NewsGator Technical Blog

New Version of TapLynx Released Today

The new version of TapLynx has been released, and it includes a number of bug fixes and new features (mostly based on requests that we received from our TapLynx developer community). We're still looking towards much more stuff on the horizon, mostly from the input we receive in the Google Group and on the Roadmap.

Download the SDK here (it's free to evaluate): http://www.taplynx.com/download/

Here are the official release notes:
- Fixed a crashing bug that could happen with feeds with bad XML.

- Fixed a crashing bug getting a password from the keychain. (Which won’t affect you yet — but in the future it will be important for some apps).

- Added a new feature for programmers: a custom delegate class. It will get called at various times and have the ability to affect different parts of the app. Specify the class name in your NGConfig.plist file as TapLynx_DelegateClass (Only one instance of that class will be created). Right now the only message it gets is applicationDidFinishLaunching:(UIApplication *)application (Whenever possible, it will get the same messages that the application delegate class gets. But it will get other messages too).

- Added support for folders. We haven’t documented this yet, but we will. Quick how-to: inside a Feeds array, create a Dictionary item that has a Title instead of an xmlUrl. That title will be the name of the folder. Then create a Feeds array inside that item. Those are the feeds that will appear in the folder.

-In NGConfig.plist, specify the color of the folder title text as NewsItemList_FolderTextColor.

TapLynx has landed!

What is it?

TapLynx is NewsGator's answer to iPhone app development. Our SDK allows you to create content based apps with very little effort (you actually don't even have to know how to program anything). The platform also allows for a great amount of customization, including the ability to add elements that you have coded in Xcode.

Why would I want to try it out?

There are several reasons, based on where you're coming from:

You're a front-end web designer
You have extensive experience in CSS and HTML, and you have a knack for displaying content in an appealing manner. You may or may not have programming experience.

With TapLynx you can create applications for your clients without having to program anything. You supply feeds (which can contain news, images, and audio/video), graphics, and define color schemes and HTML display elements. From that point, you have a full-fledged application to submit to the app store. Simple, huh?

You're an iPhone app developer
You already develop iPhone apps and are familiar with Xcode and the app framework.

With TapLynx, you can cut down a huge amount of dev time: a lot of the work has already been done for you. The framework also allows for custom tabs, where you can include Xcode developed classes that perform any number of functions. This can greatly enhance content based apps: say you are supplying news and images about a sports team, but you'd also like to show a scoreboard that you've coded as well.

You want to publish content based apps simply and easily
You have a good idea for an app, or you'd simply like to create an app based around some of your favorite content, such as news feeds or image feeds.

Honestly, pretty much anyone can easily start using TapLynx to achieve this. In the interest of full disclosure, I've only been a programmer on Windows machines, almost exclusively in VB.NET. I was able to jump on a Mac and create an application in less than an hour. It's amazing how much TapLynx opens up possibilities for you.

I can't wait to try it out!!! Where can I find more info?

You can sign up for the TapLynx SDK on the TapLynx homepage here: http://taplynx.com/

But we've also started a Google Group so that we can focus on having TapLynx be community based. The group will allow everyone to share their ideas, and I also like the fact that the NewsGator team can directly respond to feedback and bug reports. We also really want to see what kind of cool apps you can come up with. Sign up for the group here: http://groups.google.com/group/taplynx

And as always, I'll be posting releases, updates, and tips here on the technical blog.