Re: Lengthy questions from a newbie

FROM : Paul Lynch
DATE : Tue Jun 20 18:39:50 2006

On 19 Jun 2006, at 23:41, Ben Einstein wrote:

> 1) Painless database connection. We'd love to use MySQL and it's 
> speed/price/scalability, but there seems to be no widely available 
> framework for connecting to MySQL DBs from cocoa, except a product 
> from Serge Cohen, which is undocumented/unexampled : http://mysql-
> cocoa.sourceforge.net/. WebObjects is too flimsy (as far as we can 
> determine with mostly web-based apps).


WebObjects is in no way "flimsy".  Quite the opposite.  However, you 
are probably best off using a native Cocoa API, if what you want to 
is create Cocoa apps (not enough information to advise on that).

> And our code, the way it currently stands using the MySQL C-API, is 
> littered with more cString commands then I can stand. It requires 
> 3/4 full lines of code to take the NSString from a text box and 
> dump it into a C-style SQL statement. Our applications require a 
> couple hundred SQL skeletons; its a pain. There HAS to be an easier 
> way. Am I missing something basic?


Do some research on categories.  But any ObjC API would avoid that.

> 2) Remote views. Another major feature that has us stumped: 
> building a separate mini-application that allows users on a remote 
> system to fully interact (in a controlled manner) with the primary 
> interface. For example, one system has 3 or 4 sections of 
> questions, and a remote operator can view and answer these 
> questions section by section via a little window at the bottom of 
> the remote system, using previous and next buttons to navigate 
> through the main screen. The main screen must still be accessible 
> and updated when the answers on the remote system are entered. I 
> figure a custom view is best, but we're completely lost about where 
> to start with such a thing.


Sounds a little like Distributed Objects, and a little like a web 
app; or maybe a normal, simple, database app with multiple users, 
your description isn't entirely clear to me.  In either case, take 
another look at WebObjects, and also at the JavaClient technology in 
WebObjects.

Paul