NSLog is turning out to be a bosom buddy. It has helped me to figure out what is going on where and how to fix problems. Or rather, cludge around problems at least. What is funny, is that all of what I am doing could end up being even poopier than I think it is. I haven't broken down yet and spent the $99 to become an apple developer so I can't put the application on my iPhone yet. A lot of people say that the simulator and the actual device end up having different issues. Sigh. Anyway, this was supposed to be a happy post about the wonders of NSLog. The main thing trick for me, especially when I have lots of NSLogs flying around or lying in wait, is to be as precise as possible in the message presented - so that I know which log is saying what to me when. And, tadah! After a few hours of work, I have gotten the preferences to work the way I expect them to work. Without nearly as much cludging as I thought I would have to do. Actually, this has given me an insight into how I can better streamline the app. One day....
Now, back to High Score persistence...
And when in doubt, do an exercise. The one I am doing now is an exercise on storyboarding from Big Nerd Ranch's iOS Programming. Yippee! Ok, that was silly. Fun, but silly. On to a webview application. Yippee!
And back to persistence. I am getting very close to being able to retain scores. Any month now...
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Fear of Experimentation
For some reason I have a fear of experimentation where my computer program is concerned. That is slightly irrational since I know that I can just undo the stuff I add fairly easily. Weird. This is one place that the fear of failure ought to be negligible.
What is giving me pause is the whole persistence thing. Saving things and then reloading them. So, I decided to take the plunge. I am using Big Nerd Ranch's IOS Programming Book (3rd Edition) and Beginning iOS 5 Development and morphing their examples into my application. It seemed like a pretty daunting task, to tell the truth. I have taken a few steps forward and a step or two back. It seems like it will eventually work. Maybe. Yay! Fear is the mindkiller!
A friend sent me an article yesterday about a guy who went from his deathbed to rich by selling apps. I think he has 40 of them. I don't know what they are or what they do, all I know is that the article depressed me, though I am sure that wasn't her intent. I think it was meant to be inspirational. Unfortunately, it didn't show me that all things are possible, it showed me that again, quantity and marketing are both more important than quality. And that luck is also important. As another friend pointed out, it was mainly an anecdote, and not a roadmap to success.
Ok, so I backed out of all the work I did and am going to work on something else for the time being. It is just going to take time and experimentation for me to get my head around it and get it all working. I think 10 years will be long enough...Wish me luck!
What is giving me pause is the whole persistence thing. Saving things and then reloading them. So, I decided to take the plunge. I am using Big Nerd Ranch's IOS Programming Book (3rd Edition) and Beginning iOS 5 Development and morphing their examples into my application. It seemed like a pretty daunting task, to tell the truth. I have taken a few steps forward and a step or two back. It seems like it will eventually work. Maybe. Yay! Fear is the mindkiller!
A friend sent me an article yesterday about a guy who went from his deathbed to rich by selling apps. I think he has 40 of them. I don't know what they are or what they do, all I know is that the article depressed me, though I am sure that wasn't her intent. I think it was meant to be inspirational. Unfortunately, it didn't show me that all things are possible, it showed me that again, quantity and marketing are both more important than quality. And that luck is also important. As another friend pointed out, it was mainly an anecdote, and not a roadmap to success.
Ok, so I backed out of all the work I did and am going to work on something else for the time being. It is just going to take time and experimentation for me to get my head around it and get it all working. I think 10 years will be long enough...Wish me luck!
Friday, April 13, 2012
Catching Up
Hello my two faithful followers! It is about time that I wrote something in the writing blog. About writing. Duh.
I have been keeping up with the blog, for the most part. I have taken a few days off this year - not many. But when I really had nothing to write, or when I got up too late, or when I got too absorbed in all of my other daily activities, the thing that got skipped was my blog. Part of me writes the blog just because I can. Because it is good writing practice. And as I have mentioned before, writing the blog is like a laxative, it keeps my writing from being less blocked. And that is a good thing.
Writing for the computer application is not the same thing at all. Similar, yet, but not the same. It certainly does require a bit of creativity, but not in the wording - that has to be, by definition, exact. But it still feels like writing. A game has to have a plot. And a through line. And characters, of course. The cool thing about a multimedia game is the addition of graphics and sound!
As I mentioned in my regular post today, I had a few thoughts about one of my writing projects - my self-help book. I am currently planning on this to be an e-book only. Unless I sell lots of them. Which is always possible (but in my life (says he sort of dejectedly) but not very likely. I will keep on plugging along, though...
I have been keeping up with the blog, for the most part. I have taken a few days off this year - not many. But when I really had nothing to write, or when I got up too late, or when I got too absorbed in all of my other daily activities, the thing that got skipped was my blog. Part of me writes the blog just because I can. Because it is good writing practice. And as I have mentioned before, writing the blog is like a laxative, it keeps my writing from being less blocked. And that is a good thing.
Writing for the computer application is not the same thing at all. Similar, yet, but not the same. It certainly does require a bit of creativity, but not in the wording - that has to be, by definition, exact. But it still feels like writing. A game has to have a plot. And a through line. And characters, of course. The cool thing about a multimedia game is the addition of graphics and sound!
As I mentioned in my regular post today, I had a few thoughts about one of my writing projects - my self-help book. I am currently planning on this to be an e-book only. Unless I sell lots of them. Which is always possible (but in my life (says he sort of dejectedly) but not very likely. I will keep on plugging along, though...
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