Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Xcode on the MacBook

After almost two decades since I left LISP and ProLog programming on the Mac II, along with HyperCard, I am finally back in the Apple fold with the delivery of a MacBook, which I purchased to start learning how to develop iPhone applications via the Xcode development platform, after first putting myself through the jagged hoop of learning Objective-C.

Dear. Absolute. God. What a COMPLETE nightmare.

Now I'm not blaming Apple. The machine is fabulous, the interface immense, and Xcode looks amazing. The Objective-C programming language also 'feels' much nicer than the horrible Java or the appalling C++. Yes, it'll take me six months to learn enough to actually write an AppStore App, however, I am finally back to the lovely Mac II world I left all those years ago back in the computer modelling lab.

But the pains of re-adjusting are simply horrific, after 20 years in either X-Windows Unix land or Windows XP NetBeans land, where all of my mental synapses have been moulded by Bill Joy of Sun, or Charles Simonyi of Microsoft. To have placed myself once again in the hands of Steve Jobs, and his band of Hawaiian-shirted coffee hippies, after all of these years away from the chief pirate of Silicon Valley, is simply excruciating.

EVERYTHING is in the wrong place. I know NO utilities. I can't even find out where the pictures are stored, and installing Xcode to get it to work with Cocoa Frameworks has provided unendurable hours of pain beyond what would be believed in a court of law; now I know how Gollum felt to see the ring in the hands of Frodo.

But.

Thank God I'm home.

Posted from my MacBook

74 comments:

Anonymous said...

HI. WTF are you on about when you say:

"...and installing Xcode to get it to work with Cocoa Frameworks has provided unendurable hours of pain beyond what would be believed in a court of law...

Xcode just works after installation - I've never known it not to work after installation in any version of Mac OS X. Ever. Period. If you want to do iPhone development then you just need to download the Xcode version with the iPhone 3 SDK.

Jack Maturin said...

Yes, Anonymous, I know that NOW. Now that I've figured out I need the iPhone SDK, now that I've figured out where the documentation, now that I've realised that all the Apress books on iPhone development are out of date, now that I've got SLIGHTLY used to the interface, now that I know what the mounting is all about, now that I know what Snow Leopard is and what makes it different from Leopard, now that I know that the Xcode interface keeps changing, especially between the Tiger, Leopard, and Leopard versions, and now that I've actually got some code running.

Now buzz off and develop something humans have.

It's called 'empathy'. I know most full-time programmers don't have it. Which is why they spend so much time with computers in the first place, because nobody likes them much.

Unknown said...

I shudder at the thought of getting back into software development again.

C/C++ was ok, but once the virtual machine paradigm became popular it just became too abstract for me to be interested any more. I like hardware, I like knowing that I have to be careful with register allocation on CPU X, but if I am it screams through code like shit off a red hot shovel.

I finally decided that I had no respect for these youngsters when a snotty java programmer told me I was stupid to be worrying about memory allocation when the language had a garbage collector. I told him that if he didn't understand his memory allocation then he didn't understand his code. He laughed. Perhaps that's why java code runs like shit. Most of it is written by schoolkids.

Crusty old dinosaur and proud of it!

Jack Maturin said...

I can still remember PEKE-ing and POKE-ing in BASIC on a Commodore, and storing the results of magnificent programs on tape. No, it wasn't paper tape. That was the year before.

It is funny though to get such crap from Anonymous, above, after working on early X-Windows applications in Palo Alto, for Sun Microsystems before s/he was even born. You might have thought a friendly welcome back would have been more fitting. Tsk, the youth of today. What an arrogant small-minded narrow-minded bunch of state-worshipping drones.

I, like you, have given up on 'proper' programming, as it's a young sad man's game. But I've got a lot of business ideas for the iPhone, and the iPhone developers I've spoken to are either too expensive, too uninterested, or too rubbish, to develop them for me. Uncle Gary is always telling us to start new businesses that we can roll over into times of being older.

And as Gordon Brown has used up all private British pension funds to pay for his engorgement of his clientele and fascist state, I need something to do when I'm 75, and playing with boutique iPhone finance Apps, when I'm in my Thai beach-side villa, seems like the job.

And iPhone development, on a single screen, although it will initially be a time-consuming process to learn how to do it in my spare time, somehow seems to be fun again, almost like PEKE-ing and POKE-ing in Basic.

Jack Maturin said...

What an arrogant small-minded narrow-minded bunch of state-worshipping drones.

Just like me, of course, when I was that age! :-)

Captain Fatty said...

c++ is hideous and should be avoided at all costs.
Tell you what Jack, let's form a company, I'll implement the iPhone apps and if there is any profit made we go 50:50?

hotelresortpackages said...

Nice blog dude . I like it very much

writing websites for students said...

I hope you have a nice day! Very good article, well written and very thought out. I am looking forward to reading more of your posts in the future

buy essay said...

