1. The Workspace 3

The Project Window   3

The Project  4

Project Components  5

External and Imported Components  5

Folders  7

Editing Windows   7

The Tools Window  8

Manipulating Controls  9

The Properties Window  10

Adding Functionality   12

Code Editors  13

Editing and Executing Code  14

Maintaining Code  15

How the Three Editors Relate   16

Editing Property Values  16

Initial Values and Subsequent Values  17

Invariant Properties  19

Testing Without Building   20

Shortcuts   21

2. The Basic Language 25

Lines and Commands   26

Variables and Constants   27

Assignment  27

Datatypes and Declaration of Variables  28

Constants  30

Subroutines   31

Subroutine Declarations  31

Return  33

Calling a Subroutine  33

Calling a procedure  34

Calling a function  35

Flow and Side-Effects  36

Editing Subroutine Declarations  37

Pass By Reference  39

Regulating Flow   41

If and Select  42

While  43

Do  44

For  44

Exit and GoTo  46

Arrays   48

Declaring Arrays  49

Resizing Arrays  49

Multi-dimensional Arrays  51

Array Parameters  51

Recursion   52

Comments   54

3. Objects, Classes, and Instances 57

Messages and Dot-Notation   58

Object Design Philosophy   60

Encapsulation of Functionality  60

Maintenance of State  61

Summary  63

Classes and Instances   63

Anatomy of a Class   68

An Instance Is Born   71

The Application Class  71

The Default Window Class  71

Control Classes  72

MenuItems  72

Non-control Classes  72

Referring to Instances   73

Maintaining a Name  74

Functions As References  75

Self  77

Referring to Controls  78

Me  79

The Window Global Instance Name  80

The Truth About Controls   82

Control Clones and Control Arrays   84

Control Arrays  85

Creating a Control Array  87

Cloning in Code  87

Being Careful With Instance References   89

Initialization Is Not Instantiation  90

Assignment Is Not Cloning  91

Parameters Pass Pointers  94

Comparison Tests Identity  95

Destruction of Instances   96

4. Subclasses 101

New Classes and Inheritance   101

Casting   104

Overriding   107

Class Interfaces   112

Events and New Events   116

The Class Hierarchy   122

Global Members   125

Modules  126

The Application Subclass  128

Further Class Features   129

What's My Window?  129

Constructors and Destructors  130

Overloading  131

Class-Directed Messages  133

Privacy  134

Wrappers  135

Example Classes   135

Array Class  135

Stack Class  138

5. Datatypes 141

Booleans   141

Conversion of Booleans  142

Side-Effects  143

Strings   144

Concatenation and Conversion  145

Length, Search, Comparison, and Sort  146

Substrings and Case  150

Extending REALbasic's Abilities  151

Converting Between Encodings  152

Numbers   153

Coercion  153

Bases  155

Operators  155

Trigonometry and Exponentiation  156

Miscellaneous Arithmetic  157

Variants   158

Collections   160

Dates   161

Date Class Properties  161

Date Calculations  162

Colors   164

Memoryblocks   167

Creating a Memoryblock  168

Exchanging Data With a Memoryblock  168

Using Memoryblocks For Speed  170

Being Careful With Memoryblocks  171

Threads   172

Creating and Using a Thread  172

Being Careful With Threads  174

6. Menus 179

Editing Menus   179

How Menus Are Enabled  182

Menu Item Classes  183

Cloning Menu Items  184

Default Menu Items   184

The Menu-Enabling Moment   186

What It Is  186

What Happens During It  186

How It Is Triggered  187

Menu Item Functionality   188

Menu Events  189

Menu Event Handlers  189

Modifying Default Menu Item Functionality  190

Dynamic Menus   191

Menu Item Arrays  192

Examples of Dynamic Menus  192

Font menu  193

Window menu  194

7. The Architecture of an Application 197

Three Pillars of Zen   198

Events Make Choices  199

Scope  200

References Are the Thread  201

Parameters  201

Drops  202

Choosing between a parameter and a drop  203

The Application Subclass   206

Order of Events   207

8. Debugging and Building 211

