Here are the first screenshots of Project Amanda. These are UI mockups done in Darkstar Layout and all the code is in XML and Javascript. Please understand that this is not a real application. This is a super-duper alpha and it might not get built at all.

Darkstar Layout does not support includes, but it does support Java components. So I am simply creating multiple Layout objects (com.teppefall.ds.layout.Layout) within one Layout object and replacing the layout at runtime through drag and drop. So these four UI states are actually made up of eight XML files. Each a component on its own and reusable in other applications.

Project Amanda might become a small rich Internet application developer environment. It is simply a remix of my current code base. Colorspace is the most downloaded application so far, so there might be some interest in fast, to the point, creative tools. I might use some of Adobe's RIA standards to keep things simple.

But again.. this is just me thinking out loud.

Posted by JP at 10:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Java on Mac OS X v10.5 Release Notes.

Posted by JP at 04:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

No Java 6 on Leopard.

People are pissed because they bought a Powerbook, read the Apple specific API's and learned about Info.plist's and app folders for then to see Panther without 1.5. And we upgraded to Tiger to get 1.5 and waited for 1.6. Which is not here.

Lets turn Chris's argument on its head. Why should I test web applications on Safari ? Why should I care about the iPhone or the iPod Touch ? 5,2 % of requests on my website comes from Safari users. Java is gigantic compared to Safari.

People want Leopard and fresh hardware. But no Java 6 equals no incentive to buy. A new cover flow finder just isn't enough :).

BTW - I support all the major browsers. But I can afford to.

Please remember that Apple Java 1.5 was late as well. And 1.6 is much more complex than 1.5 due to changes in the Apple Java 2D pipeline.

There might be a lot of boring compatibility problems. Mac users would cry like children if the fonts were just a tad ugly.

High quality eats time. That is my guess anyway.

Posted by JP at 02:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The new customer website is almost done. Teppefall.app (app.teppefall.com) is written in Teppefall Dynamics, OSCache, PostgreSQL and JSP/JSTL. It has a simple bookmark functionality similar to del.icio.us, search, a web store and now serves as the primary download page.

You are looking at XHTML 1.0 Strict, CSS 2.0 (dynamic min-width layouts), RSS/ATOM, JavaScript+XML (AJAX bookmarks, dynamic table sorting, image preview, RSS feeds) and PNG24 graphics.

Javascript libraries are Prototype, Scriptaculous, JQuery, JQuery Tablesorter, Lightbox and TwitterJS.

You should also check out the Teppefall Twitter feed. I sometimes add links pointing to desktop related articles and videos. I am very much Adobe's bitch, so it is very slanted/biased/slutty/etc.

Have a nice weekend.

Posted by JP at 03:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Something I am working on. Might be the next application. Who knows.

Posted by JP at 06:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Anyone who gets the stupid java.lang.AbstractMethodError exception when running a Darkstar FX script (the UI falls apart) must change D2DAdapter to D2DRenderer. Partially implemented abstract classes no longer work under Rhino 1.6.

Also, if you run into Javascript method overloading problems, like float versus int etc, then the solution is explicit type casting.

function fixColor(r, g, b) {
return new Color["(int,int,int)"](r,g,b)
}

Posted by JP at 10:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I have been playing a little with Kirill's SVG to Java transcoder and then manually converting the Java code into Javascript based Darkstar FX renderer's. Very tedious, but good fun nevertheless. I had less success with the SVG to JavaFX converter, but that might just be a case of me using old software.

There are at least four SVG importer pipelines available for Java, so there seems to be some interest in this.

• Batik


• Kirill Grouchnikov - SVG to Java transcoder (based on Batik)


• Chris Oliver - SVG to JavaFX transcoder


• Jasper Potts - SVGShapeExtractor
  

Posted by JP at 09:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

New features:

This is a library update with some compatibility fixes.

• Substance 4.0
• Rhino Javascript 1.6
• BSF 2.4

Other issues:

Colorspace - Disabled menu items have the wrong color and the hex color field is incorrectly painted. Professional users should use 1.5.3. until this is fixed.

FX/Layout on OS X – The “Open” menu item is disabled. Use drag and drop or modify the Info.plist so that the application no longer runs under a security policy. The problem should be in DSR.policy. You can also do a grant { AllPermission }.

DSR – Running under teppefall.chrome=false may cause your application to leak memory. Your application will fail after several days of use. Using the EXE parameter -Xchrome or the Java parameter -Dteppefall.chrome=true should fix it. Testing for this problem is slow since it sometimes takes 24 hours before you can tell there is a leak.

Software description

Colorspace is a universal color picker for web developers and designers. Darkstar Layout is a Java Swing UI builder based on the Darkstar XML (JFC) format. Darkstar FX lets you prototype Java 2D code in Javascript. DSR is a desktop and Web Start compatible runtime technology similar to Adobe AIR.

About Teppefall

Teppefall is a small private company specializing in user interfaces. We do websites, Java applications and whatever Adobe CS lets us do.

Posted by JP at 02:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)