Status from Neverland

Hey, all.  I call this "Neverland" because my project is "never" finished.  Or maybe it gets finished only in a fantasy world where the heroes belong on peanut-butter jar labels.

Anyway, ICE has taken a turn for the better, but the direction is very different.  Instead of being only a repository of mathematical algorithms, it is becoming a general-purpose "dynamic software framework".  Without explaining exactly what that means, its new design, which is taking shape really well, is aimed at making it easier both for me and other developers to quickly design and develop mobile and desktop software applications.  All that sounds like a mouthful of hot air.  We'll see ... please stay tuned.

I'll just leave it at that for now.  Anyone interested in understanding more can send me a personal e-mail.  And I'll try to do better at poking my head out of Neverland more often and let the real world know (at least the part that cares) what mysteries might or might not be occurring in there.  (Don't you love meaningful phrases like "might or might not"?  I know I do, as proven here yet again.)

Mark

Some ICE design tidbits nonetheless

To avoid sharing no real info about the upcoming changes while remaining silent on the details and "secrets", I thought I'd share certain aspects of the new stuff for those interested in the pending developments surrounding ICE (Integrated Computation Engine) and Cool Calc:

• Either users or programmers will be able to extend the library of supported operations (an operation is a special function, such as your favorite forumula or a built-in function like sine(), etc.).  Two primary extension methods are provided -- human-readable text formulae and programming extensions to the core ICEOperation library.
• Data types are extensible also, meaning that both the simple, scalar types are supported (like integers and decimal/floating point numbers) and also arbitrary data types, such as your favorite list, matrix, data record, or other information-containing 'object'.
• ICE is being designed and documented to eventually be sold separately as a math library for software development, so other engineers can use it in their own application products (and optionally extend it for their own purposes).
• Multiple performance-vs-rich-features models are supported, giving programming users the ability to choose based on their application requirements.
• Future growth into supporting math-education functions, such as equation solution, prime factorization, graphing, etc., is possible, should there be a need for those in a product version down the road.
• ICE will be usable from multiple applications (both MJ App Factory's and others') and also will run on multiple OS platforms, like Windows, Windows 7 Phone, and multiple web browsers.
• ICE will provide the functionality and extensibility options that allow Cool Calc to eventually be a competitive scientific/engineering-calculator product in its own right.  This will of course be a long and extensive process of product enhancement, testing, certification, and support.

That's probably enough tidbits for now.  If anyone is interested to learn more, just send me a note.

Progress on ICE

Since I last posted a couple of weeks ago, I've discarded some major design concepts in favor of better ones.  As they say, the proof is in the pudding, and in this case, you don't find out how good your design is until it makes it off the page and onto the screen.  In short, I've rethought some of the fundamental aspects of the ICE engine, and I believe what I have now is much better, both for my own app development purposes and for customers.  Sorry to be so vague, but I'm not much really into sharing internal technology details on a public forum.

Anyway, I think things are looking up, and I still believe the first fruits of my recent efforts will be showing up this next month, in the form of the scientific mode of Cool Calc.  Other stuff will appear a bit later, such as web/Windows versions, other apps like Cool Register, special-function pages for things like loan calculations, unit conversions, etc.  I'll keep you up to date as I have something to share.

Upcoming Cool Calc Version 1.7

We have had to delay the release of the upcoming Cool Calc update (version 1.7) because of some new technical requirements.  We are currently in the process of developing a new internal calculation "engine" capable of dealing with the advanced functionality associated with a full-featured scientific calculator.

The prototype layout for the new scientific mode of Cool Calc, which is activated by rotating the phone sideways, is as follows:

The new version will be a major update to Cool Calc, as the scientific mode will include:

• Entry and processing of arbitrarily complex formulae in algebraic notation
• Trigonometric functions (sine/arcsine, cosine/arccosine, tangent/arctangent, and their hyperbolic functions (sineh, arcsineh, etc.)
• Natural and base 10 logarithms and their inverses
• Powers and roots
• Factorials
• Integer/fraction conversion
• Automatic use of mathematical order of operations
• Custom override of order of operations via '(' and ')' grouping operators
• Common mathematical constant values as single-key inputs
• Degree/Radian/Grad angle modes
• Entry or display in scientific notation
• Undo/Redo button (either reverses or restores last action or input)
• Storage, retrieval, and display of multiple memory values
• Access to previously-entered formulae
• All the common functions of the portrait mode of Cool Calc (basic math, inverse, change-sign, square root, etc.)