Compile Errors   211

Punctuation Problems  212

Dangling Participles  213

Missing Parameters  214

Define Your Terms  214

Exceptions   216

The Calling Chain  217

Exception Blocks  217

RuntimeException and Its Subclasses  218

Raise  220

Custom RuntimeExceptions  220

The Debugger   223

Breakpoints and Stepping  224

The Debugging Windows  225

Additional Debugging Strategies  226

Building   228

Minor Options  228

Build Type  230

Heap Size and Memory Management  231

Pragmas  234

Windows Build and Conditional Compilation  234

9. Windows 239

Applet and Dialog Subclasses   240

Window Types   241

Modal, Non-Modal, and Floating Windows  242

The Frame Property  242

Global Floating Windows  244

Opening and Closing, Showing and Hiding   244

Invisible Windows  246

When a New Window is Shown  249

ShowModal  251

Title, Position, and Size   252

Initial Position  254

Events   255

Drawing in a Window   259

10. Abstract Control Classes 261

Lifetime Events   263

Appearance   265

Position and Dimensions   266

Mouse Movement Events   267

Redrawing   269

11. Canvases 273

Canvas Events, Properties, and Methods   274

Picture Class   275

Properties  276

Getting a Picture  277

Graphics Class   278

Pen-Based Drawing  279

String Drawing  281

Pixels and Pixel Blocks  282

Backdrop Property   283

Imported Image File  283

Imported Resources File  285

Image File at Runtime  285

File Resource at Runtime  286

NewPicture  286

Fun With Graphics Properties   287

Image Transformations  287

Changing a Backdrop  291

Animation  292

Limitations of Graphics Methods  294

Canvas Graphics Property   295

Paint Event  295

Smooth Animation  297

Scrolling  299

Transparency and Icons   302

Speed   304

Interaction With Other Objects   306

Screen Shots  306

Shifting Other Controls  308

Covering Other Controls  310

12. Buttons and StaticTexts 313

PushButton   314

BevelButton   315

Placard   318

LittleArrows   319

CheckBox   320

RadioButton and GroupBox   321

DisclosureTriangle   325

StaticText   325

Custom Buttons   327

Colored Right-Aligned RadioButtons  327

Self-Depressing PushButtons  328

Popdown List  329

PictureButton  330

13. EditFields 333

Types of EditField   333

EditField Events, Properties, and Methods   334

Physical Characteristics  334

Focus  336

Selection, Text, Font, and Style  337

Keyboard  340

The Focus   341

Summary of Rules about the Focus  341

Order of Focus-Related Events  343

Controlling the Focus in Code  343

Floating Find Window  344

Validation Field  345

Manipulating Text and Styles   347

Tickertape Field  348

Styled Word-Processor  349

Styled HTML Editor  350

Word-Selection Field  351

Finding Styles  352

Reacting to User Input   354

After the Fact: "Dirty" Document  354

Intercepting Input  355

Code field  355

Live input validation  356

Drawing Styled Text   357

Miscellaneous Tips   360

14. ListBoxes 361

ListBox Features   361

ListBox Events, Properties, and Methods   363

Contents and Format  363

Selection  365

Hierarchy  366

Headings and Sorting  367

CheckBoxes and Editable Cells  368

Keyboard  369

Focus  369

Basic ListBox Techniques   370

Contents and Formatting  370

Column Display  371

Pictures  372

The Selection   373

Hierarchical ListBoxes   375

One Folder Row  375

Two Folder Rows  377

General Single-Depth Hierarchy  378

General Multiple-Depth Hierarchy--First Try  379

General Multiple-Depth Hierarchy -- Second Try  382

Other ListBox Features   384

15. ProgressBars, Sliders, and Scrollbars 389

ProgressBar   390

Slider   391

Scrollbar   393

Scrolling Canvas  394

Scrolling Non-Wrapping Field  396

16. Shapes and Decorations 401

Line   402

Shapes   402

Separator   403

ImageWell   404

ChasingArrows   404

PopupArrow   405

17. Menus In Windows 407

PopupMenu   407

Contents and Format  408

Selection  409

Usage  410

Initialization  410

Changing an item's text  411

Independent caption  412

