Solutions Log - Michael Brooks

Useful Bash Keys

2009-03-12T00:00:00Z

A small list of useful (everyday) shortcuts for your BASH shell (terminal).

Xcode Multiple Values

2009-07-28T00:00:00Z

Description

Inside the Xcode build properties, some values are displayed as <Multiple Values>

Incorrect Meaning

This can be a little confusing. At first, I thought it meant that the a property contained a list of values.

Correct Meaning

<Multiple Values> means that the Debug and Release builds contain different values for the same property.

To see the actual value, select one of the build types.

Remote Git Repository

2009-09-15T00:00:00Z

Server: Create Remote Git Repository

# Repository is just an ordinary directory
mkdir /home/git-data/my_repository.git

# Initialize a bare git repository
cd /home/git-data/my_repository.git
git --bare init

Local: Add Remote Repository

cd ~/Documents/Development/my_project/
git remote add origin ssh://user@your-repo-server.com:22/home/user/my_repository.git
git push origin master

Source

Git Diff

2009-09-25T00:00:00Z

A few handy Git diff commands.

git diff --summary master origin/master

git diff --stat master origin/master

git diff --numstat master origin/master

git diff --dirstat master origin/master

git diff --shortstat master origin/master

git diff --name-only master origin/master

git diff master origin/master

C++ in Objective-C

2009-10-05T00:00:00Z

Problem

How do I compile C++ code in Objective-C / Cocoa.

Solution

Rename the Objective-C implementation file from *.m to *.mm

This tells the Objective-C compiler that it is linking a C++ object

Hearsay (Untested)

You cannot instantiate a C++ class directly because the constructor and destructor will not fire. Instead, you want to create a pointer and use the new and delete methods

Compile Error: Precompile gcc failed with exit code 1

2009-10-06T00:00:00Z

Error Message

Precompile <<precompile header name.pch>>
    Command /Developer/usr/bin/gcc-4.2 failed with exit code 1

Solution

The Xcode target (or maybe project) configuration may not have the correct precompiled header path.

Right-click on the target and select Get Info
Select the Build tab
Select All Configurations
Go to the section GCC 4.2 Language
Find the setting Prefix Header
Check if the path and name are correct.
- If you have moved your source files into a subfolder inside the project, then include the subfolder in the setting.
- e.g. Sources/MyProject_Prefix.pch

Default .gitignore

2009-10-06T00:00:00Z

Use a .gitignore file to exclude files and directories from the Git version control system.

Multiple .gitignore files can be placed in subdirectories, but it is generally easier to use only one in the root directory, which is where the .git/ directory exists.

# Xcode
build/*
*.pbxuser
*.mode1v3

# Subversion
.svn

# OS X
.DS_Store

# Textmate
*.tmproj

Setup Ogre3D Project for Xcode

2009-10-06T00:00:00Z

Outdated: Ogre3D 1.6

Create a new Cocoa project
Set Base SDK as 1.5 or 1.6
In Project/Resources Group
1. Add the directory /Media/
  - Select the option that creates a single entry in the target’s Copy Bundle Resources (second option)
2. Add the files /media.cfg, /plugins.cfg, /resources.cfg
  - Make sure these are added to the Copy Bundle Resources
Add the following linked frameworks to the Project/Frameworks Group
- CEGUI.framework
- Cg.framework
- Ogre.framework
- OgreCEGUI.framework
- libois.a
- IOKit.framework
- Cocoa.framework
Right-click on the target and select Add->New Build Phase->New Copy Files Build Phase
- Drag the following files into the folder
  - CEGUI.framework
  - Cg.framework
  - Ogre.framework
  - OgreCEGUI.framework
  - libois.a
Target Build Options (Select All Configurations)
1. Architecture: i386
  - This could be x86_64 if Ogre is recompiled under a 64-bit machine
2. Framework Search Paths
  - $(SRCROOT)/ExternalFrameworks
3. Header Search Paths
  - $(SRCROOT)/ExternalFrameworks/Ogre.framework/Headers
  - $(SRCROOT)/ExternalIncludes/OIS
    - OIS needs to have a root directory of OIS, which is why this path has subdirectory called OIS
  - $(SRCROOT)/ExternalFrameworks/CEGUI.framework/Headers
  - $(SRCROOT)/ExternalIncludes/Samples
    - Required for OgreCEGUIRenderer.h
4. Library Search Paths
  - $(SRCROOT)/ExternalLibraries/release
Enable C++ code inside Objective-C
1. Rename the class implementation file that is going to declare the Ogre3D instance to *.mm

