Do Something Challenging
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Written by Thom McGrath on Friday, September 25, 2009 at 10:55 AM (-05:00)
Categories: General (24)
Tags: Coding (1), Projects (1), REALbasic (16)

Most of the code on this website is the result of me actually needing the code in one of my own projects, but some of it, such as the HIToolbar classes and my ArchDetect project, are the result of me challenging myself in an effort to "keep my skills sharp."

ArchDetect was a challenge because it required low-level C operations to detect the architectures (I don't know C, that's why it's significant) and I used Cocoa which I was pretty new to me at the time. Its also multi-threaded, which is always a pain on any platform.

HIToolbar was a challenge because I was fairly new to declares, and the model required by the OS does not fit with REALbasic's method of doing things at all (this very point has caused some lengthy discussions about the REALbasic toolbar as well).

I've taken on another challenge: OSCAR. OSCAR is the protocol used by AIM and ICQ, so the module will naturally allow the developer to quickly build an AIM client like iChat, Adium, or Pidgin. I've already got it logging in and retrieving the user's buddy list.

While I considered proposing to have the code built into REALbasic, I think it's just far too much of a niche to warrant building into the framework. Its seriously a niche market, I might get one or two developers using it at best. But I'm not doing it because there is a need in the market, I'm doing it because it is difficult.

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Disclaimer: I am currently an employee of REAL Software. My comments and opinions are mine alone and do not represent those of my employer. My posts are not official REAL Software communications, and may contain information that is incorrect or misleading.