Random Thoughts

1. Don't rely on a compiler extension when doing platform indepedent code

You will never know when your code will hit a compiler you did not anticipate. Keep it cleanand simpleand don't try to be smart. Consistency is key in writing alot of components. Avoid using tricks because their value will decrease over time because you will lose track of the tricks you used.

2. Using a 'better' language (C++, C#) will not reduce the real complexity which is the number of components you need to write and thier dependencies and relationships.

3. Consistency in API function and component naming is sometimes more important than the implementation itself since the implementation can be refactored while an API mostly cannot be changed.

Just a few things that come to mind when writing code for Screens. I am still active on the project and spend between 1-2 hours a day on Screens now thanks to my HP Mini-Note 2133.

I have not got to the graphics code just yet, but I am very close to try it out.

Why is Screens is taking so long?

Screens Environment has been going since 2002 and still no releases have made the light of day. There is a single reason why Screens has taken so long and why I have no idea when it will be released. Its not because I lack time or interest. Its because of the object storage.

If you look at the object oriented OS projects, none of them have made mainstream because they are not practical enough, too complex, too slow and still stuck in a concept. There are many companies trying to bring object oriented concepts to file systems just like me and just like me are still stuck.

If I was not making the object storage, I would of finished Screens long ago but then again the object storage is such a radical change that Screens would not be the same without it. In fact, the object storage would be the main difference between Screens and other middleware platforms.

I need luck, time and persistence to find a combination that works.

Component Oriented Programming

The difference between component oriented programming and object oriented programming is focus. In object oriented programming the focus is the objects themselves which is why you access methods through objects like this:

CoreObject * object = new CoreObject;

object->rename("My Object");

In component oriented programming the focus is the components and objects are just placeholders for instances like this:

CoreObject * object = CoreObjectNew();

CoreObjectRename(object, "My Object");

It looks like procedural programming but the difference is that it uses objects. One of the reasons object oriented programming has never able to become a file system is because when objects are created, they are stuck in stone in their definition. While their properties can be modified, you cannot add/remove properties. In component oriented programming, an object is just a placeholder where you attach/detach components to objects. Each component has a data definition associated with it. Because of this, when you attach an object to a component, you attach private data of the component to the object. Each component only accesses its private data per object and does not read or write another component data directly but rather uses the API provided by the other components.

That is component oriented programming in a nutshell.

Twitter

I am going to try and use twitter for quicker updates on development and keep the blog for more milestones and other news,

follow me at http://twitter.com/zhamilton1 for some live development updates on how code is the Screens code is evolving and the issues I face daily.

New Born Baby Girl

Hi Everyone,

Sorry for the lack of updates, I was at my wifes parents house for the last 3 weeks, so not only could I not do any coding but internet access was not as spiffy.

My wife had birth to our new baby girl at 22:25 last night (monday night) weighing 3.780 kg in her 41st pregnancy week. The baby is beautiful (but then again, I am biased) and is healthy and doing very well. This is my second child with a nearly two year old boy and a less than 1 day old girl, I am a complete family. Oh and we have a dog and two cats, just keep the mix.

Screens Environment will resume in code when I return home, but I am having been writing ideas and comments on my iPod touch. Because Screens Environment is multi-platform, the actual interaction I have to do with PalmOS is minimal at the moment.

Update

1. No Worries
Don't worry... This is nothing to do with the state of PalmOS or Screens. I don't want to say anything just in case something does not happen as planned but I will not be very active on Screens in the next few weeks for some family prime-time.

2. Technical improvements
I have uploaded the latest code for the shell bar and while it does not display anything at the moment on the bar (apart from an empty gray slice), the code is ready for loading the menu items from the xml but I still need to write a bit of code for displaying them in the menu list which is not very much code at all thanks to the UIList component which does most of the work for me. I can't wait to show you all an early demo of the slider which while it won't look up to snuff, it should be enough to rub your imaginations of what it could be in the future.

3. Platform status
PalmOS is not in the best of shape at the moment and at the looks of things windows mobile is a little stale as well. Apple's iPhone seems to be the new kid on the block and hopefully won't suffer the same slowdown in a few years as PalmOS and Windows Mobile have suffered. I just bought an iPod Touch... Not for Screens but for personal productivity. I will keep my LifeDrive around for Screens development. I am not changing development sides but I need a device that won't crash all the time and the iPod Touch seems to cover that need.

4. Hope for the future
Screens is still alive and kicking better than ever before and I hope you agree with me after the last few months of great activity. I am amazed how suddenly everything has been going great for Screens, how I am able to get so much done after so many years for absolute nothing. Thanks for keeping an eye on this blog, I hope the blog gets more interesting as time goes by as I pile the features on and getting Screens ready for the 1.0 release. Hopefully it will be this year but looking at my record, don't take my word for it.