Default Function Parameters

2009-10-07T00:00:00Z

Comments

Default parameters must be at the end of the function signature.
- myClass->print(,,3); // Invalid
Functions with default parameters can be overloaded
- void print(int value);
- void print(int value = 10);
- print() // 10
Default parameters do not define a unique function
- void printValues(int value);
- void printValues(int value, int value2 = 20);
- printValues(12); // Error: Ambigious call because of default param

Invoke Super Class Constructor

2009-10-07T00:00:00Z

You need to explicitly invoke the parent class' constructor, otherwise the parent constructor will not fire.

Assertions 101

2009-10-15T00:00:00Z

Error: C++ forbids declaration with no type

2009-10-15T00:00:00Z

Error Message

Error: C++ forbids declaration with no type

Problem

There is a circular reference somewhere.

This can happen if two classes include each other and at least one class declares a member instance of the other.

Solution

If possible, use a forward declaration instead of including the entire class.

class MyClass;          // Forward declaration
class OtherClass {
public:
    // ...

private:
    MyClass myClass;
}

If a forward declaration is not possible, then try moving the #include to the implementation file.

Print a Boolean

2009-10-15T00:00:00Z

C Approach

bool myBoolean = true;
printf("The value is %s", (myBoolean) ? "true" : "false");
// The value is true

C++ Approach

boolean myBoolean = true;
std::cout << "The value is " << myBoolean << std::endl;
// The value is 1

Standard IO

2009-10-15T00:00:00Z

C-Library

#include <cstdio>
fprint(stdout, "my string with a number %d", myNumber);
printf("my string with a number %d", myNumber);

C++ Library

#include <iostream.h>
std::cout << "hello world" << std::endl;

Compile Static C++ Library in Xcode 3

2009-10-30T00:00:00Z

Create a new BSD Library projector.
Select static from the drop down menu.

Although Xcode 3 claims that the library is for C code, it will compile C++.

_fopen$Unix2003

2009-10-30T00:00:00Z

Error Message

Compile-time error related to _fopen$Unix2003.

Solution (OS X)

In my experience, this is related to using a library compiled with the 10.6 SDK on a project that is compiled with the 10.5 SDK.

Recompile the library with the lower SDK or compile the projector with the higher SDK.

Untested Concern

I am not sure if the platform matters (i386 or x64)

Return value of typeinfo::typeid

2009-10-31T00:00:00Z

Usage

Return Value

The return value is defined by the compiler. For example, gcc returns i for an int, while a Microsoft compiler may return int

Unix

Objects may have a number prefixed to their name, such as 13MyClass

People suspect that this is related to the size of the object.

Summary

While the type name is unique to the class, the number may change if the class is updated with new members or functions.

std::vector Erase

2009-11-01T00:00:00Z

std::vector::erase method does not call the destructor on a data pointer.

You must delete the pointer yourself after you have erased the data from the vector array.

Auto UI Color

2009-11-05T00:00:00Z

Add some quick and easy color to your git output

git config --global color.ui="auto"

This adds the following line to your ~/.gitconfig

[color]
    ui = auto

Create and Delete Remote Branches

2009-11-05T00:00:00Z

Modify Previous Commit

2009-11-05T00:00:00Z

Problem

Forgot to add the project file to the previous commit.

git commit -m "Created a new context class to manage PolyPlane interaction"

Solution

Make your corrections and amend the HEAD

git add my_project_file.proj
git commit -C HEAD --amend

-C HEAD uses the commit message from the HEAD (the previous commit)

--amend includes the contents of this commit inside the previous commit

Use -c HEAD to open editor with previous commit message.

