App Icons

 Was tired of typing out math formulas so decided to take a side track from the functionality in to the design.  Drawing anything with a touchpad on a laptop is not exactly the easiest or the most precise so I just wanted something that wasn't the icon missing symbol.  I settled on a stick house with VSME on it.  

In xcode there is a page in the development tree where you can upload your app icon assets.  It lists all the different sizes you need, there are a lot, like 40.  So off to the Google machine, I searched for "app icon generator" and sure enough there are lots online for free.  You upload one 1024x1024 image and it gives you all the different sizes you need back.  Perfect.  

On my app development laptop I had no image manipulation programs so the next stop was the app store.  First I searched for "paint" and found a free small program that seemed to do what I needed so I downloaded it.  Built a rough house with some text, it was sufficient.  When I went to save the image the program told me that since I was using the free version the biggest image I could save was 800x800.  If I saved the 1024x1024 image a watermark would be added.  I guess I should have known better.  Don't need that program any more.

I downloaded Gimp, which is what I should have just done in the first place, but I just wanted something quick to download and install on my rural internet, but whatever.  Got Gimp downloaded without too much waiting.  The install actually took longer.  Sketched up a new image and saved it without complaints or a water mark.  

Ran the image through a converter and imported my new app icon assets.  Built the app and installed on my phone:

I don't mind it, it is simple and to the point.  The more I look at it the more it grows on me.  I think I will change the title to VinylSidingME so that it fits and keeps the importing words.

Slowly slowly.  I am kind of dreading actually going through the store approval process so I am okay with spending a little more time on little things.

A Decent Start

 Made a decent dent on the app last night.  Finally felt like I was on a bit of a roll.  It's not the prettiest thing to look at but it is functional.

Have a main screen with some summary information about amounts that have been entered on sub screens.

And then in each side of the house you can enter the width and height as well as the height of the peak if there is one.  Also the dimensions of any windows (up to 5) and doors (up to 2).  The Total Area will just be the whole area of the side plus the area of the peak and the Actual Area is the total minus the area of any windows and doors (so the actual amount you would need to put siding on).

Next to is build the material list and have a way to print the details and material list.

Also got signed up with the Apple Developer program today.  $132 just to be able to test the app on devices and have access to the store for a year.  A little steep for a free app but whatever, if it all ends up going no where then I won't renew it next year.  It is easy to see how Apple makes so much money

xCode is Fickle

 Last night I started my adventure in app development using xCode and SwiftUI.  I started with some tutorials on SwiftUI, which maybe I should have started with some tutorials on xCode but why not jump in with both feet.

SwiftUI doesn't seem too bad.  I have spent the last 19 years of my work career in pretty much one language so learning the language is a whole task in itself, but like most languages figuring out the syntax is not the hardest part.  

It turns out xCode itself is not the most smooth running developer UI.  It crashes unexpectedly and refuses to tell you what the issue is, which is always frustrating.  The preview will not work if you use subfolders, which was about a half an hour puzzle.  Some things seem to mysteriously work in one project and for some random reason not in another, and again, it just crashes and says it was some unknown reason.  Not the best experience for a first time.

After about three hours of googling errors and half an hour of actually writing code I have a very basic layout for my app done.  Needless to say I was hopeful that progress would be better, but I have to keep reminding myself that I don't know any of this stuff, this is all learning new information so it is going to be slow.  This isn't like work, I don't have thousands of lines of code and almost two decades of experience in my head to draw on for the syntax and debugging.  It has been a long time since I have been "new" so a project like this.  Thankfully I am used to it from attempting projects around the house.

Fingers crossed today goes a little better.  Unfortunately it will start with a visit to Google as I called it a night with an outstanding puzzle as to why my json data will not parse in one project but it will in another.  

Is SwiftUI My Saviour

 Last night while I waited on an 11 gb download for xcode to chug away over my "high speed" rural internet connection I spent some time watching some SwiftUI videos from WWDC20.  

