ftp.nice.ch/pub/next/tools/screen/backspace/old/Toasters.1.0.README

This is the README for Toasters.1.1.N.bs.tar.gz [Download] [Browse] [Up]

Toasters
One of the things I have always wanted for the amazing BackSpace app was a Toasters module, similar to the one available in After Dark no the Mac.  

This module is an attempt to recreate the Toasters module from After Dark. 

This module (and it's associated TIFFs) must be installed in the BackSpace.app directory, otherwise the bitmaps for the toasters won't be loaded at startup time.  The easiest way to accomplish this is to open a shell, cd to the toasters directory and type 

make install

This will put everything in the proper place.

The key to this module's operation is a List object containing all of the animation entries (objects of class FlyingImage).  These objects know how to move and animate themselves (flapping their wings).  Some of this code would make a decent framework for other modules that wish to do similar animation.
In other words .....

Feel Free To Re-Use As Much Of This Code As You Want!

Comments + suggestions are welcome

Happy Toasters!

Bruce Henderson (Spud boy emeritus)
bruce@pages.com

Of course you can NeXT mail here..............


BUGS / HINTS:

I am really disappointed that I was forced to use a non-buffered window for performance reasons.  This is why you may notice a slight flicker.  I find it really annoying.  I have done everything I can to minimize it (by making the animation and erase as fast as possible) but it still remains.

I hope that eventually there will be some way to add a .nib file into the BackSpace modules, so that I can include controls for the number of toasters, amount of toast, etc.

The number of toasters is #def'd at the top of ToasterViewClass, changing this and re-compiling will change the number of toasters on the screen.

INSTALLING ON A MACHINE WITHOUT A DEVELOPMENT SYSTEM:

1:	open the App wrapper for BackSpace.app in the WorkSpace Manager.  
	(This is done by selecting it and typing command-O.  )
	
2:	Drag the following files into the BackSpace.app directory
	ToastersView.o
	toaster1.tiff
	toaster2.tiff
	toaster3.tiff
	toaster4.tiff
	toast.tiff
	
2:	Close up the directory and you are done!	

These are the contents of the former NiCE NeXT User Group NeXTSTEP/OpenStep software archive, currently hosted by Netfuture.ch.