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Beginning REALbasic - From Novice to Professional
of: Jerry Lee Jr. Ford
Apress, 2006
ISBN: 9781430201694 , 372 Pages
Format: PDF, Read online
Copy protection: DRM
Contents
7
About the Author
18
About the Technical Reviewer
19
Acknowledgments
20
Introduction
21
Part 1 Introducing REALbasic
24
Chapter 1 An Introduction to REALbasic
25
Overview of REALbasic
25
Standard vs. Professional
32
REALbasic vs. Visual Basic
36
REALbasic vs. Apple’s XCode
38
Online REALbasic Support Services
39
Getting Started with Your First REALbasic Application
41
Summary
55
Chapter 2 Navigating the REALbasic Integrated Development Environment
56
Starting REALbasic
56
The REALbasic Menu
58
REALbasic’s Main Toolbar
59
REALbasic’s Bookmarks Toolbar
60
REALbasic’s Screen Area
62
REALbasic’s Tips Bar
72
REALbasic’s Integrated Help Features
73
Building a Custom Web Browser
78
Summary
85
Part 2 Learning How to Program with REALbasic
86
Chapter 3 Creating an Application’s User Interface
87
Building Application Windows
87
Changing the Default Window
95
Deleting Windows
96
Encrypting and Decrypting Windows
96
Working with Controls
97
A REALbasic Control Overview
99
Extending REALbasic Functionality by Adding New Controls
115
Control Alignment
116
Changing Tab Order
117
Building a Desktop Clock
118
Summary
121
Chapter 4 Working with REALbasic Menus
122
Working with REALbasic Menu Bars
122
Adding Menus, Submenus, and Menu Items
128
Enhancing Menu Systems
137
Using Menu Items to Trigger Command and Code Execution
142
Controlling Access to Menu Items
145
Reconfiguring Menu Organization
145
Customizing the Apple and Macintosh Menus
147
Creating a StickyPad Application
148
Summary
152
Chapter 5 Storing and Retrieving Application Data
153
Adding Comments to Your Code
153
Storing and Retrieving Data
156
Working with Variables
157
Converting Between Data Types
162
Storing Data in Arrays
164
Working with Dictionaries
167
Constants
169
Reserved Keywords
172
Creating a Starter Desktop Calculator
172
Summary
179
Chapter 6 Making Decisions with Conditional Logic
180
Implementing Conditional Logic
180
Working with the If…Then Statement
181
The Select…Case Block
186
#If…#EndIf
188
REALbasic Operators
190
Creating a Computer Game
193
Summary
203
Chapter 7 Iterative Processing
204
Processing Data with Loops
204
Shortcuts for Creating Loops
214
Guarding Against Endless Loops
216
Creating a REALbasic Movie Player
217
Summary
224
Chapter 8 Object-Oriented Programming
225
An Introduction to Object-Oriented Programming
225
Event-Driven Programming
234
Working with Modules
236
Working with Windows
241
Building the RB Picture Viewer
247
Summary
255
Part 3 Advanced Topics
256
Chapter 9 Processing Text Files
257
Working with Plain and Styled Text Documents
257
Defining File Types
257
Accessing Files and Folders
259
Process Text Files
264
Working with Styled Text
266
Saving Files
268
Printing Files
269
Creating a REALbasic Word Processor
273
Summary
286
Chapter 10 Working with Databases
287
REALbasic’s Database Support
287
Creating and Opening REAL SQL Databases
289
Defining Database Schema
291
Querying Database Data
297
Developing Database Front-Ends
303
The RB Book Database
306
Summary
313
Chapter 11 Working with Graphics and Audio
314
Adding Sound Effects to REALbasic Applications
314
Working with Graphics
323
Building an MP3 Player
330
Summary
334
Chapter 12 Debugging REALbasic Applications
335
Tracking Down and Fixing Errors
335
Working with the REALbasic Debugger
340
Developing Error Handlers
345
Building a Network Connection Checker Application
350
Summary
355
Part 4 Appendixes
356
APPENDIX A Migrating Visual Basic Projects to REALbasic
357
Porting Visual Basic Projects to REALbasic
357
APPENDIX B What’s on the CD-ROM?
361
REALbasic Program Source Code
361
APPENDIX C What’s Next?
363
Locating REALbasic Resources Online
363
REALbasic Developer Magazine
364
Joining REALbasic Mailing Lists
366
Index
367
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