Re: Why has the Metrowerks sign been taken down?

>> - The lack of support for Interface Builder as evidenced by no bug
>> fixes in IB in the entire lifetime of the Panther version, way too many
>> consistent bugs, and too many limitations (like the inability to import
>> 'MENU' resources, among others).
>
> You've mentioned the 'MENU' resource issue fairly often. While I don't
> know a thing about any bugs filed against it,

It was part of rdar://3330024.

> I'd guess that if it isn't getting attention that's because moving menus from
> resources to nibs is a one-time thing that most people did a while ago.

That may be a justification now, but it wasn't three, four, and five
years ago when people were doing it *manually* because IB had no
support for it. It's lame now, it was inexcusable then. A clear example
of how Apple ignored developer's needs.

> Presumably the number of people who still need this feature is very small.

That's an assumption. However, since Apple ignored this need when the
number was large, I hardly expect them to address it now.

> If it's still an issue for you, you might be better served by taking an
> afternoon and doing the conversion manually.

This just shows how out of touch you are. I *did* convert them
manually, and it took a lot longer than an afternoon. Why don't you try
converting 80-100 menus manually and see how productive you feel?

> If it isn't an issue for you, I'd suggest finding a different example of IB's
> limitations.

Why? It's still a valid complaint, even if it no longer affects me. But
since you asked, IB's Duplicate command is implemented as a Cut-Paste
sequence, which means it deletes whatever you had on the Clipboard. So
the following scenario for copying a menu item from a resource menu to
a nib menu, while very natural, doesn't work:

1. Copy the text of a menu item from the resource menu.
2. Switch to IB.
3. Duplicate an existing menu item.
4. Put the new menu item into editing mode.
5. Paste the text in to the new item.

Sounds reasonable, except that step 3 wiped out the menu item text you
had on the Clipboard. So you have to go back to your resource
application, copy the text again, switch back to IB, put the item in
editing mode again, and then paste. *Arg* Yes, you learn to work around
these kinds of brain dead problems, but they require extra thought,
planning, and a different workflow than an application of even mediocre
design would require.

Another limitation?

- You can't shift-click in IB to select a range of items in a menu.

- When building a menu, it would be really nice to be able to type menu
text, press Return, and have that confirm the current text and put the
next item into editing mode, adding menu items if needed. No joy. The
only way I've ever found to put a menu item in editing mode is to
double-click it. Sure, it all works and you can create menus, but not
elegantly or efficiently.

- Nothing in the Info palette can be applied to more than one item at a
time. Want to change five static text controls from normal to small?
You have to change them one at a time. Want them to be right-justified?
One at a time. Think you can work around that one by making one
right-justified and duplicating it? Sorry, in Panther's IB there's a
bug that causes the justification of a static text control to be set to
default when created with the Duplicate command. One at a time. Really,
it's just painful. Sure, if you're creating an alert with an icon, a
static text control and two buttons, it's no big deal. But when you 50
or more windows, some of which are fairly complex, it becomes a big
deal.

- Speaking of buttons, why aren't there a ready-made OK and Cancel
buttons I can drag into windows? Every time I need to create a default
OK button, I have to:

1. Drag a button into the window.
2. Rename it to OK.
3. Use the Control settings in the Info palette to set its command to
kHICommandOK.
4. Switch to Attributes in the Info palette to make it a default
button.

Gee, wouldn't it make sense to have a ready-made OK button I can just
drag into a window? Ditto for a Cancel button.

And no, this isn't my whole list of complaints about IB.

In addition to the numerous bugs that plague it, IB's just not designed
for serious production work, in that too many fairly common tasks are
tedious or clunky. Anyone who has created a hundred menus and 50 or
more windows understands this. It's not just about not being
frustrated, it's about productivity. It's about taking three weeks to
do what should take a week or less, and two weeks of productivity down
the drain == delayed releases and higher development costs.

Larry

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