Tools Plus

Volume Number: 12

Issue Number: 7

Column Tag: Programming Tools

Tools Plus 3.0

Paradise for “control” freaks

By Rich Parker

Everyone Wants

to Program the Mac

Almost all Mac owners, at one point or another, harbor a desire to program their own

machine. Some may be well served by products like HyperCard, but others just can’t

wait to learn C, C++, or Pascal, so that they can write the next “killer” application.

If they start programming by buying books that illustrate programs that use the

standard ANSI libraries, they might make quite a bit of progress in learning the

language and writing routines that use a “console” interface. At some point, though,

the realization sinks in that these aren’t “real” Mac applications, and then the trouble

begins. The age-old question that I see over and over again on the online services is:

“How do I get started writing ‘real’ Mac programs?”

Most people are directed to read one of Dave Mark’s or Dan Sydow’s fine books on

the subject of Mac programming for their favorite language, but these books provide

only the basic information needed to write “real” Mac programs. At some point, the

(now quite distressed) user is directed to the almighty gospel of Inside Macintosh to

further his or her knowledge. This is the point at which most budding programmers

wimp out, and I don’t really blame them. I think you will agree that trying to learn to

program the Mac by reading Inside Macintosh is like learning to play the piano by

studying the details of music composition.

So What’s the Alternative?

I think it’s well known in the developer community that I favor the use of application

frameworks. Developing Mac applications using PowerPlant, TCL, or MacApp is

something that comes easily to me. But I also recognize the negative aspects of these

frameworks, and readily admit that they are not a solution for all people or all

applications.

In the first place, most application frameworks demand much more memory than

would be required if one had the time to read, understand, and apply all of the

appropriate built-in Mac toolbox routines to the problem. But the difficulty of

understanding the Mac toolbox is equaled only by the steep learning curve of most of

the current application frameworks. So we are left with an almost insoluble problem

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