Thread: Some progress on the application...

Maybe a note on the controls - the application was designed around for PowerMate, 5-way hatch switch or similar device. These need to generate following keyboard codes:

Apple + 4: push + turn left
Apple + 5: long push
Apple + 6: push + turn right
Apple + 7: turn left
Apple + 8: push (click)
Apple + 9: turn right

When you play around with the app on the computer, you can control it by using these shortcuts. These shortucts are assigned to the menu items (see the NIB in main app project) and cause messages to be sent to the application that distributes them to view and other GUI elements. By default for example click action sent to the button causes it to imitate a mouse click (and invoke connected action), turn left and right cause previous/next control to be highlighted etc. If you use another input device, that has more input channels/switches, you can add more actions to the menu and application, using the current ones as an example.

Using categories, it is easy to make almost any NSControl aware of these actions and controllable by the simple input element such as PowerMate - a good example can be found in the Online Services module, where turn left and turn right are used to scroll thru the NSTableView with list of cameras/URLs. Another example is JJStepper - a mutant between NSStepper and NSTextField that allows setting numerical (but in principle also alphanumerical) values using a rotating knob.

I will try to make an overview of the notifications that presently exist - this is quite important to allow collaboration of modules from other people, which should otherwise be easy, because of the standard API. I already have a template for new module project, will post it probably tmorrow.

BTW: the MP3 player is a bit messy - it uses AppleScript to control iTunes and reading status and storing current position does not always work. I will hopefully get some time to clean it up during my holidays in few weeks...

P.S. any new ideas on what modules we could make?

Originally Posted by Qbancash

I'm really having trouble compiling... Would you be kind enought to compile a version for me? I realy would like to try the app out...

A package of binaries is here:

http://homepage.mac.com/jirka.jirout...y-20050724.tgz

it contains the host app, system menu module (night view, launch defined movie player and nav application, sleep, turn off), clock, online services, countdown timer (multi-instance, go to Settings to create - Apple+S) and the required compass module (which does not do anything at the moment).

Awesome !!

A module for radioshark would be neat....
http://www.griffintechnology.com/sof...adioshark.html

Thanks

WOW! this is a great improvement on the previous version. I have been playing around with it for a while making it more touch screen friendly but now its even better! great job I still need to find out how to make all the cool distance/fuel/temp. counters you have though.

Originally Posted by Micco

Jikra, I've managed to get it compiled and running, but I can only get the compass module loaded. Could you give us a primer on how/where it looks for modules? I've tried to find it in the source, but it's going to take a bit before I understand the architecture

All the modules must be in the same folder as the host application. The easiest way to do this is to redirect the output of XCode so all projects are built into the same location (XCode preferences->Building).

Module loading is implemented in PSModuleLoading.m, but you should not need to understand the architecture too much. All you need is the API for modules, defined in "Server.h" (the OCSGeneralModule protocol).

Originally Posted by bcohen5055

WOW! this is a great improvement on the previous version. I have been playing around with it for a while making it more touch screen friendly but now its even better!

May I ask what you added for touchscreen support? Would it be possible to get your source code? It seems I am an exception and most people like touch screens so we could eventually include your changes in the app as standard part.

great job I still need to find out how to make all the cool distance/fuel/temp. counters you have though.

You can use my counters as they are. What you have to figure out is a way of getting the data from your car and then make a module, that gets the data and turns it into standard notifications my modules can process... Look at T613Input and GB600Input modules, I should also have a GPS (NMEA) module somewhere, will try to find it probably tomorrow.

Originally Posted by raceer

A module for radioshark would be neat....
http://www.griffintechnology.com/sof...adioshark.html

Is there some documented API or is the Radioshark software scriptable? I do not have this tuner and do not plan to buy one, because of the lack of RDS support and dubious quality of reception. However I can try to make a skeleton of a module, but someone would have to fill in the code that actually interfaces with Radioshark hardware.