jdg0@bunny.UUCP (Gonzalez) (01/19/89)
Hi there! I'm interested in obtaining documentation on NeXT's Interface Builder. Would any kind soul out there provide me with pointers to open literature sources that describe the technical aspects of the system?. I'm familiar with the stuff that was published in Byte, Unix/World, etc. I'm looking for more detailed information, something like a glorified programmers's manual. I read somewhere that NeXT had hired a fellow called Bruce Webster to write the first book about the machine, is this book out already?. Also, what about the manuals that come with the machine, can they be purchased from NeXT?. I will sincerely appreciate any info you can give me on this issue. Jose P. Diaz-Gonzalez GTE Laboratories, Inc. email: jdg0@gte.com
kean@mist.cs.orst.edu (Kean Stump) (01/21/89)
Bruce Webster's book is slated for release in March of this year. Hopefully
it will make it out on time.
kean
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oregon State University Kean Stump
Department of Computer Science kean@cs.orst.edu
Corvallis, Oregon {tektronix,hp-pcd}!orstcs!kean
"OSU CS isn't my employer, so don't take me seriously"
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------STORKEL@RICE.BITNET (Scott Storkel) (01/24/89)
There is no documentation. All right, that's a little harsh. There is a very small amount of documentation. The only printed documentation we have is stuff that basically tells how to get the machine plugged in and running. There are some draft versions of documentation for some of the IB/AppKit stuff on- line and a bunch of release notes (this doesn't work yet, that doesn't work yet type stuff). This and some sample code is all you get. It's VERY frustrating. I personally think they should have waited about three more months before shipping the machine to anybody. If anybody out there has documentation that we don't PLEASE let me know what you have and where you got it. Scott Storkel Macintosh Software Development Rice University
eht@f.word.cs.cmu.edu (Eric Thayer) (01/24/89)
Technical Documents 1 and 2 are a good place to start. They seem to be
shipping these to sites. This documentation is a superset of what's online
currently. Call up NeXT (East or West)
--
Eric H. Thayer Carnegie Mellon School of Computer Science
(412) 268-{8724,6973} 5000 Forbes Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15213
> Mountains will heave in childbirth, and a silly little mouse will be born. <
> -- Horace 65-8 B.C. <
--
Eric H. Thayer Carnegie Mellon School of Computer Science
(412) 268-{8724,6973} 5000 Forbes Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15213
> Mountains will heave in childbirth, and a silly little mouse will be born. <
> -- Horace 65-8 B.C. <
-- feldman@umd5.umd.edu (Mark Feldman) (01/25/89)
I attended a NeXT software development course two weeks ago and came back with two four inch binders of technicl documentation and a two inch binder of course material. Along with these documents, I came back with a good understanding of how to program the NeXT using IB (the interface builder) and objective C. So, it's time for me to throw in my two cents... There is a lot of information contained in the NeXT -- a good part of the technical documentation provided at the course is on line. NeXT is not giving out any documentation that is more current than what is provided online in the 0.8 release, only augmenting it. Remember, this is release zero point eight. It is primarily for developers who need to get their hands on these machines ASAP and educational institutions that must start priming their pumps with 0.8 systems so they will be able to go full-out when 1.0 comes out. From what I understand, the schedule is something like this: 0.8 now. pre-release for developers. not complete (missing some of bundled software and application kit objects). still buggy. needs tuning. 0.9 March(?). ``feature complete'' version. will contain all of the bundled software (mathmatica, lisp, etc.) and programming tools (e.g., DSP support). 