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And yet another reason to love Apple

Programming has always been a hobby of mine, maybe better described as an interest. I've been tweaking and playing with the ins and outs off Mac OS X since I got my PowerBook, but lately I've got that programming bug again. I long to sit and write some quick and easy code.

First, before I continue with the initial direction of this blog, let me interject another story. I wanted to buy a second power adapter for my PowerBook. Ya' know, one to keep in my bag or in the car. This way I'm not constantly crawling underneath my desk to unplug and roll up my one and only power adapter. I pulled up the Apple Store online. I thought first I would check PowerBook page to see if they listed recommended accessories. As I as glancing at all the specs and pre-loaded softare that comes with the PBook, I noticed a program called Xcode. I ran a search for it on the apple website and got directed the the Apple Development Center. Xcode is awesome. It's an intuitive work/development environment for several of the major programming languages (C++, Objective C, multiple Java flavors, AppleScript). I pulled up my Spotlight search tab (press Command-Spacebar) and typed in Xcode. OS X found the folder in a millisecond. I extracted all the files and installed the program on it's own volume. When I opened it the first time and saw that anytime you start a new project it gives you a list of understood languages and general functions, plus script support for common OS X features (i.e. Widgets, Screensavers). Unbelievable! A development environment like this could easily be several hundred dollars if bought off the shelf.

OK, back to my original story. I mentioned that I wanted my code to be "quick and easy". I didn't want to have to pull marathon, all night coding sessions that I used to do when I was single and not father. One of my favorite objective programming languages is Python. I went to Python.org to find the download for MacPython. All they had was the source code to download and compile myself. I thought that was really odd because Python has always been friendly to the amateur programmer - folks who might not be entirely comfortable compiling source code just to install an interpreter. As I read farther, I learned the MacPython is shipped with every distribution of Mac OS X! Now let me repeat this: Apple pre-installed Python on my PowerBook!

Applel has always been touted as the people's computer - the Volks Maschine. It's ease of use, stabilit of operating system, attractive design has always made it extra-accessible, even if the marketing and price didn't. But now I know that hidden in all of Apple's products beats the heart of a real computer. One that is primed to be put into the hands of either right-brained or left-brained creativity.

posted by Joseph @ 8:09 PM