Programming challenge

[sarossell]

I figured it would be fairly easy to do. It would be important to maintain proper image resolution and pixel density so the Retina model icons look decent. I suppose the files could be saved to Dropbox in a folder for download to the desktop for Xcode development. So, you doing this? I'd love to see what you come up with.

[rbytes]

Still mulling it over. I have a couple of other things I am working on first.

[sarossell]

I know what you mean. I just bit off more than I can chew with a sci-fi four-book series rewrite my editor wanted LAST year, two books on mobile solar power systems, and now four database iOS apps. Ah well, better to be busy than bored.

[Henko]

Well, I certainly would never suggest preventing the development of an app in the Widows world to help convert the poor souls to a proper Mac environment.

Could we PLEASE not start that very boring issue in this forum, and stay on-topic. There must be other forums where you can curse "Widows" and its poor users.

As for your "challenge", can you explain what the specific problem(s) are that you encountered, other than available time or coding experience? Are there any "intellectual" challenges in it? (I am a Widows user, so do not count me in on that aspect)

[Mr. Kibernetik]

Sure, there are benefits to using Windows and my attitude is each to their own. It's just not my preferred platform. I enjoy the Apple ecosystem. I used to be exclusively Windows, but after Microsoft insulted the world with Vista following a stellar track record with XP, I moved on. Windows 7 didn't impress me enough to return and Windows 8/8.1 was yet another slap in the face. Now that Win 10 is out, I just have a very difficult time caring now that everything in my world "just works" with Apple.

Microsoft has changed a lot last couple of years. Actually it looks like another company than it was before
But what is more interesting, since their renovation they have introduced a UWP (universal windows platform) - the approach when the same app works on any device (desktop, tablet, smartphone). Developer can create a single app and it can be installed anywhere. And these apps are fine both for mouse and multitouch interaction. I am using all my latest Windows apps both on notebook and smartphone.
And what is also interesting, their policy to developers is very friendly. In Microsoft, you can pay only 10$ once, and you are forever a Windows developer, and your apps will always stay selling in the Store. In Apple, for example, you have to pay 100$ every year, otherwise all your apps will be immediately removed from App Store.

[sarossell]

Well, I certainly would never suggest preventing the development of an app in the Widows world to help convert the poor souls to a proper Mac environment.

Could we PLEASE not start that very boring issue in this forum, and stay on-topic. There must be other forums where you can curse "Widows" and its poor users.

As for your "challenge", can you explain what the specific problem(s) are that you encountered, other than available time or coding experience? Are there any "intellectual" challenges in it? (I am a Widows user, so do not count me in on that aspect)

Ah, mea culpa Henko. Of course. My sarcasm turned to sharp insult. My apologies everyone.

In fact, in light of Mr. K's comments, my opinions regarding Windows may well be out of date considering their latest hardware achievements and UWC platform.

Regarding the challenge, I suspect that the toughest technical aspect would be the simple act of saving the various PNG files in one folder on Dropbox for delivery, currently a task beyond my experience.

Now, Trump...{just kidding!!!!}

[sarossell]

Well, I certainly would never suggest preventing the development of an app in the Widows world to help convert the poor souls to a proper Mac environment.

Could we PLEASE not start that very boring issue in this forum, and stay on-topic. There must be other forums where you can curse "Widows" and its poor users.

As for your "challenge", can you explain what the specific problem(s) are that you encountered, other than available time or coding experience? Are there any "intellectual" challenges in it? (I am a Widows user, so do not count me in on that aspect)

Ah, mea culpa Henko. Of course. My sarcasm turned to sharp insult. My apologies everyone.

In fact, in light of Mr. K's comments, my opinions regarding Windows may well be out of date considering their latest hardware achievements and UWP platform.

Regarding the challenge, I suspect that the toughest technical aspect would be the simple act of saving the various PNG files in one folder on Dropbox for delivery, currently a task beyond my experience.

Now, Trump...{just kidding!!!!}

Well, I certainly would never suggest preventing the development of an app in the Widows world to help convert the poor souls to a proper Mac environment.

Could we PLEASE not start that very boring issue in this forum, and stay on-topic. There must be other forums where you can curse "Widows" and its poor users.

As for your "challenge", can you explain what the specific problem(s) are that you encountered, other than available time or coding experience? Are there any "intellectual" challenges in it? (I am a Widows user, so do not count me in on that aspect)

[sarossell]

Food for thought indeed, Mr. K. I quite rightfully got the knuckles from Mr. Henko, so thanks for the softer palm with a convincing argument.

[rbytes]

Just re-read the challenge. Smart Basic could very easily resize and name icons and save them into a folder. You would then have to copy the folder to DropBox manually, as currently there is no command that can load from or save to Dropbox. Pretty simple, though. It just requires a copy and paste.

Regarding the Windows-Mac kerfuffle (does anyone else know that word?) - most of my career was in a post-secondary technical institute, and the same sparring went on there constantly. We had graphic arts instructors who were Mac to the core, and computer science instructors who only spoke PC and thought Macs were toys.

Both platforms have come a long way, and I enjoy working with each of them.

[sarossell]

Kerfuffle...that was the name of the dog in Fraggle Rock, right?

It sounds like everyone has a decent grasp of the challenge. I'll bet someone could knock it out over a weekend...someone with more experience than me that is. I'm still trying to wrap my head around how to create a database app using arrays. I wrote an address book program back in the early 80s, so I'm fairly confident I can figure it out. I'm just wondering how iOS handles data files during an app version update. I imagine there must be a directory for user data that isn't overwritten with the new .ipa file.

What I'm hearing from the Windows camp these days is that the OS is lot more stable with Windows 10. Do you find that to be true? My only complaint with Windows was the constant crashing starting with Vista. I've NEVER had a Mac crash on me. Of course, as a Mac user, I suffer from lack of options for applications. Where Windows benefits from a seemingly endless number of options, with the Mac you've got two, maybe three decent options for standard applications like FTP clients, terminal, and even calculators. "Decent" being the operative word. Most Mac software is either good or great, while PC software can be anywhere along the spectrum...but a lot more options to choose from. I must admit though, Microsoft Office for Mac is better than Apple's endeavors.