Path: utzoo!utgpu!watserv1!watmath!att!dptg!ulysses!andante!mit-eddie!media-lab!snorkelwacker!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!uc!nic.MR.NET!nic.stolaf.edu!agnes.acc.stolaf.edu!sobiloff
From: sobiloff@agnes.acc.stolaf.edu (Chrome Cboy)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.programmer
Subject: Re: AppMaker and Prototyper
Message-ID: <1990Jul16.130637.18270@acc.stolaf.edu>
Date: 16 Jul 90 13:06:37 GMT
References: <90187.184716KPURCELL@LIVERPOOL.AC.UK>
Sender: news@acc.stolaf.edu
Reply-To: sobiloff@agnes.acc.stolaf.edu (Chrome Cboy)
Organization: St. Olaf College; Northfield, MN
Lines: 46

In article <90187.184716KPURCELL@LIVERPOOL.AC.UK> KPURCELL@LIVERPOOL.AC.UK writes:
>[...] Anybody used both? I have heard that the
>code is smaller and nicer out of AppMaker, but the UI and demo facilities in
>Prototyper are better (why is it always this way :-)
>
>I'd like to hear your opinions -- I'll summerise an post if
>there is interest.

I haven't used AppMaker, but I am currently using Prototyper to work on my
first "real" Mac program, so this is from a novice's POV.

Prototyper is fairly nice to work with when you are mocking-up a program's
interface--the construction is like a nice blend of MacDraw and HyperCard.
The program, though, does seem to be a bit rough around the edges--just look
at the README file that comes with it and you'll understand what I mean. It
admits to several small (albeit slightly annoying) bugs (like losing the names
of fields and buttons). I hear that version 3 is supposedly almost gold, so
I'll have to wait and see what gets fixed.

The code that is generated has helped me get a handle on Mac programming, but
it sure isn't very high-quality stuff. No utilization of objects for THINK C
programmers, either, but then again I guess v.2 came out before TC4. :-) Any-
way, the code works, which is most important, and is certainly readable 
enough (esp. with the verbose option on) that a novice like me can figure it
out fairly easily.

An earlier poster remarked on what a pain it was to go back and make
modifications to the prototype--YES! I guess AppMaker is better in this
respect...

One funky error I had when using the program (#include novice_error) was that
I forgot to delete the default "Static Text" from inside a couple of edit text
fields before running the code generator. When I tried using ResEdit to
edit the resource directly the darned words wouldn't go away! According to
ResEdit the words were vapor, but every time I ran the program they still
appeared... I finally had to re-generate the code all over to get rid of 'em.
I guess the words were stored somewhere in the code????

Anyway, I'd give the product a "B/B+" rating: a good aid for novices, even if
it's a little rough around the edges. :-)
							-CCb
--
Sig file? I don't know what to put in my .sig file! I could bitch about the
bozo who hit my car and left without a trace, but that wouldn't be interesting.
I could offer some nugget of wisdom! "You win, you lose. You lose, you lose.
You break even, you lose. You just plain lose." There. Happy now? So what... :-)