As promised in Chapter 6, Page 560, Footnote 8, here is a discussion of extending the Mac OS X kernel to provide the functionality of the missing /dev/kmem device on the x86 version of Mac OS X. Note that I’m categorizing it here as bonus material for Chapter 8 (Memory) because even though it is [...]
I will be there at the July 13 meeting of the CocoaHeads Silicon Valley Cocoa Programmer’s Group.
From what I read on their web page, the meeting takes place at the Apple campus in Cupertino. Developers of all levels are welcome and there are no fees.
This source code is an example of programmatically receiving keyboard events, with the option of filtering and modifying them, on Mac OS X 10.4 and up.
I have received some queries regarding differing page counts and publication dates being reported by several retailers. Some people are wondering if the “European edition” (there is no such thing) has fewer pages, etc. Well, it’s just that some retailers’ information is not up-to-date. The correct details are as follows:
The book has already been published. [...]
I received the book—the publisher overnighted me a copy.
Next to two of the books I respect.
The book’s status is officially “published”—as stated on Addison-Wesley’s page for the book. Note also that it is listed as shipping.
Amazon’s page usually takes some time to sync.
If I understand things correctly, stores should have it soon enough—after whatever time it takes to ship, etc.
Happy reading…
PS: No, I don’t have a copy as of this [...]
Since I keep receiving queries on accessing the light-related data associated with the ambient light sensor and the backlit keyboard on Apple notebook computers, here is a more detailed discussion, along with source code, on performing the following operations.
Retrieving readings from the ambient light sensor
Retrieving and setting the LED brightness value of the backlit keyboard
Initiating [...]
Besides the sudden motion sensor, Apple notebook computers contain other sensors (depending on the specific model). These other sensors can also be queried by user programs. This is a crude example that periodically retrieves readings from the ambient light sensors.
I received these in the mail today. Note that unlike the two volumes shown here, the final book is a single unit and is hardbound. The latter uses higher quality and thinner paper, so it is possible to fit everything into one unit.
Since someone asked: this source code is an example of programmatically receiving mouse events, with the option of filtering and modifying them, on Mac OS X 10.4 and up.
I have released a new version (2.5) of hfsdebug. The new version fixes a bug in the calculation of free space blocks on a volume, and now all features are supported on both the PowerPC and x86 versions of Mac OS X. In particular, hfsdebug no longer uses the /dev/kmem device for displaying kernel-memory-resident mount [...]
I am glad to share the following information about the book’s schedule.
Publication date: June 16, 2006
Estimated in-stock date: June 23, 2006
In its final (published) form, the book has 1680 pages.
Mac OS X Internals: A Presentation is a Flash rendition of a presentation I recently gave.
EFI Programming on Mac OS X is a note on jumpstarting EFI development on Mac OS X. Prebuilt compiler toolchains for the PowerPC and x86 versions of Mac OS X are also available.
The book’s back cover contents are available for viewing.
The book’s cover and preface are now available for viewing.
For those who will know what this means: yes, the book’s production is back on track.