Welcome to the Macintosh Developer site by Thomas Tempelmann

This page contains programming information about Mac OS that I assembled over the years and that might be helpful for others like you, too. Unless otherwise noted, all information is copyrighted 1999 by Thomas Tempelmann.

Overview

• New: My Newton page shows a project in the works for connecting your Desktop computer to Newton Messagepads. It's open source.
• Some reusable C libraries (updated Jan 22, 2001)
• Desktop DB Diver has been updated to v1.0.6
• REALbasic programming has its own dedicated page.
• Almost everything you might need to know about the Desktop Database
• Links to other valuable programming information

The Desktop Database (aka. DT DB)

Documentation about the DTDB

These articles have been written by me:

• Contents of the Desktop Database and how the Finder and other extensions (such a Mac OS Easy Open) build it.
• The Finder's algorithm for looking up the creator application of a specific document. Also teaches some basics on File Types and Creator Codes.

Desktop DB Diver (freeware)

This is a Macintosh application for viewing the contents of the Desktop Database. I used it to analyze the DTDB format and to test tools of mine like Reveal Creator.

It does not have much documentation yet. Some items have balloon help, however.

Usage: Either start to browse a DTDB from the given list of volumes, or open a document (either by using Open from the menu or by dragging a file onto the app) in order to view all applications that are registered in the DTDB for that creator.

New in version 1.0.6:

• Supports the Edit command Copy now in all text windows.

Download v1.0.6 here as a Stuffit Archive (940 KB) via http.

Some of my C libraries (free)

These are C source code files for different purposes that I frequently use in my own projects. Feel free to use them, too, but please leave my name as the originator in them in case others find your copies and want to get in contact with the author (me or whoever else).

• QuitHandler provides a callback mechanism for cleanup operations in case your application unexpectedly quits (for 68K and Classic PPC only - for Carbon you can tell the Linker to call a "Termination" routine instead).
• LaunchLib is an extension and fix to Apple's LaunchWithDoc sample code. It features a corrected way to search for the app of a given creator, and adds functions to check and open CDEVs and some useful stuff related to opening and quitting applications.
• FileLib has some additional File Manager related functions.
• PascalLib is a set of C-style string functions dealing with Pascal strings.
• KillOthers is another modfied Apple sample for quitting all running apps, optionally including background processes and the Finder.
• LargeSet is a C++ class handling large boolean array in a bitset type manner.
• Finally, the always-needed TrapAvail function.

  Updated July 31, 99: Added "inBackground" parameter to some LaunchLib functions.

  Updated Jan 22, 01: Added "QuitHandler" and fixed some compile problem with recent versions of Universal Headers.

  Download them all at once as a Stuffit Archive (24 KB) via http.

Questions, comments? Write to macdev*tempel.org

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