1.0 sometime. tuned, bug-free version. I would expect that 0.9 documentation would be improved and 1.0 be very good. Yes, the IB can be very frustrating at first. It frustrated me, then something clicked (no jokes, please) and it all became clear. The course helped me a lot. I am convinced that I can transfer the knowledge required to start writing NeXT applications to any of our programmers in a very short amount of time. If you have no where else to turn, I suggest that you look into taking NeXT's course (or, for a nominal fee, I could help you:-). You must be purchasing a NeXT and tuition is something like $750.00. Contact your NeXT representitive for more info. It was clear from the course that the people at NeXT are genuinely interested in producing a quality machine. There were always NeXT people around to answer our questions and make notes of bugs and concerns. Steve Jobs went out to dinner with the class one night and had a question/answer session (very entertaining). I'm glad that NeXT didn't wait another three months to start shipping. Having 0.8 has given us the opportunity to give NeXT input on what we would like to see in later (``production'') versions. The people at NeXT have been very attentive when we have voiced concerns about the NeXT. The NeXT looks to be an excellent development platform, and if NeXT can remove some of the concerns that we have, I'm sure that we'll be seeing a lot of NeXTs on campus. Mark p.s. Anyone have any use for a talking base converter? It's very annoying:-)
c9c-aa@dorothy.Berkeley.EDU (Brad Post) (02/05/89)
In article <1635@cps3xx.UUCP> flynn@pixel.cps.msu.edu (Patrick J. Flynn) writes: >In article <9143@pasteur.Berkeley.EDU> bpost@violet.Berkeley.EDU.UUCP (Brad Post) writes: >> >> The REAL Documentation is $395.00 w/o the tax. >> > >Hmm. What's the difference between this $395 documentation and the $250 >documentation that I have an order form for? On my form, it's called >the `NeXT Preliminary Documentation', and the $250 gets you the 0.8 >version and all updates up to and including the 1.0 release. > Well, the documentation that costs the $395.00 w/o tax, is the developers documentation. This is all the actuall source code info, and such. It goes into wrtiting all the stuff(Interface Builder, Clock, Disk Builder, etc.) from scratch. This is what I wish to get for purposes of figuring out how hard this will be to implement. I believe the documents for $250 is just the book that next mails to you, when they shipped the machine, plus some other manuals, such as the guide to using the IB. Actually I think its the prined versions of the NeXT Manual pages, or just some other stuff. By the way, has anyone had trouble with their hard drvies. The second machine I got, the Server one, w/660 HD, & 16MB, had a bum drive, and I had to replace it. NeXT was cool about it, they even let me do it, by just sending me the drive, but alas, my boss wouldn't let me touch it, because he thought it might invalidate the warranty (if their is one). Brad Post ARPA: bpost@violet.berkeley.edu UUCP: ...ucbvax!violet!bpost
fraik@tut.cis.ohio-state.edu (Bob Fraik) (02/05/89)
There has been some confusion on the Technical Documentation available from NeXT. I will try to clear up this issue. We had originally priced the technical documentation at $395.00. This was to include three sets of documentation: 0.8, 0.9 and 1.0. By going with a less expensive printing method we discovered we could reduce the cost of the set (to $250.00 + ap- plicable tax). Anyone purchasing the 0.8 set will automatically get the 0.9 and 1.0 updates as they are completed. purchasers of the 0.9 set (which will be also be $250.00) also get the 1.0 update. Our goal was not to penalize the early purchasers for buying informa- tion that we knew would be quickly updated. Those having purchased the 0.8 Tech. Doc. at the $395.00 price are receiving refund checks with their shipped copies. The current 0.8 Tech. Doc. is about 3000 pages of programming in- formation contained in two binders. If you have further questions about the Tech. Doc. you may call our tella-business group at: 415.424.8500 (Monday-Friday, 8:00am.- 5:00pm. PST.) Robert Fraik System Software Product Marketing Manager NeXT Inc.
simsong@media-lab.MEDIA.MIT.EDU (Simson L. Garfinkel) (12/22/90)
Has anybody been able to figure out the new NeXT documentation? I'm looking for a good document describing Interface Builder, and there just isn't one to be found. I'm looking for another document explaining their new extensions to Objective-C. Again, nothing to be found. Something like the old Concepts manual, with the early chapters explaining how the system worked, would be really helpful... Anybody know what I'm talking about?