Software Development Posts

• Where I’ll be at WWDC 2024

  June 10, 2024

  I’ll be doing a few things this week at WWDC24 and wanted to pass along my schedule. Hope to see you at one or more of these happenings!

• LIVE near WWDC 2023 Update: Livestream and More!

  June 1, 2023

  
  With less than a week until LIVE near WWDC 2023, we’ve been gearing up for an evening of music, laughter and fun that we think folks are going to really enjoy.

• Swift.org Blog Post: ‘Using Upcoming Feature Flags’

  May 30, 2023

  This will likely be my only post this week not somehow related to next week’s LIVE near WWDC 2023 show.

• LIVE near WWDC Returns For 2023!

  May 16, 2023

  SOLD OUT!

  Tickets for LIVE near WWDC 2023 are now sold out. Thank you to everyone who purchased a ticket—we're looking forward to seeing you.

  But everyone is welcome to join in our livestream event! Details below.

  There are still two ways you can join us LIVE near WWDC 2023:

  Join the Waitlist

  After talking with the venue, we will be able to accommodate a few more attendees!
  Click through to join the waitlist and you will be notified of ticket availability in order of joining.

• No LIVE near WWDC show for 2022

  June 5, 2022

  Before WWDC22 gets started tomorrow, I wanted to announce that there will be no LIVE near WWDC show for 2022.

• Where I’ll be at WWDC 2021

  June 7, 2021

  I’ll be doing a few things this week at WWDC 2021 and wanted to pass along my schedule. Hope to see you at one or more of these happenings!

• Introducing swiftversion.net

  December 2, 2020

  Do you ever mix up the different dot releases of Swift?

• The Xcode 11 and Swift Package Combo Platter

  September 12, 2019

  Since the Swift Package Manager (Swift PM or SPM) was introduced in late 2015 it has seemed like a natural fit for Xcode and SPM packages to work well together at some point in the future. At WWDC 2019, Apple announced that future was arriving in Xcode 11.

• Drive Time with the Swift Standard Library

  July 19, 2019

  The last week and a half or so, I’ve been driving up and down the East Coast. (Hello I-95, my old friend. I’m paying tolls on you again.)

• A Kid in the June 2019 Candy Store

  June 21, 2019

  June 2019 has me feeling like a kid in a candy store.

• A Generic Swift Blog Post

  June 14, 2019

  I began investigating SwiftUI to see if it is indeed the shortest path to a great app. Since then, I committed an update to the MemeMaker project that makes the initial interface a list of examples. I was experimenting with passing a different View into each row as the destination of the row’s NavigationButton, rather than hard-coding the destination.

• SwiftUI: Almost Too Much Fun

  June 12, 2019

  In my previous post, I described the JDBP band app I want to build and the technologies introduced at WWDC 2019 that I think might make it much easier to create.

• The Shortest Path To A Great App

  June 10, 2019

  “The Shortest Path To A Great App” That is the phrase Apple used in a number of the SwiftUI sessions at WWDC last week. But beyond SwiftUI, there were a number of other announcements at WWDC 2019 that also could lead to a shorter path to a great app.

• Where I’ll be at WWDC 2019

  May 31, 2019

  I’ll be doing a few things next week at WWDC 2019 and wanted to pass along my schedule. Hope to see you at one or more of these happenings!

• Where I’ll be at WWDC 2018

  June 2, 2018

  I’ll be doing a few things next week at WWDC and wanted to pass along my schedule. Hope to see you at one or more of these happenings!

• Xcode: Who’s to Blame?

  October 17, 2017

  A recent tweet from Dave DeLong reminded me of something that’s been on my mind for a long while.

• New Xcode Build System and BuildSettingExtractor

  June 13, 2017

  Last week at WWDC 2017, Apple announced a new build system for Xcode, with an opt-in preview in Xcode 9. The new system is written in Swift and promises to be a significant advance in a number of areas including performance and dependency management. The new system is built on top of the open source llbuild project and lays the foundation for integrating the Xcode build system with the Swift Package Manager.

• tvOS and watchOS Device Summary: April Edition

  April 1, 2016

  After updating the popular iOS Device Summary in March, it seemed the beginning of April would be a good time to introduce summaries for devices running the most recently introduced Apple operating systems: tvOS and watchOS.

• iOS Device Summary: A8 iPod Touch Update

  July 16, 2015

  I’ve updated my iOS Device Summary with the newly announced iPod touch.

• iOS Device Summary: iOS 9 Update

  June 29, 2015

  I’ve updated my iOS Device Summary with the iOS 9 info Apple has publicly posted.

• Where I’ll be at WWDC 2015

  June 3, 2015

  I’ll be doing a few things next week at WWDC and wanted to pass along my schedule. Hope to see you at one or more of these happenings!

• NSConference 7: A Look Back

  March 24, 2015

  Last fall, I received an email that read, “I would like to invite you to be a speaker at NSConference 7”.

• Going Upthere

  February 24, 2015

  I’m very happy to announce that I have joined the team at Upthere.

• Learning More About Xcode Build Settings with BuildSettingExtractor

  February 8, 2015

  Last week I posted about BuildSettingExtractor, a utility that makes it easy to pull the build settings out of an Xcode project file and into xcconfig build configuration files. (The post also mentions some xcconfig file benefits with links to ‘how to’ information. Read the earlier post here.)