BevelButton   413

Contents and Format  414

Selection  414

Usage  415

ContextualMenu   416

Contents  416

Selection  417

Usage  417

Alternatives   419

18. TabPanels 421

Preparation   422

Properties and Events   422

Usage   423

19. Keyboard 425

Keyboard Communication   425

Keyboard Object   427

AsyncCommandKey and Its Friends  427

CommandKey and Its Friends  428

AsyncKeyDown  429

UserCancelled   433

20. Mouse and Cursor 435

Mouse Communication   435

Mouse Movement  436

Mouse Click  436

Polling the Mouse   438

Balloon Help   439

Cursor   440

Getting a Cursor  440

Negotiating the Cursor  441

Overcoming the Watch  443

Animated Cursors  444

21. Files 449

Getting a FolderItem   449

GetFolderItem and GetTrueFolderItem  449

Volumes  451

Special Folders  452

User Dialogs  452

Relative FolderItems  454

File Types   455

File Properties   458

File Actions   459

Navigating the Folder Hierarchy   461

Aliases and AppleScripts   463

Arbitrary Data: Binary Streams   464

Getting a BinaryStream Instance  464

Reading and Writing Data  466

Saving and Restoring Preferences  468

Sequential Data: Text Streams   471

Reading  471

Parsing a Mailbox File  472

Writing  474

Find-and-Replace  475

Resources   477

Getting a ResourceFork  477

Referring to Resources  479

Parsing Resources  480

Predefined Data Formats   483

Sounds  483

Pictures  484

Movies  485

Styled Text  485

References to Files  486

22. Databases 489

Database Files and Classes   489

Database Class  490

DatabaseRecord Class  491

DatabaseCursor and DatabaseCursorField Class  493

Schemas   495

DatabaseQuery Control   497

Other Data Sources   498

23. Clipboard 501

Clipboard Class   502

Usage   503

ListBox Copy-and-Paste  503

Show Clipboard  504

Private Scrap  505

24. Drag-and-Drop 507

Beginning a Drag   508

The DragItem  508

Multiline EditField  510

ListBox  510

Mouse-Down Receivers  511

Receiving a Drop   512

Finder Drop   515

Internal Drag-and-Drop   516

Limitations and Workarounds   519

25. Time 523

Ticks and Microseconds   523

Timers   525

Getting a Timer  525

Timer Behavior  525

When Timers Run  526

Timers as Idle Handlers  528

Yielding Time   529

26. Sound 533

Beep   533

Sound Object   533

MIDI Notes   535

27. Movies 543

Movie Class   544

MoviePlayer   545

Appearance  546

Action  547

Events  548

Movie Usage and Limitations   549

Making Movies   551

Analyzing Movies   554

28. Game Animation 557

Configuring the SpriteSurface   558

Basic Sprite Control   561

Improving the Classes   564

Intelligent Sprite Behavior   568

Responding to Keys   570

Collisions   572

Soundtracks   574

29. Printing 577

Printer Specifications   577

The Printer Graphics Object   579

Measurement Problems   580

Resolution Problems   581

Printing Text   583

30. TCP/IP Communications 589

Socket Properties, Methods, and Events   590

Connecting and Disconnecting  590

Receiving Data  591

Sending Data  592

Errors  592

Yielding  592

Client   592

Buffered Read  593

Dictionary Client  594

Buffered Write  601

SMTP client  602

Server   607

Web-Based Time Server  608

Tiny Web Server  610

Multiple Connections  612

31. Apple Events and AppleScript 615

Sending Apple Events   616

Anatomy of an Apple Event  616

Building an Apple Event  618

Remote Targets and Send-To-Self  620

Receiving Apple Events   622

Apple Event Scriptability  623

AppleScript Scriptability  624

The Object Model  626

Apple Event Classes, Properties, and Methods   627

Classes  627

Building and Parsing an Apple Event  627

Records and Lists  630

Building an Object Specifier  631

Apple Event Inadequacies   632

AppleScripts   634

32. Language Extensions 637

XCMDs   638

Shared Libraries   640

Toolbox Stub Libraries  641

Toolbox Call Fundamentals  641

Parsing and Passing Structs  645

Sharpening Pointers and Grasping Handles  649

Direct Toolbox Calls   652

Plug-ins   657

A. Version Differences 665