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Developing Quicktime Applications For The iPod
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2004-07-02 08:06:48
Any iPod Hacks regular knows that there are a good many applications out there that have been written to extend the functionality of the iPod. Most are rather basics in nature, perhaps using the iPod's built in Note Reader app as a vehicle to their added functionality. Such applications can be very useful, but where are the full-fledged programs written to run independently on the iPod? Is such development even possible? Tim Monroe, a member of Apple's QuickTime engineering team, answers that question with a resounding "yes" in his recent article "Snow Day: Developing QuickTime Applications for the iPod," appearing in the April 2004 issue (vol. 20, no. 4) of MacTech Magazine.
In the article, Tim dispells the widely held belief that the iPod is a closed system and that writing custom applications for the device requires expensive and hard to obtain development tools. As the reader is taken through the process of developing an application from the ground up that will perform QuickTime movie playback on the iPod's screen, it becomes clear that the iPod is a viable development platform indeed. The author explains that the iPod is actually running a slimmed down version of the Mac OS X kernel and that all is needed to bring custom applications to life is a text editor and knowledge of a little known variant of the SNOBOL programming language that Apple uses, known as SNOJOB.
 | | ( screenshot of the "SnoEez" application ) |
The article, full of example code and screenshots, is truly eye-opening and provides a glimpse at just how flexible our favorite little digital music player is. We have high hopes that this instructional will set in motion many would-be developers to bring forth apps that truly exploit the iPod's capabilities.
We here at iPod Hacks were lucky enough to be given exclusive rights by MacTech and Tim to summarize and post for our readers the article in its entirety. Please take the opportunity to download the 13-page document, below:
UPDATE: Yes...some have voiced speculation and now that we take a good look at it, I think we have to admit missing key subtle clues and were taken in (or SNOJOB'ed) on this one. That's what you get for working on posts in the wee hours. And how fair is it for an April Fools issue with such a subtle joke to ship in mid-June?! At any rate...you got us, guys. No foolin!
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