Upcoming and Future Projects
These programs have been started, but not finished. Please don't ask me when they'll be done, because I really don't know. It all depends on my own schedule, which itself is dependent on way too many factors.
Dockyard 2.0
The next version of Dockyard will, among other features, end the version number confusion (1.6 for the menu extra, versus 1.0 for the widget and manager). It will be even more generic, allowing you to switch any application's preferences when you change docks. Global hotkeys for dock switching will finally be implemented, along with Exposé-style screen corner and side actions. If possible, I may even talk to the developers of some of the more well-known desktop managers, to synchronize dock switching with virtual desktop switching. This means I will at least be waiting for the release of Mac OS X v10.5, in order to integrate Dockyard with Spaces.
DocYouMeant
Similar to javadoc, HeaderDoc, and Doxygen, as well as dozens of other programs, DocYouMeant is used for documenting code. Specifically designed for Java and Objective-C, DocYouMeant is also expandable by using custom parsers created with JavaCC. You can also customize the output by creating your own pseudo-HTML template file.
DocYouMeant allows you to make your own easy-to-understand documentation. It includes great features, such as the ability to define your own tags, support for inheritance diagrams (single-inheritance only), and multiple-input support. DocYouMeant combines the quality of javadoc, the cross-compatibility of Doxygen, and the customizability of HeaderDoc in the newest generation of documentation. And best of all, it's open source, free, and has the strangest title yet!
Developers: At present, DocYouMeant has many problems, many of which are design errors. Although I will release an 0.9 version when I finish it (and will probably continue using that version for a long time), the entire Java half of the program needs to be rewritten in a much clearer way. This will include refactoring, reorganizing, and many other tasks that have to do with such messy code. (It really is ugly -- all of the output code is in one class, resulting in a file with about 3000 lines...ugh!) Unfortunately, this will probably never get done, because I'm on hiatus from this project since it runs nearly well enough to use easily. (Never mind the back end...users won't care what the code looks like!)
DocYouMeant is less than half-done! I still have a lot more code to write, bugs to fix, etc. Sorry for the wait! ETA: Who knows when?
AXE
Advanced XML Editor (AXE) was created in response to the lack of freeware XML editors for the Mac. Due to this imbalance, I decided to use Cocoa-Java (the native Mac programming APIs, except for Java) to create this application, instead of pure Java (my specialty at the start of the project), making this (in theory) a more integrated (and Mac-only) application.
The application is a basic text editor, but includes customizable syntax coloring, XML indentation, and validation. AXE currently requires that you install JAXP on your system. A SAX2-compliant parser is required for validation against XML Schema, and DOM2 is used to build the outline view. Syntax coloring requires a lot of processing power (the way I'm doing it, maybe), so a G4 processor (or better) is recommended (although you can turn this off).
AXE is not complete! Sorry for the delay, but it's likely to be a while (a long while) before I finish it (if ever). ETA: Probably after DocYouMeant...
Other Projects
These projects are more minor, representing much less useful programs. These were made for various reasons and come with little support and no intent to update.
Assault on Yavin Four
Assault on Yavin Four is a text adventure game, based on the book Assault on Yavin Four from the Star Wars Missions series for kids. The game has many puzzles, mazes, and enemies that characterize an "adventure" game. You are in serious danger of being captured or killed, so save often. The game takes place right after the first Death Star has been blown up. An Imperial cruiser has just crash-landed on Yavin Four, and the Rebel base is in danger of being discovered! You, a young Rebel soldier, have been assigned to go out and find the stormtroopers, stop them from launching a distress beacon, and locate the captain.
Don't think this mission will be easy. Random events and subtle puzzles make for a dangerous experience. For more information, and instructions on how to play, see the included Read Me file (in pdf or rtfd format), or use the Datapad item during the game. There is also one secret item in the game. While it has no practical use, it is hard to find, and requires that you go in nearly the opposite direction from your goal, as well as combating a monster inside the Massassi temple. Good luck, trooper!
The icon comes from an old set at Xicons.com (now InterfaceLIFT) by Jay Koenig, who in turn credits this particular speeder model to Gonzalo Savogin.
Download the source (Java)
iTunesController
iTunesController is an example of a project that just about every programmer tries sooner or later: a way to control iTunes from outside the application itself. I created this particular controller because of my brother, who liked the default iTunes controller (the one that shows up when you click the "Maximize" button), but wanted to replace the volume control with a rating system.
This was my first foray into AppleScript Studio, which, as it turns out, is a terrible way to build a GUI. The language of AppleScript defies OO ideas, the bridging is not that great, and integrating custom classes is needlessly clumsy. The ability to get information from other processes easily is its only saving grace. I also used some unsupported features in Cocoa (placing views on top of each other), which works on my system, but is definitely unadvisable.
If you want a program to control iTunes (it floats on top of other windows, has no Dock icon, and quits when you click the close box), go ahead and download it. But this is nowhere near my best work (just warning you). And it crashes if you try to edit the current song's info, and keeps you from quitting iTunes by relaunching it when you try. You have to close the controller first.