• Generating Xcode Build Configuration Files with BuildSettingExtractor (xcodeproj → xcconfig)

  January 31, 2015

  The most recent NSScreencast covered using build configuration files to specify build settings in Xcode. (Episode #154)

• Lyrical November

  November 10, 2014

  The response to Backtrace has been fantastic, and I wanted to thank everyone who has shown their support by purchasing the album and helping to spread the word. You made Backtrace the #1 comedy album on iTunes in the US, UK, and Canada.  You also made it debut at #5 on the Billboard Comedy Album Chart. I cannot thank you all enough!

• iOS Device Summary: iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 Update

  October 28, 2014

  It’s been a busy few weeks with Apple announcements and Backtrace, our new album of iOS and Mac development songs, hitting the Billboard charts. I’ve updated my iOS Device Summary to include the recently announced iPads.

• Breakpoints in Vegas — Album Preview Jam

  September 23, 2014

  Last Friday night, just a stone’s throw away from where Frank Sinatra and The Rat Pack performed their legendary shows, James Dempsey and the Breakpoints made their Las Vegas debut. The jam featured songs from the upcoming album Backtrace.

• iOS Device Summary: iPhone 6 Update

  September 10, 2014

  I’ve updated my iOS Device Summary to include the new iPhone 6 models.

• An Eclectic Breakpoint Jam in Columbus

  August 14, 2014

  The 2014 Fall Tour kicked off at CocoaConf Columbus with the most eclectic collection of instruments ever assembled for a Breakpoint Jam.

• iOS Device Summary: iOS 8 Update

  June 13, 2014

  I’ve updated my iOS Device Summary for iOS 8 with the info Apple has publicly posted.

• Breakpoints Recap WWDC 2014

  June 11, 2014

  There was no WWDC ticket for me this year, but it was still a very enjoyable and busy week for James Dempsey and the Breakpoints. Here are some of the highlights from last week in San Francisco.

• WWDC After Dark

  May 13, 2014

  When James Dempsey and the Breakpoints play live near WWDC, sometimes things progress beyond the sweet sounds of nerdy, nerdy music.

• James Dempsey and the Breakpoints, LIVE near WWDC 2014, Wed 6/4!

  April 29, 2014

  James Dempsey and the Breakpoints will be performing Live Near WWDC 2014 on Wednesday, June 4th at 7:00 PM.

• Life Without WWDC

  April 18, 2014

  [Update: This post was written in 2014 — but holds true for WWDC 2015. As for me, I didn’t try to get a ticket this year.

• March of the Breakpoints — ‘Goto Fail’, Chicago, DC

  April 9, 2014

  March was a busy month for James Dempsey and the Breakpoints, with a brand new song and video (ripped from the headlines!) and Breakpoint Jams at CocoaConf Chicago and Washington DC.

• Important Points for Developers from Fall Apple Events

  October 29, 2013

  Some of the most important points for developers to consider from the recent iPhone and iPad launch events are circled on these charts.

• Updated iOS Device Summary with iPad Air and new iPad mini

  October 24, 2013

  I’ve updated my iOS Device Summary to include the newly-announced iPad Air and iPad mini with Retina Display.

• Updated iOS Device Summary with iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C

  September 10, 2013

  I’ve updated my iOS Device Summary to include the newly-announced iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C.

• iOS Device Summary: iOS 7 Update

  June 21, 2013

  I’ve updated my iOS Device Summary for iOS 7 with the info Apple has publicly posted.

• Breakpoints Live Near WWDC 2013, Wed 6/12! Save the date!

  May 28, 2013

  Update Jun 9, 2013: Daniel Pasco will be joining the Breakpoints on trumpet and guitar!

• Pixar Post Interview and WALT Review

  January 18, 2013

  The Pixar Post just ran an interview with me along with their review of WALT.

• Hope to see you at Renaissance

  December 30, 2012

  Renaissance, the iOS app makers’ conference, is happening in San Francisco from  January 21-23. It looks to be an excellent event and I am excited to be a part of it.

• Updated iOS Device Summary

  October 24, 2012

  Here’s an updated version of the iOS Device Summary that includes the newly announced iPad mini and 4th Generation iPad.  Read more about the summary in the original article. Downloadable PDFs are at the bottom of the post. •

• iOS Device Summary

  October 9, 2012

  One challenge as a small independent iOS developer is keeping up with evolving hardware. Some testing can be done in the iOS Simulator, but to see how an app truly behaves, it is important to develop and test on actual devices.

• Getting an app ready for iPhone 5

  October 2, 2012

  I was traveling the week between the iPhone 5 announcement and release. I returned from my trip champing at the bit to update my app WALT to use the entire 4-inch display, instead of being stuck in the letterbox ghetto. Updating turned out to be simple and straightforward.  Here’s how it went.

• Shipping a first iOS app

  August 27, 2012

  My first iOS app, WALT, went live recently, and I wanted to share some of my thoughts on the development experience.  Overall, there were two big differences from past projects I have worked on.

• Moving to new Objective-C literals

  July 30, 2012

  Last week, I moved one of my projects over to use the new Objective-C literals for NSNumber, NSArray and NSDictionary as well as the new syntax for boxing expressions into NSNumber and NSString objects.  Here are a few comments on how it went.

• The Liki Song on iTunes!

  June 8, 2012

  Our new single, The Liki Song, is now available on iTunes. Like a tropical breeze arriving on the shores of a faraway isle, the new single from James Dempsey and the Breakpoints is here—gliding onto the scene just in time for WWDC 2012.