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Issue 7.1

COLUMN

Thoughts from the Publisher

Issue: 7.1 (November/December 2008)
Author: Marc Zeedar
Author Bio: When RBD publisher Marc Zeedar was a kid he used to create magazines just for fun. Now he's doing it for a living! You may contact him at editor@rbdeveloper.com.
Article Description: No description available.
Article Length (in bytes): 3,982
Starting Page Number: 5
Article Number: 7100
Related Link(s): None

Full text of article...

RBD in Book Form

I am delighted to announce a new product from REALbasic Developer: annual perfect-bound volumes of the magazine!

If you're one of those who prefers a printed edition of the magazine for archiving, this is going to please you. Each year of the magazine will be available in its own 300-page perfect-bound book. The books feature full-color covers and black-and-white interiors. A few books will be much easier to manage than having 36 magazine issues crowding your bookshelf!

While I have plans to produce printed books of all the years, I'm launching this feature with just Volume 6. I'm doing that because I'd like to test the interest and receive some feedback, because Volume 6 includes issues 6.5 and 6.6, which were never printed, and because the recent material's the most current and relevant. If the book's a success, I'll produce the other volumes shortly.

Volume 6 is now in pre-order. If you place your order by Nov. 14, 2008, you qualify for a 25% discount! Even better, I'm offering an additional 25% off to existing RBD subscribers! That means you can pre-order this book for 50% off (just $25 instead of $50)! You'll need to use this special order page:

bookpreorder-subscriber.shtml

Don't forget -- the preorder price is only good through Nov. 14, 2008, though current subscribers can always get the 25% discount as a thank-you for subscribing.

If you've been a digital-only subscriber, this is a great way to get the printed editions. Also, if you know of someone who isn't a subscriber, the book is a great way to introduce them to the magazine.

The Volume 6 book is scheduled to begin shipping at the end of November 2008.

In This Issue

I've been publishing this magazine for over six years and the process still amazes me. Obviously we plan some articles months in advance, but different things always seem to happen: an author is late, forgets, runs out of time, or there's some crisis that prevents an article from being completed. Yet -- almost magically it seems sometimes -- another article, completely unplanned, will materialize to fill the void.

This issue is a classic in that regard: two months ago I had very little to put it in and I worried I wouldn't have enough material. But the issue has blossomed into a terrific edition that I believe is one of our strongest yet.

We begin with an article on object-oriented programming by Jens Bendig (he co-wrote the acclaimed "Crystal-Clear Programming" feature in RBD 6.2), who writes about using the Template-Method design pattern. If you've ever found yourself writing almost identical methods for different objects, this is an important read.

In other features, J.C. Cruz is back with an article on writing your own grammar style checker, Brad Rhine explains how to use REALbasic's Toolbar classes, and I chip in with an article on using RBScript for better programming.

Additionally we have an interesting interview with Ray Barber, who runs the cool prMac service. (By the way, his interview was suggested by an RBD reader, so keep feeding me those ideas!)

Our columns in this issue span the gamut -- container controls, database reporting, legal contracts, installing Yuma, how RB compiler optimizations effect your code, OOP side-effects, and interface fading. Enjoy!

End of article.