Mockups

I constantly get requests to create mockups. The problem with this is that I dont have the right tools to do them (I used MSPaint on ALL of the mockups and I dont like GIMP) but the more main reason is because the mockups would not reflect any 'real' part of Screens. So when will we see mockups? When the layers component is coded I can create mockups. Why? Because the layers component reflects the graphics capabilities so any mockup I create through the layer component is doable later on. So instead of creating effects I dont know I can support, using the layers component becomes a semi-screenshot. Also the vectoring allows me to produce multiple resolutions of the same mockup. How long is left? I have a schedule but just as all my schedules it is built on a 'everything works' schedule so I prefer not to disclose it at the moment but I am working very hard (every day) to get there as soon as possible. The layers component is just after the core component so the core basicly is the 'sign' that Screens Environment is doable. Patience... if you want to help chat with me via MSN when you can... I am pushing myself as hard as I can without breaking my back.

What a journey

I was just browsing through one of my old (huge... 39 pages) of posts at 1Src (used to be ClieSource). Here is the link but be carefull... it's long http://www.1src.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5646&page=1&pp=15 It's quite amusing how it has taken me... Alot has happened... Got married is one of them which has been a wonderful experience so far ;) The biggest lesson I have learnt... resist pressure of releasing a product you dont want to. I look at my today's design and it's not the functionality but the design. It's much more mature and more powerful and flexible and most important: Simple Many of the 1Src users will probably be laughing if they get to see a working demo of this environment because frankly I stopped believing sometimes that this project would ever see the light of day. It's been a great journey and I am proud of it. You might notice the sudden 'kill' at the end of the thread... I got a few hard private messages which made me go down under untill I got this blog going. So here is a set of old mockups that were made: (notice the differences) http://www.geocities.com/zhamilton1/Battery.bmp http://www.geocities.com/zhamilton1/Main.gif http://www.geocities.com/zhamilton1/SL-5-15a-3.gif http://www.geocities.com/zhamilton1/SL-6-1a.bmp http://www.geocities.com/zhamilton1/SL-6-22.bmp http://www.geocities.com/zhamilton1/SL-7-4.bmp Here you will find a huge collection of mockups I made throughout the years: http://www.geocities.com/zhamilton1/MyPictures.zip If tapping does not work on the geocities links do a save as (right click->Save as) because sometimes geocities does not allow direct linking. This should give a few of you (who have been with me for sometime) some nostalgic feeling. I got alot of good memories just flipping through the mockups. Enjoy!

Update - Coding the list component

So... last week was very busy... I finished the data component but then when I started coding the list component I found a missing data function (DataCopy) so I finished on thursday coding & testing the function. This is used alot in the list component when moving buffers around. I have already finished coding the ListNew function and should finish the entire component by the end of this week but it might not happen because of other things in my life which are overlapping but this is plain coding time not design time. The list component's design is fine. I should find time to write a few more editorials soon so keep a look out on parts of Screens vision. Bottom line is so far... so good

Update - Data component done

The data component has been coded, tested and it works! Things are moving fast and I am working extremely hard to finish this core as fast as possible. The source code has been in a comment line then function line design so it is very easy for me to reread the code (which I forget very fast). The next component is the list component. Hope to finish that soon so I can get to the meat of the core which is the object & links component. The list component has no problems in it's design so the coding should go very quickly (especially since its only using the data functions). I have a private schedule which so far I am way head of but still keeping it intact just in case I get stuck (probably in the object and links component). That's the programming barrier I have at the moment, so once I pass that it's all downhill for the core.

Update - Were on the way

Ready, Set, Go... we are on our way. Coding has started. I have already finished two functions of the data component and should finish the rest of them by next week. The perspectives are better than I thought and by making differences between the internal API, private API and public API it allows the internals to be completely covered (developers can only use public API's). The next component: List List takes a data allocation (from the data component) and allows to create an array of fixed structures. This is used to make the relationship lists, object lists and so on. This is a private component and therefore has no public API. You will start seeing 'effect demos' when I finish the core (since the component after that is the layers component). One of my favourite effects will be when a layer is updated/shown/hidden it will not just update the display but transparently appearing forward while the old layer state transparently fading to the background. This will be great for transistions between panels and showing/hiding windows. The effect will be disabled on devices that are not color (grayscale) or that it's too slow. Note that all animations get cut down by the speed of the device. This means that the effects will hardly ever slow down performance. The effect demos should show some things that Screens will able to do since the layers is the heart of the drawing design.

Update

So here we go... I have been spending alot of time this weekend researching and thinking about the code aspect like the use of the SysAppLaunch function used to pass control between function calls (using the ScrAppLaunchCode launch code). If anyone wants to know the speed of the SysAppLaunch try changing the time in the prefs app and quickly tap the find silk button and count the number of seconds it takes for the find dialog to show. This is going through every application's PilotMain even if it returns straight away on most apps. I have also made sure that this method is compatible with PalmOS Cobalt. The object component API has now numbered sub components and I am getting closer to the end of the perspective design and naming the functions. Once the function naming of the core (the object component) is done I can start coding the data sub component (hopefully). Screens is moving along and is showing more and more opportunity as time goes by. I have decided that by releasing the final release (demos will only be for PalmOS) on both PalmOS and PocketPC at once will allow Screens to get more users and because the changes are minimal, there is no 'cost' for the porting. The only problem is that code written for PalmOS wont work on PocketPC and visa versa. I might think about using java since it's platform-independent and all it needs to do anyway is call the Screens API. However drivers or any software which uses API's outside of Screens should be natively coded. If I could get the java idea to work it would allow the core to be natively coded and most of the other apps to be java compiled.