! Even though the
comfort of reading (and printing) develop online will never equal the ease of the
regular version, I don't have to fight with ftp and MS-DOS floppy disks to read your
magazine. So please continue to publish develop in HTML.
IMHO, your magazine is a service to the Mac developer community, and you would help
Apple by letting every possible programmer access it without hassle. Thanks for this
effort.
-- Eric Gouriou
We've got articles from some issues of develop on the World Wide Web now (at
http://www.apple.com, in the Developer Services area) and are working on putting
more up there. This kind of feedback helps make it happen -- so thanks for writing.
Readers of the online version: Don't confuse printed develop with the monthly Apple
Developer Mailing; a subscription to the monthly mailing (which includes a CD that
has develop on it) is rather costly, but it costs only $30 for four quarterly printed
issues of develop (with Bookmark CD). See the inside front cover of this issue for
ordering information. (Sorry, I couldn't resist this opportunity for a plug!)
-- Caroline Rose
KEEP US ON OUR TOES! We welcome your nitpicking letters to the editors, especially
regarding articles published in develop. Letters should be addressed to Caroline Rose
-- or, if technical develop-related questions, to Dave Johnson -- at AppleLink CROSE
or JOHNSON.DK. Or you can write to Caroline or Dave at Apple Computer, Inc., 1
Infinite Loop, M/S 303-4DP, Cupertino, CA 95014. All letters should include your
name and company name as well as your address and phone number. Letters may be
excerpted or edited for clarity (or to make them say what we wish they did). *