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Minim Development Diary: Week 9
Posted on 20/10/2007 at 01:53 AM in
Last week I saw the finishing line and this week I’ve been able to almost touch it. Yesterday I managed to get my to-do list for Minim 1.2 finished. I built the first internal beta version (1.2b1) and have started using it to access my main library (I actually started using it a while ago when I accidentally built a release version and opened it, thereby updating my 1.1 library). Of course now I’m using Minim 1.2 properly I’m noticing quite a few bugs I’ve missed.
And while we’re on bugs, it might be worth outlining my testing method: I don’t write any automated tests. Yes it may be worth it to some people, but unless I’m writing a framework I do not see the point in writing code to test code. The best way to test an application is to actually use it. It takes time but it tries to break the application in ways users will break the application. Only write code to test stuff that people will write code to interface with. If I was adding AppleScript support then yes I’d build a bunch of AppleScripts I can run.
That said, the Leopard feature list on Apple’s website highlighted a feature I’ve missed in my use of Leopard: Automator UI recording. I’m going to be experimenting with this to build up a UI test suite for Minim 1.2. While I don’t like the idea of writing automated tests for a piece of software, I’m all for having a way I can automate the testing of my app based on using it as a user.
Most of the remaining work centres around the UI (mostly icons) and a few bugs I’ve found. I’m pretty confident of having an early November release for 1.2 but this all depends on how long it takes to do the marketing and distribution side of things, specifically the screencasts.
I’ve included some screenshots of 1.2 below to liven up this otherwise text filled post. And just a note, there may not be a post next week as I’ll be heading over to the Apple Store for the Leopard launch. Unfortunately my ADC account expires on the 25th and so I have to pay for my final copy of Leopard. Don’t worry though, we’re testing all our apps against Leopard already so we’ll be Leopard compatible when the big cat ships next week.
