Devjuice Articles on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog

DevJuice: Spark Inspector offers real time iOS interface inpection

by Erica Sadun (May 18th, 2013)

Spark Inspector (US$39.99 single-license) offers an exciting new development tool. Targeting devs looking to refine their user interfaces, it enables you to interactively tweak view properties like frames and layers. The app centers around an Interface Builder-like experience, with ...

DevJuice: Apple's ObjC-JavaScript Bridge

by Erica Sadun (May 17th, 2013)

In a new post at his Steamclock Software blog, Nigel Brooke writes how Apple has added new Objective-C-to-Javascript bridging to WebKit: "This new API supports straightforward embedding of the JavaScriptCore interpreter into native Objective-C projects, including reading and writing variables ...

DevJuice: Does WWDC need a lottery system?

by Erica Sadun (Apr 25th, 2013)

WWDC sold out in just minutes this year. As iOS developer Josh Avant put it, "Next year, tickets are going to sell out before they even go on sale." Many developers were greeted by server errors, failed purchases and the "Sorry, tickets are sold out" banner. Others, like Daniel Jalkut of ...

DevJuice: Better Objective-C associated objects

by Erica Sadun (Apr 10th, 2013)

iOS/OS X internals guru Gwynne Raskind tipped me off to a much better way of creating associated object keys. Until now, I've been doing this: static const char nametag_key; return objc_getAssociatedObject(self, (void *) &nametag_key); Turns out there's a much easier and better way. ...

DevJuice: Three useful Xcode tricks

by Erica Sadun (Apr 8th, 2013)

Some Xcode challenges seem to crop up repeatedly. Today, I thought I'd share a few solutions that you might find helpful to integrate into your workflow. Challenge: When you move an Xcode project to a new folder, all your file references die. Solution: Avoid those red "can't find" file ...

DevJuice: Provisioning portal redesigned, allows deletion of some App IDs

by Erica Sadun (Apr 7th, 2013)

We've been hearing from various delighted developers this weekend responding to Apple's redesigned provisioning portal. And yes, you can now delete many (not all) App IDs from the portal. The newer the ID, the more likely it seems to be that you'll be able to select it, configure its ...

DevJuice: WebCode premieres, generates JavaScript+Canvas

by Erica Sadun (Apr 4th, 2013)

As I've been working on a new book on iOS Quartz Drawing, I've been using PixelCut's PaintCode app pretty heavily. Today, a new PixelCut tool just hit the Mac App Store. WebCode (US$49.99) generates JavaScript+Canvas, CSS+HTML or SVG code on your behalf. If you've used PaintCode, WebCode will ...

DevJuice: Preview of Fasten dev utility

by Erica Sadun (Mar 31st, 2013)

Today, I got a peek at a little utility that converts iTunes URLs to more readable App Store versions. From developer Moshe Berman, Fasten automates the process Apple described in QA 1633. I found the app easy to use and a great timesaver. Berman tells me that it's in the review queue as I ...

DevJuice: Apple will no longer accept apps that use UDID calls starting May 1

by Erica Sadun (Mar 21st, 2013)

Apple has posted a warning on their developer news site that they will no longer accept apps that reference the unique device identifier, starting May 1. It writes, "Starting May 1, the App Store will no longer accept new apps or app updates that access UDIDs. Please update your apps and ...

DevJuice: Beginning Objective-C

by Erica Sadun (Mar 18th, 2013)

Jim Dovey and Ash Furrow just released Beginning Objective-C. It is subtitled "Get started with programming the fast-growing language." It is not, however, really aimed at new programmers. Unlike Aaron Hillegass's superb Objective C Programming: The Big Nerd Ranch Guide, the book expects a ...

DevJuice: PaintCode offers new Photoshop import IAP

by Erica Sadun (Mar 15th, 2013)

See the bunny in the screenshot to the right? It started life as a Photoshop shape. As you see it there in the simulator, it's now a UIBezierPath. It got there courtesy of PaintCode. I first reviewed PaintCode last year. It offers a high-end resolution-independent design tool for transforming ...

DevJuice: Sneaking a peek at Bill Van Hecke's upcoming book

by Erica Sadun (Mar 11th, 2013)

If the name William Van Hecke doesn't ring a bell, he's the User Experience Lead for The Omni Group. He's the guy behind those beautiful interfaces, or as he puts it, "I try to make Omni Group software look presentable and behave politely." When my editor at Pearson said I could get a sneak ...

DevJuice: Spellchecking short strings

by Erica Sadun (Mar 4th, 2013)

A few years ago, xkcd created a crowd-sourced color survey to collected real-world hue descriptions. You'll find the hilarious results here. I've been working on updating my UIColor utilities as part of building a color-sampling app. Stumbling across this survey, I decided to add the xkcd ...

DevJuice: Apple exception snarks

by Erica Sadun (Feb 22nd, 2013)

Life is hard for Apple engineers. Long work hours, high demands and little exposure for individual achievement. That's why it constantly amuses devs to find little bits of humanity interspersed among their development tools. Incept Development's Dimitar Ivanov sent in an email today regarding ...

DevJuice: Kamcord offers in-game recording API

by Erica Sadun (Feb 13th, 2013)

Kamcord is an iOS solution that enables your users to record and share game play from inside your app. Available for both Cocos2D and Unity3D, developers can compile in the supporting framework (hosted at Github), register a developer key, and start shipping apps. Kamcord expand to Android later ...