Alternating accessoryView and accessoryType in UITableViewCell

Quick post about a problem I had today.

I’m writing an app for a client that has a checklist component. So a UITableViewCell is in an unchecked state, and then when the user hits it, it becomes checked.

I like the look of the UITableViewCellAccessoryCheckmark, so I’m using it, but I needed something when the cell is unchecked, so I’m using a png that has a circle.

I was having a problem that when the cell was unchecked and I tapped on it, nothing appeared to happen, although if I went to another screen and came back to that one the check box would show up. But, if the cell was checked and I tapped on it, the circle would show up. Here’s the code that fixed it:

Musings On Stress

This weekend I have a ton of work I need to do.  One evening earlier this week, I squished a bug that  had been bothering me for a while in KidChart, one of my shipping apps.  Instead of submitting a new version with just that one bug fix, I want to get one full work-flow session under UI Automation testing to see if there are any other bugs I should be fixing as well.

Hence the Name - Escort Missions - the Bane of my Gaming Existence

Ah, Escort Missions - I haven’t had a good rant about Escort Missions in a while. Our contestant tonight is Dead Rising 2: Case Zero (spoilers ahead).

Fasten your seat belts.  After all, I wouldn’t want you to get a boo-boo - ‘cause then I’d have to start the whole rant over from the beginning (or at least my last save point).

The first Escort Mission I remember was, I think, X-Wing circa 1993.  At least that’s the first time I ever remember failing to make progress in a game because some stupid computer-controlled moron paying no attention to the obvious fact that he was in a combat zone that I had no influence over had done something idiotic and gotten his dipshit Freighter-flying ass blown to tiny little bloody pieces, sparkling forever as the drifted through the cold vacuum of space.

The decade of the developer?

This article claims that we’re entering the decade of the developer.  I don’t know if that’s going to be true, but I’ve said before that changes to our industry, especially cloud computing, is making systems knowledge and Enterprise I.T. skills irrelevant.

During the boom in the early 2001, I knew people here in Austin, Texas that were making $100K/year and up without a college education and with no formal training - because they had manage to acquire IT skills, experience, and had negotiated well for salaries in the past.

A Tale of Two Table Views - my UISearchBar Race Condition that I finally found

OK, so I finally found my race condition, I’d talked about here and here.

So, in my KidChart app, I have a UITableView that has a list of all behaviors that people can pick from:

and in the search box above, people can start typing to narrow down existing behaviors and then click on one so they don’t have to scroll as much. As soon as the UISearchBar gets focus, it does this:

UI Automation App Input

So, I’ve been doing more UI Automation test work, and I’ve discovered a couple of things. I’m kind of trying to write them up as I run into them, although I’m putting together a helper library that I’ll announce at some point, hopefully soon.

So, what I’m trying to work on is a race condition in my KidChart app. The issue (I think) has to do with notifications during input into an UISearchBar.

Horror Movie Productivity

A few years ago, I had a job that involved writing software while I worked at home.  I, like many people in that situation, struggled with how to keep myself motivated.I found my thoughts wandered too much if the house was silent.  I tried music, which had worked for me in an office setting, but I had trouble getting into “the Zone” like I felt I needed to.Eventually, I found something that worked quite well for me - horror movies.It needed to be something of a B-movie caliber, and preferably something I’d seen before, so I didn’t get sucked into the plot, but it worked.  I think the tricks movie-makers use to build tension gave me the sense of urgency I needed.So now, whenever I need to get something done, I’ll throw a little window in the corner of my screen playing  Resident Evil or Eight-Legged Freaks or the like, and before long, the code just starts flowing.So the next time you can’t get motivated, you might want to try it, and see if it works for you.

On Becoming an Interruptable Programmer

Just read a great blog post on becoming an interruptible programmer.  Since the older my daughter gets the more interruptions I get from her, I think I’m going to try this and see how it goes.(Via @GeorgeSealy)