It is to much hard to come by knowledgeable person in this particular subject, whatever, you sound like you know what you are talking about! Thanks.

SEO Manchester said...

It is a very profitable post for me. I've enjoyed reading the post. It is very informative and useful post. I would like to visit the post once more its valuable content.

Timber Merchants Liverpool said...

You can only perceive real beauty in a person as they get older.

Buy Cipro Online said...

Thanks for taking the time to discuss this, I feel strongly about it and love learning more on this topic. If possible, as you gain expertise, would you mind updating your blog with more information? It is extremely helpful for me.

Unknown said...

But innovation comes from people meeting up in the hallways or calling each other at 10:30 at night with a new idea, or because they realized something that shoots holes in how we've been thinking about a problem.
Buy Sleeping Pills

jhoney said...

Door Lining
I discovered your site on ask and browse pretty much all your other blog posts. I just added you to my RSS feeder. Keep up the amazing job. Looking forward to reading more from you in the future.

Fashion Shoes said...

We are learning, too, that the love of beauty is one of Nature's greatest healers.

Diazepam said...

I think I am quite anxious about this technical meeting and I want to know the feedback of this meeting.I am sure it will be an extremely informative one and all those will attend it will be quite beneficial.

Valium said...

Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes. It is best to admit them quickly, and get on with improving your other innovations.

Pool Surrounds Marbella said...

Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes. It is best to admit them quickly, and get on with improving your other innovations.

Glass Curtains Marbella said...

've found this very interesting and has a good stuff for the readers and designers. I would be glad to recommend the post for its quality content. Nice post.

Anxiety Medication said...

There is no question that instantaneous water heaters are good options to trust in terms of their water heating services. However, you need to know that not all kinds of this water heater will work best for you.

Buy Anxiety Medication said...

I admire the valuable advice you make available in your expertly written content. I want to thank you for this informative read; I really appreciate sharing this great.

mical3211 said...

Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.
Sleeping Tablets Online

Buy Sleeping Tablets said...

The love of beauty in its multiple forms is the noblest gift of the human cerebrum.

Buy Cialis said...

The problem with beauty is that it's like being born rich and getting poorer.

Art Classes Manchester said...

I admire the valuable advice you make available in your expertly written content. I want to thank you for this informative read; I really appreciate sharing this great.

Buy Zyban Online said...

You must know by now, your article goes to the nitty-gritty of the subject. Your clarity leaves me wanting to know more. Just so you know, i will immediately grab your feed to keep up to date with your online blog. Sounding Out thanks is simply my little

Car Repair Liverpool said...

The plainer the dress, the greater luster does beauty appear.

Buy Provigil said...

When everything else physical and mental seems to diminish, the appreciation of beauty is on the increase.

mical3211 said...

Develop success from failures. Discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping stones to success.
Valium Online

Buy Ativan Online said...

There is no definition of beauty, but when you can see someone's spirit coming through, something unexplainable, that's beautiful to me.

Buy Zopiclone Online said...

We want to reinvent the phone. What's the killer app? The killer app is making calls! It's amazing how hard it is to make calls on most phones. We want to let you use contacts like never before - sync your iPhone with your PC or mac.

Zopiclone Online said...

wow, awesome post, I was wondering if there is a way to enlarge my penis quickly. and found your site by google, learned a lot, now i’m a bit clear. bookmarked and also signed up your rss. keep us updated.

Buy Lorazepam said...

You produce a great point in your own final paragraph. We couldn’t agree more together with your points. In today’s modern world, your approach to this issue is lacking in today’s kids. We need to ensure that our kids find out more on this topic so we nev

buy xanax online cheap said...

What beauty is, I know not, though it adheres to many things.

where can i buy zyban online said...

The pursuit of truth and beauty is a sphere of activity in which we are permitted to remain children all our lives.

cheap valium said...

The problem with beauty is that it's like being born rich and getting poorer.

valium online said...

The Windows Deployment Toolkit and Windows System Imanager are both completely free. There is nothing to purchase except for the windows server or windows 7 license you use to run it from.

Unknown said...

you can't blame Apple for this, i agree with the first post of this commentAffordable Car Servicing in Liverpool

Mail Order & Internet Online Pharmacy said...

The pursuit of truth and beauty is a sphere of activity in which we are permitted to remain children all our lives.

Buy Ambien Online USA said...

Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes. It is best to admit them quickly, and get on with improving your other innovations.

where can I buy zopiclone online said...

I discovered your site on ask and browse pretty much all your other blog posts. I just added you to my RSS feeder. Keep up the amazing job. Looking forward to reading more from you in the future.

buy zolpidem online no rx said...

The love of beauty in its multiple forms is the noblest gift of the human cerebrum.

buy facebook fans said...

