Some small (?) Carbon troubles

External Since: Apr 09, 2007 Posts: 5

Hey,

Im trying to use carbon to make a small app for an image gallery im
working on. All this app needs to do is watch for new images to appear
in a directory, then possibly rotate them and create a thumbnail, then
move everything to another directory. The problem is... I have pretty
much no idea how to use Carbon! I picked carbon because i already know
C++ (the gallery is for the web, PHP), and dont need to take the time
to learn Objective-C.

I've already gotten a window with 2 buttons that trigger functions,
and a text box, but im lost as to how i would check a directory for
new files. I was also hoping someone could point me at some image
libraries (can i use any C++ libraries with Carbon?) that i could use.

All i need to know really is how i can watch a directory for new
files.

Thanks!

External Since: Apr 09, 2007 Posts: 5

On Apr 9, 11:45 pm, Michael Ash <m....DeleteThis@mikeash.com> wrote:
> Seventoes <sevent....DeleteThis@gmail.com> wrote:
> > Hey,
>
> > Im trying to use carbon to make a small app for an image gallery im
> > working on. All this app needs to do is watch for new images to appear
> > in a directory, then possibly rotate them and create a thumbnail, then
> > move everything to another directory. The problem is... I have pretty
> > much no idea how to use Carbon! I picked carbon because i already know
> > C++ (the gallery is for the web, PHP), and dont need to take the time
> > to learn Objective-C.
>
> First, let me urge you to reconsider. Of course you're free to do as you
> wish, but I think it's worth learning Objective-C in this case so you can
> use Cocoa.
>
> Objective-C is easy. The amount of time it takes to learn the language is
> small. You'll mostly spend time learning the libraries, and Cocoa is much
> faster to pick up than Carbon. I think the time spent with the language
> will be more than compensated by the time not spent learning Carbon.
>
> > I've already gotten a window with 2 buttons that trigger functions,
> > and a text box, but im lost as to how i would check a directory for
> > new files. I was also hoping someone could point me at some image
> > libraries (can i use any C++ libraries with Carbon?) that i could use.
>
> > All i need to know really is how i can watch a directory for new
> > files.
>
> You can use any C++ libraries with Carbon. Carbon is just a library
> itself, and it doesn't limit what else you can use.
>
> For your question, I would suggest kqueues. This is a UNIX level
> notification system which allows you to watch a directory for activity and
> get informed when anything changes. There is more information in the
> kqueue man page.
>
> Another possibility is to use Spotlight. While intended for searches,
> Spotlight will also give you updates to your search whenever anything
> changes. You can ask for all files and limit your search to a specific
> directory, then the query will give you an initial set of results in that
> directory, followed by updates for any new or deleted files in it. This
> functionality is exposed by MDQuery in CoreFoundation and by
> NSMetadataQuery in Cocoa.
>
> --
> Michael Ash
> Rogue Amoeba Software

Thanks for the help, I dont really have the need to learn Objective-C,
since this will probably be the only app i ever write for mac, as im a
web developer. kqueue looks a little advanced for my skill level :-\

Anyone have any information on using FNSubscribeByPath? It sort of
looks like what im looking for, but i still have no idea how to use it.