We hope to have all these new enhancements available within this next month.  Stay tuned here for more details on these new developments.

Cool Calc Version 1.6 now available

Cool Calc 1.6

Version 1.6 of Cool Calc is now available on the Windows Phone Marketplace, either on your phone or within Zune.  This new version incorporates help within the app, without relying on an Internet connection, in addition to some performance enhancements.

If you have a previous version of Cool Calc, version 1.6 is available as a free update. All MJ App Factory updates are free to existing users.

Upcoming enhancements

• Both Cool Calc and Cool Grader 1.7 will add a landscape-mode scientific calculator and updated help. These two new releases are expected to go to certification within the next week. This blog will contain the announcement of their availability when the updates are published.
  
• Cool Calc (and Cool Grader) version 1.8 will contain support for multiple memory values and multiple operation/result sequences. These will be incorporated on a new Calculator Detail display, and the values from both the memory list and the operation/result list will be available for reuse within the app. Both the memory list and the operation/result list will also be automatically stored for later access.

Cool Grader Version 1.6 now available

Cool Grader 1.6

Version 1.6 of Cool Grader is now available on the Windows Phone Marketplace.  It incorporates help within the app, without relying on an Internet connection, in addition to some performance enhancements.

If you have a previous version of Cool Grader, version 1.6 is available as a free update.  All MJ App Factory updates are free to existing users.

Upcoming enhancements

• Cool Calc 1.6 will also be available in the marketplace within a few days.  It incorporates the same improvements as Cool Grader 1.6.
   
• Both Cool Calc and Cool Grader 1.7 will add a landscape-mode scientific calculator and updated help.  These two new releases are expected to go to certification within the next week.  This blog will contain the announcement of their availability when the updates are published.
   
• Cool Calc (and Cool Grader) version 1.8 will contain support for multiple memory values and multiple operation/result sequences.  These will be incorporated on a new Calculator Detail display, and the values from both the memory list and the operation/result list will be available for reuse within the app.  Both the memory list and the operation/result list will also be automatically stored for later access.

Usability updates, RSS, Atom & FeedBurner news feeds, Twitter feed

Usability updates
Version 1.6 of Cool Grader and Cool Calc now include help information built into the app.  Neither rely on the Internet connection to get Help.  This help integration not only makes retrieval of help information much faster, but it also means you no longer need to have a working Internet connection just to get help.

Both updated apps are currently in Microsoft certification testing and are expected to be released within the next few days as updates on the Windows 7 Phone Marketplace.  We will post another notification here when the certification cycle is done and they are available for download.  (Note: If you already own these apps, the update is free.  You may purchase the app now and get the update later at no additional cost.)

RSS, Atom & FeedBurner news feeds
In addition to the "Follow by Email" subscription options, you may subscribe to this blog's updates via either RSS, Atom, or Feedburner.  To use RSS or Atom, when viewing the blog page click on the down-arrow beside your browser's Feeds icon and select either RSS or Atom.  To use FeedBurner, click on "Subscribe to updates via FeedBurner" on the left of the main blog screen, and you will be taken to the FeedBurner page.

Twitter feed
You may follow us on twitter either by subscribing at http://www.twitter.com/mjappfactory or via SMS by texting "follow mjappfactory" to 40404 in the United States.  You may also click on "Subscribe to updates via Twitter" on the left of the main blog screen.

Upcoming enhancement to Cool Calc

We're planning on changing the layout of the Calculator Detail page from a standard single-page format to a scrolling panorama format, so we can implement new functions.  Specifically, Cool Calc is going to automatically remember a series of memory values and also a series of operation/result sequences.  These series will be viewable and selectable from the new Calculator Detail panorama pages, employing the cool, horizontal panaroma scrolling common among Windows 7 Phone apps.

The following is an image of the current Calculator Detail Page:

New products

We've just released two new apps on the Windows Phone 7 marketplace ... Cool Grader and Cool Calc.  Here are some screen shots:

If you have any comments, suggestions, or other feedback, please feel free to submit it on the blog.