The love of beauty in its multiple forms is the noblest gift of the human cerebrum.

Slaaptabletten te Koop said...

The real sin against life is to abuse and destroy beauty, even one's own even more, one's own, for that has been put in our care and we are responsible for its well-being.

buy valium online UK said...

I think I am quite anxious about this technical meeting and I want to know the feedback of this meeting.I am sure it will be an extremely informative one and all those will attend it will be quite beneficial.

buy valium said...

Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes. It is best to admit them quickly, and get on with improving your other innovations.

buy valium online cheap said...

It is a very profitable post for me. I've enjoyed reading the post. It is very informative and useful post. I would like to visit the post once more its valuable content.

buy valiums online said...

The pursuit of truth and beauty is a sphere of activity in which we are permitted to remain children all our lives.

can you buy valium online said...

The real sin against life is to abuse and destroy beauty, even one's own even more, one's own, for that has been put in our care and we are responsible for its well-being.

jhoney said...

We want to reinvent the phone. What's the killer app? The killer app is making calls! It's amazing how hard it is to make calls on most phones. We want to let you use contacts like never before - sync your iPhone with your PC or mac.

valium online purchase said...

We want to reinvent the phone. What's the killer app? The killer app is making calls! It's amazing how hard it is to make calls on most phones. We want to let you use contacts like never before - sync your iPhone with your PC or mac.

toscane tourisme said...

Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.

buy diazepam said...

Nice post and right to the point. I am not sure if this is actually the best place to ask but do you folks have any ideea where to hire some professional writers? Thanks in advance 

Anonymous said...

This article gives the light in which we can observe the reality. This is very nice one and gives indepth information. Thanks for this nice article.

kiranjee17 said...

Thanks you very much for sharing these links. Will definitely check this out..
Online Casino Marketing

jhoney said...

The real sin against life is to abuse and destroy beauty, even one's own even more, one's own, for that has been put in our care and we are responsible for its well-being.
diazepam online pharmacy

jhoney said...

Very Useful information, this is both good reading for, have quite a few good key points and I learn some new stuff from it too.
diazepam online purchase

Regalos Originales said...

Nice post and right to the point. I am not sure if this is actually the best place to ask but do you folks have any ideea where to hire some professional writers? Thanks in advance 

Rebajas said...

Productos hasta 85% de Descuento. Envío en 24-48h. Productos de Cocina, Electrónica y Electrodomésticos, Hogar, Perfumes y Cosmética, Regalos, Salud y Belleza, Fitness y Deportes

Regalos said...

Productos hasta 85% de Descuento. Envío en 24-48h. Productos de Cocina, Electrónica y Electrodomésticos, Hogar, Perfumes y Cosmética, Regalos, Salud y Belleza, Fitness y Deportes

Unknown said...

Howdy! I know this is kind of off topic but I was wondering which blog platform are you using for this site? I’m getting fed up of WordPress because I’ve had issues with hackers and I’m looking at options for another platform. I would be fantastic if you could point me in the direction of a good platform.
zolpidem online

Unknown said...

Awesome article! I want people to know just how good this information is in your article. It’s interesting, compelling content. Your views are much like my own concerning this subject.
zopiclone online

Unknown said...

i read numerous stuff AS WELL AS when i found how the means of writing in order to clearifing The item exactly want to say was very good and so now i am impressed AND ilike in order to come again within future
Buy Sleeping Tablets Online

Buy 1 Million Facebook Fans said...

Really you have done great job,There are may person searching about that now they will find enough resources by your post.I like this blog..

Buy 1 Million Facebook Fans said...

Really you have done great job,There are may person searching about that now they will find enough resources by your post.I like this blog..

Buy 1 Million Facebook Fans said...

Really you have done great job,There are may person searching about that now they will find enough resources by your post.I like this blog..

Buy 1 Million Facebook Likes said...

This is a nice post in an interesting line of content.Thanks for sharing this article, great way of bring this topic to discussion.

mical3211 said...

It should be noted that whilst ordering papers for sale at paper writing service, you can get unkind attitude. In case you feel that the bureau is trying to cheat you,
Buy Facebook Likes

jhoney said...

I was looking at some of your posts on this website and I conceive this web site is really instructive! Keep putting up..
bsn pins

kiranjee17 said...

On my first visit i really got surprised while stumbling upon these categories of blog reviews written here, i awaited a lot for this and now finally got the solution here only.
floral mehndi collection

hallsarah204@gmail.com said...

Generally, your article is well-written and I like your writing style! This cheap essay writing service is the best resource for young people of all backgrounds! Keep it up!

Kerry Darlington said...

Lovely post. It gives a great insight. Well written.

Leigh Lambert said...

My good friend just sent me this article. Great read. How do I subscribe for more?

Ladies Scarves said...

Fascinating insight. We would love to connect our website with yours - do let us know if it is of interest.