Looking for tips on memory mgt in standalones

[Richard Gaskin]

tbodine wrote:
> I'm building a desktop app as a standalone that will use separate stacks to
> store the user's work. A "New File" button creates the stack under a new
> name and saves it to the user's document area. When the user closes such a
> file, it looks like it still persists in memory. (Going by what the
> Application Browser shows.) What's the best way to remove these document
> stacks from memory in a standalone?

The simplest way is to set the stack's destroyStack property to true, 
which doesn't actually destroy the stack itself but merely removes it 
from memory when it's closed.


> Also, the app will need to save user's preferences. Knowing that main stacks
> cannot save to themselves, I set it up with a substack that stores prefs in
> custom properties. However, I see now that the substack is actually part of
> the main stack file. So doesn't that means the substack will have the same
> problem of being sandboxed by the OS and unable to save? What solutions do
> you recommend?

Data can be saved to mainstacks, provided it's not the stackfile which 
is the executable.  In fact, one can't even save to substacks of the 
mainstack of the stackfile which is the executable, but as long as its a 
separate file you're good.

Exactly where you should save stackfiles used for prefs data is an item 
of much contention these days; some say that Apple's HIG recommendation 
to use the Preferences folder no longer applies unless you use their 
APIs to read and write it, opting instead to store prefs in an entirely 
different folder, Application Support.

While there's been much discussion of which is best here, I don't think 
anyone's yet provided a URL to Apple's guidelines on this, though it 
would be helpful if someone can turn it up.

I suppose it's not unthinkable that Apple would attempt to control the 
file format devs use for prefs, but it seems a bit draconian even for 
Apple, and I suspect that with so many devs accustomed to being able to 
control their own file formats there'd be more of an outcry if indeed 
this is what Apple is now requiring.

So I'll leave it for others here to suggest where to put it (I still put 
prefs in Preferences, but so far I've been avoiding the App Store so I 
don't know if those reviewers are requiring preferences to be stored 
outside of Preferences), but as far as the basic mechanics of saving 
data in a standalone this article from Sarah is very helpful:

<http://livecodejournal.com/tutorials/saving_data_in_revolution.html>

-- 
  Richard Gaskin
  Fourth World Systems
  Software Design and Development for the Desktop, Mobile, and the Web
  ____________________________________________________________________
  Ambassador at FourthWorld.com                http://www.FourthWorld.com