Dealing with End of Lines

2009-11-08T00:00:00Z

Strips all carriage-returns (CR) from commits and adds line-feeds (LF) when necessary.

git config --global core.autocrlf input true

The above command adds the following to your ~/.gitconfig

[core]
    autocrlf = input

Objective-C Message and Parameter Terminology

2009-11-14T00:00:00Z

Tagging

2009-12-04T00:00:00Z

Delete App on Palm Device

2010-04-23T00:00:00Z

On the keyboard, hold the red key
Touch the application to delete

MDS-CS HTTP Response Code 413

2010-05-07T00:00:00Z

Problem

When using the BlackBerry simulator (in my case JDE 4.6.1) and MDS-CS to make a network request, you receive HTTP 413 "Request entity too large". However, using wget or curl returns a HTTP 200 response.

Reason

The reason is that the MDS-CS tool limits the bandwidth. If the server response is too large, the MDS-CS tool will replace the response with it’s own HTTP 413 response.

Solution

There is a configuration file that allows you to increase the maximum bandwidth.

<eclipse_dir>\plugins\net.rim.ejde.componentpack4.6.1_4.6.1.36\components\MDS\config\rimpublic.property

[IPPP]
IPPP.connection.MaxNumberOfKBytesToSend=1024

Change Mac Boot Order on Startup

2010-05-10T00:00:00Z

Hold down the option key while restarting the Mac.

Getting Started with Merb on Heroku

2010-05-10T00:00:00Z

Install Merb

sudo gem update --system
sudo gem install merb

Create a Merb Project

merb-gen app myproject
cd myproject
bundle install
- Requires bundler: sudo gem install bundler
thin start -R config.ru
- Requires thin: sudo gem install thin

Setup Git Repository

cd myproject
git init
git add .
git commit -m "Initial commit"

Add Heroku Repository

git remote add heroku git@heroku.com:myproject.git

Update Heroku Stack to use Bamboo (Beta)

This is required because bundler is the gem manager. Currently, the Bamboo stack is in beta. Heroku provides a nice article on bundler.

View stack options: heroku stack
Activate the stack: heroku stack:migrate bamboo-ree-1.8.7

Prepare Gemfile for Heroku Bamboo Stack

The Heroku Bamboo stack does have preinstalled gems, so all gems must be declared in the Gemfile. Merb generates a default Gemfile that covers most of the gems. However, Heroku requires a few extras.

Gem Source: source :gemcutter
Bundler: gem 'bundler', '0.9.20'
- Bundler is a tricky one. Each Bamboo stack uses a different bundler version. See the heroku bundler article for details.
SQLite3 for Development
Postgres for Production

Deploy to Heroku

git push heroku master
Open browser to: http://myproject.heroku.com/

Fluid App for Co-op

2010-05-23T00:00:00Z

This Fluid userscript will add a badge to your Co-op Fluid application.

Disable Multitasking on iOS 4.x

2010-10-27T00:00:00Z

By default, when an application is closed on iOS 4.x, it will suspend and not terminate the application.

You can opt out of suspending the application with a simple Info.plist setting.

Open your Xcode project
Open Info.plst
Add a new entry with the following KEY:VALUE pair UIApplicationExitsOnSuspend : YES

Upgrade BlackBerry OS

2010-12-08T00:00:00Z

Approach 1: Avoid Desktop Manager

Requirements

Download & install the BlackBerry Device Manager software

Unlock Device

Delete C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Research In Motion\AppLoader\Vendor.xml

If you do not delete this file, then the software will only install if it matches your device’s carrier/vendor.