The first thing I noticed is that the speakers were all men, not that it really matters, just seemed a little strange now-a-days.  They were also all really, really excited about the new changes to SwiftUI.  A couple had really thick Russian (?) accents that made it tricky to understand sometimes but overall they were good speakers.

One of the main new terms they use is the "Source of Truth".  The first time I heard the term I did chuckle a bit...and still do.  This is what they call the datasource that is used by a View...or a Scene...or an App.  I get that they called it that because it dictates how things behave and display and refresh but really...the Source or Truth...still seems funny to me.

The last time I looked at the app development system in xcode was a few years ago now, definitely seems like things are easier then they used to be.  They have a live preview, handle test data, make it pretty easy to add library items, and handle a lot of the backend stuff now like automatically syncing your view to your data (the view's Source of Truth).  State and Observable Objects seem to make getting data around pretty convenient.  There is also some new storage options for data that needs a longer lifecycle.

So the download actually finished installing this morning around 8am, which was good as last night it got to 6 gbs and quit...which was super annoying.  So I guess I am ready to dive in.  

Next spring I am planning on putting new siding on my house (it is past the "want" list and moved on to the "need" list) and calculating all the quantities of all the different kinds of material you need to buy was pretty straight forward but also kind of a pain to do manually and to keep everything straight so since I just went through the work on paper it should be a pretty straight forward practice to transfer in to app form.  Nothing fancy but should offer some practice with views and getting data around.  

Something to keep the mind busy while the lung issues persist.

Why Even Bother

Isolate for long enough and you will find that old blog from years ago and vent on it.  Don't bother reading this post, it was purely therapeutic to get things out that have been keeping me up.  A feeble attempt at trying to straighten out my brain and maybe find some light.  Hopefully future posts will be of some use for others to read, but this one is not.  This is selfishly for me, not for you.

Recently everything has changed, at work and in the world.  It has been a stressful time for many and many are not handling it well.  It has left me wondering what am I doing, what is my purpose...

Midlife crisis?  Perhaps.  The though of having to spend another 40 years working and paying taxes while humans destroy each other and this planet sounds like the definition of a living hell.  I recently went through a change at work from having a lot of responsibilities and spending the day helping people and solving problems to having no responsibilities and feeling useless.  It has been an adjustment to say the least.  Not that I liked what I was doing before, I pretty much hated every day, but I at least had a purpose, I was needed, and made a difference.  In the end I basically self destructed.  I thought this was what I wanted...but it also doesn't seem to be.  Less stress, sure, but also no purpose.  Whether I am there or not it makes no difference in the world.  I get a lot of tasks accomplished but they feel like nothing.  I go through the motion but so what.  Anyone could do what I do with the same success, and the other staff members do, many with more success.  I am average at best.  I don't want my legacy to be average.  But who gives a shit about my legacy?  No one but me.  So why be concerned?

But, as the saying goes, that is why it is work, if it was fun it would not be work would it.  So the trick is to find something new to live for now that it isn't my job.  It has been work for so long, what else is there?  How do you find a new passion?  What makes you actually want to get out of bed?  Doesn't help that I have been battling an illness for the last two weeks and it just doesn't want to let go.  In these pandemic times that of course means self-isolating, so no family visits even during the Thanksgiving long weekend, which was hard.  It's hard to find something new when you literally feel like doing nothing at all.

New video game?  Meh, fun but not enough to get out of bed.  A new wood working project?  Maybe, but it's been cold out in the garage lately for a sick person, and I don't really have anything that needs to be made.  It snowed today so no yard projects.  The thought of creating an app sounds tempting, but what need to fill?  And every time I pick up the laptop to start trying to learn it again my brain feels tired and nothing sticks.  Is that a sign that I just don't really care?  Kind of like the thought of running?  Sounds good, and I really should do less sitting on my ass and more working this COVID fat off, but when it comes to it I just really could not care less and neither could anyone else.

And in light of all the crap that is happening in the world right now, who gives a shit if I write an app or go for a run.  That doesn't help anyone, it doesn't make the world better, it is one hundred percent completely meaningless, so why bother?  Which I guess is the main question that keeps me up at night and struggling through the day, why even bother...