Pygmentize is a syntax highlighter written in Python. It can be used as a simple command line tool, as well as being reached from Python scripts.

In the following example I want to highlight a JavaScript file. I tell pygmentize to output HTML:

pygmentize -f html -o example.html example.js

The command above generated this output (I simply imported the HTML created by Pygmentize into my blog post).

Take a closer look in the quickstart guide for more details on the command line tool, and how to use it in Python scripts. A package called Minted that utilizes pygmentize can be used to list source code in LaTeX. I used it in my Master thesis, and it looks so much better than the default lstlistings.

Person.h

In the code below we define the interface of the Person class. Notice the NSCoding protocol in the interface header.

@interface Person : NSObject <NSCoding>
{
     NSString *firstName;
     NSString *secondName;
     NSString *phone;
}
@property (nonatomic, retain)NSString *firstName;
@property (nonatomic, retain)NSString *lastName;
@property (nonatomic, retain)NSString *phone;

Person.m

In the code below we can see the person implementation. Notice the implementation of the NSCoding protocol. We have to implement two methods, encodeWithCoder and initWithCoder. We tell the NSCoding protocol that we want to decode and encode all of the person’s members. We give the objects keys in the first method so that we are able to find them again later when we decode.

@implementation Person
@synthesize firstName, secondName, phone;

- (void)encodeWithCoder:(NSCoder *)encoder {
    [encoder encodeObject:firstName forKey:@"firstName"];
    [encoder encodeObject:lastName forKey:@"lastName"];
    [encoder encodeObject:phone forKey:@"phone"];
}

- (id)initWithCoder:(NSCoder *)decoder {
    if (self = [super init]) {
        self.firstName = [decoder decodeObjectForKey:@"firstName"];
	self.lastName = [decoder decodeObjectForKey:@"lastName"];
	self.phone = [decoder decodeObjectForKey:@"phone"];
    }
    return self;
}

Saving and loading an array

In the code below we populate an array with two person objects, then we save the array to disk and afterwards load it.

// Create two person objects
Person *person1 = [[Person alloc] init];
person1.firstName = @"Peter";
person1.lastName = @"Peterson";
person1.phone = @"12345678";

Person *person2 = [[Person alloc] init];
person2.firstName = @"Andrea";
person2.lastName = @"Peterson";
person2.phone = @"12345687";

// Put them into an array
NSArray *array = [[NSArray alloc] initWithObjects:person1, person2, nil];

// Save the array
NSArray *paths = NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomains(NSDocumentDirectory,
                                                     NSUserDomainMask, YES);
NSString *docDir = [paths objectAtIndex:0];
NSString *fullFileName = [NSString stringWithFormat:@"%@/ourArray", docDir];
[NSKeyedArchiver archiveRootObject:array toFile:fullFileName];

// Load the array
NSMutableArray *arrayFromDisk = [NSKeyedUnarchiver
                                 unarchiveObjectWithFile:fullFileName];

Conclusion

Follow this tutorial if you want to save your arrays or dictionaries to disk for later use. Following this method is very simple and it actually works. I’ve read alot of different tutorials on the web, most of them suggest storing your objects either as .plist files or by using SQLite. I think following this method is both easy and efficient. Read more about the NSCoding protocol here.

EDIT: There was a bug in my code. fullFileName was missing %@/ in the stringWithFormat message.

My task in this project is to build a system that makes information available, and handles context awareness. I am also building a prototype application which utilizes this system. The prototype is a bus application that runs on the iPhone. The main objective of this application is to receive route information based on the users current location.

The deadline for my master is 15th May 2010. There is of course a last exam where I must defend my thesis during a public presentation and a following closed oral examination. I will put my master out in to my portfolio when its history.

Anyways, ProISP is cheap and very good. Take a look at their homepage ProISP.no for more details.

Dpreview (Digital Photography Review), which is the best review site for photo equipment in my opinion, have benchmarked the 18-270mm lens, the test can be found here. I will make a decision soon. A personal review will of course be posted on my amazing blog. Stay tuned!

I’m going home to Mo i Rana 10th june after the “Advanced Database Systems” exam. I start working the 15th june at the National Library (Nasjonalbiblioteket) in my home town Mo i Rana. I don’t know what I’m going to do, but at least it’s some IT related stuff.

I have decided to “publish” the papers I have written this semester. You can find them in the list below with a short description. Enjoy. They are not that long.

• “Face Recognition” – The paper was written as the second mandatory assignment in the “Advanced Database Systems” course. The paper is a survey type of paper. It sums up the different techniques used for detecting and recognizing faces in images. It is a very interesting topic.
• “Supporting Mobility in Content-Based Publish/Subscribe Middleware” – This paper was written as the third mandatory assignment in the “Middleware” course. This paper is also a survey kind of paper. It sums up different techniques on how it is possible to support mobility in publish/subscribe system. Interesting read.
• “Optimizing Hadoop for the Cluster” – This paper was written as the second mandatory assignment in the “Advanced Distributed Systems” course. In this paper I describe how we can optimize Hadoop for its cluster. The experiments conducted shows that tweaking the default configuration gives two times smaller job-latency. Very interesting paper this as well.

So thats an update for now. Have a nice summer. I will try my best to write more posts during the “vacation”. So stay tuned.

I have gathered some links to other blogs/news-sites if you’re interested in more reading.

Some good sourced in-depth articles:

• Arstechnica’s talk about the release candidate.
• TG Daily, high-level talk about new features.
• Lifehacker’s first look at the beta.

Who doesn’t like an operating system that boots and opens FireFox in approx 25 seconds?

I still don’t have a chosen problem for my master thesis. Hopefully I’ll have it ready before the summer. I’ll see you later innovator!