Upgrade Device

Connect your device via USB
Open the C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Research In Motion\AppLoader\Loader.exe
Click next many times

Approach 2: Use Desktop Manager

Requirements

Download & install the BlackBerry Device Manager software
Download & install the BlackBerry device software (e.g. OS 6.0.0.337 for 9800)

Unlock Device

Delete C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Research In Motion\AppLoader\Vendor.xml

If you do not delete this file, then the software will only install if it matches your device’s carrier/vendor.

Upgrade Device

Connect your device via USB
Open the BlackBerry Device Manager
Click Device –> Upgrade Device Software

Troubleshooting

During the upgrade, I receive the following error: One of more modules could not be resolved

One of the installed application’s on your device is causing this problem. My solution was to remove all software from the device using the Application section of the Device Manager.

Kill BlackBerry Simulator

2011-01-30T00:00:00Z

On Windows Vista x64 and Windows 7 x64, I have trouble closing the BlackBerry 4.x and 5.x simulators.

In the end, the only way to close it is by killing the task.

To speed the whole process up, I use a kill-blackberry.bat file that I shortcut to my desktop or quick launch bar.

Happy task killing!

Disable Telephone Detection in PhoneGap-iOS

2011-02-09T00:00:00Z

The iPhone’s Mobile Safari can automatically detect and link telephone numbers.

Disable Telephone Detection in Mobile Safari

For mobile web applications, you can disable telephone number detection with <meta name="format-detection" content="telephone=no" />.

Disable Telephone Detection in UIWebView

PhoneGap instantiates a browser using the UIWebView Class. Unfortunately, UIWebView ignores <meta name="format-detection" content="telephone=no" />.

For PhoneGap-iPhone / PhoneGap-iOS applications, you can disable telephone number detection by adding the following to your project’s application delegate:

Open external links in Safari.app

2011-02-15T00:00:00Z

By default, PhoneGap-iOS opens external links within the PhoneGap WebView. This is a terrible default action because there are no navigation buttons within PhoneGap. A simple solution is to open the external links in… the external browser!

Given an external link such as:

http://www.github.com/mwbrooks

When I am using PhoneGap-iOS.

When I want to open the link in the main browser (Safari.app).

Then add the following to the application delegate (myproject/Classes/myprojectAppDelegate.m):

Remove iOS text field input shadow

2011-02-22T00:00:00Z

By default, the iOS WebView will add a top shadow to <input /> elements.

Remove Tap Highlight from Mobile Webkit

2011-02-23T00:00:00Z

On various elements, such as <input type="checkbox" />, a highlight is applied on touch hold.

Hide StatusBar on iOS

2011-06-30T00:00:00Z

A PhoneGap-iOS application is just a regular Xcode iOS project.

Hide Status Bar by Configuration

Open your Xcode project MyApp.xcodeproj
Open your project’s pList file MyApp-Info.plist
Add a new row (right-click –> Add Row)
- Key: “Status bar is initially hidden” (UIStatusBarHidden)
- Value: YES

Hide Status Bar Programmatically

[UIApplication sharedApplication].statusBarHidden = YES;

Android Soft Keyboard Resizes Web View

2011-07-05T00:00:00Z

The default behaviour of Android is to resize the web view when the soft keyboard is displayed. This can cause undesirable behaviour when your PhoneGap application has elements positioned as fixed or absolute.

Normal Web View:

Soft Keyboard Resizes Web View:

Desired Result:

Solution:

Go to your Android application directory
Open AndroidManifest.xml

Add android:windowSoftInputMode="adjustPan to <activity>

  <!-- Before -->
  <activity android:configChanges="orientation|keyboardHidden" android:label="@string/app_name" android:name="PhotoGap">

  <!-- After -->
  <activity android:configChanges="orientation|keyboardHidden" android:windowSoftInputMode="adjustPan" android:label="@string/app_name" android:name="PhotoGap">

The Android Developer Guides have good documentation for android:windowSoftInputMode