Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cs.utexas.edu!sun-barr!newstop!sun!coherent!dplatt From: dplatt@coherent.com (Dave Platt) Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.programmer Subject: Re: Virtual Finder Message-ID: <44580@improper.coherent.com> Date: 13 Jan 90 02:18:00 GMT References: <104700068@p.cs.uiuc.edu> <917@appleoz.oz.au> <2707@draken.nada.kth.se> Reply-To: dplatt@coherent.com (Dave Platt) Organization: Coherent Thought Inc., Palo Alto CA Lines: 88 In article <2707@draken.nada.kth.se> d88-jwa@nada.kth.se (Jon W{tte) writes: > In article <917@appleoz.oz.au> ksand@appleoz.oz.AU (Kent Sandvik) writes: > > >It seems like the worry is not ot have access to the latest interfaces > >for System 7 programming. Well, there's always the possibility to become > >a registered programmer if you have a good idea. It is the product and > >the ideas that count. > > And the goddamn *&%$ MONEY ! $1000 is mcuh money to a lowly > college student, and if I want to give the thing away I'll > never get the money back. > > >Hmm, compare the Apple Developer program with the one on the PC side, hey > >there is none for the PC programmers... And if you want to become an OS/2 > >developer, you need even more cash. > > Yeah, right, "THe'ry worse so we're good". Sure. Hey, cool down, guys! Please take note of the fact that the $1000 figure did NOT come out of Apple. It was included in an article (104700068@p.cs.uiuc.edu) which was a somewhat sarcastic and cynical prediction of what the System 7.0 release terms might be like. This article appears to be an "If this goes on..." extrapolation of what life might be like if all the worst Apple policies and mistakes were extended to the point of utter ridiculousness. Go back and read the article, please! I'd be the last person to say that Apple always does everything in a wonderful, developer-friendly fashion. It's true that certain valuable (and often important) information comes out late... I'm still waiting to see an official, cleaned-up Tech Note writeup on the 32-bit Color QuickDraw code, which has been out since last May. It's true that Apple doesn't always make it easy to stay within the rules... they do, sometimes, change the System in a way which causes previously- conforming code to break. NEVERTHELESS, it is _entirely_ possible for people to write clean, effective, and flexible code which takes good advantage of the Mac's capabilities, and which can survive changes in the OS, WITHOUT having to sign up as Partners or Associates. You do NOT have to invest $600 or more for a one-year Partnership to get the info you need. You can do quite well with a copy of Inside Mac I through V, a reasonably up-to-date set of Tech Notes, and a few odd items from APDA. That's what I had when I wrote MandelZot, and Eradicat'Em... I've never been a Partner nor an Associate. If you can afford a Mac at all, you can almost certainly afford every piece of documentation that you need to do an effective job of writing Mac software. Yes, it's true that there is some detailed tech information that isn't currently available to anybody other than Apple insiders, Partners, and Associates. Most of this seems to be low-level information needed only if you're going to _really_ be getting intimate with the innards of the Operating System and Toolbox... and a lot of it is the sort of thing which is naturally subject to change from one release to the next. Apple hasn't been perfect at assuring compatibility from one release to the next. Sometimes they make mistakes, and break things. Sometimes they decide to rethink some earlier design decisions, and rework the guts of one Manager or another in the interests of future growth. Nevertheless, I feel that they're doing a very credible job. Yes, it may take Apple a while to get all of the tech-documentation for System 7.0 into everybody's hands. That's probably inevitable... 7.0 is a _big_ change, there's a lot of work to be done, and some aspects of 7.1 will probably change again in the release which follows (7.1 or whatever). I don't doubt that Apple will document 7.0 as soon as is practical. If you're simply writing "hobby" programs, or software that you plan to give away, then it doesn't seem unreasonable to wait until System 7.0 is out, is solid, and is adequately documented before you start writing code which depends on its new features. If you "absolutely, positively, gotta" have your code ready to hit the street the moment that 7.0 is released, then it's not unreasonable to pay the price for some hand- holding and pre-release support from Apple's DTS group. Yes, it would be nice if Apple were to subsidize its DTS group, and APDA, more than they do... so that these groups could afford to provide support products and services below their real cost, in the interest of encouraging good product development. However, I'm not about to hold my breath waiting for Apple (or _any_ large American company) to start giving away money in this way. It's rarely done. -- Dave Platt VOICE: (415) 493-8805 UUCP: ...!{ames,apple,uunet}!coherent!dplatt DOMAIN: dplatt@coherent.com INTERNET: coherent!dplatt@ames.arpa, ...@uunet.uu.net USNAIL: Coherent Thought Inc. 3350 West Bayshore #205 Palo Alto CA 94303