SetTime SNTP Client	[Windows]
SpaceTime SNTP Client (OpenGL 3D)	[Windows]
SpaceTime Screen Saver (OpenGL 3D)	[OS X]
Display3DS Programming Example	[OS X / Windows]
Resources (FAQs, Meshes, etc.)	[OS X / Windows / Linux]
iPhone Apps (Help, Sourcecode)	[iPhone / iTouch]

iPhone Projects

Tip 'n Go (originally named Tipster)

Why another tip calculator? Two reasons:

1. I believe tipping should be calculated on pre-tax prices as a reward for good service rather than tipping on the cheque total which in Canada can mean you're tipping on approximately 13% added to the bill for Federal and Provincial taxes.
2. Tip 'n Go is actually a learning tool, with complete Xcode sources provided (see below) to help others get started writing iPhone apps. A simple, yet functionally useful example like this can broker complex themes easily and so I'm publishing the source code to help others learn the basics. In truth, I wish I'd found a salient example like this when I first started writing iPhone code, so here's hoping Tip 'n Go helps bootstrap other budding iPhone developers in getting their own apps crafted.

• Usage Notes: - Tip 'n Go is fairly basic:
  • One-time setup: Select the 'Info' button at the bottom of the screen to enter your Federal and Provincial tax rates, if any.
  • When the cheque arrives, use the subtotal before taxes in the "Cheque Amount (Pre-Tax)" Field. You have to enter something here, even if it's a zero. Hit the <Return> button.
  • If someone only had a salad and a drink, enter the total cost of those items in the "Exclusion Amount (Pre-Tax)" field. This amount will NOT be Split among the group, if splitting is done (see next).
  • Use the Slider to change how many people to split the cheque with (excluding any Exclusion Amount), if any.
  • Use the Tip % slider to change the default Tip rate, as needed, to reflect how well the service was.
  • Naturally, all these values are preserved across sessions.
• Future Enhancements:
  • Creating a calculator keypad custom control to replace the iPhone keyboard control.
  • A 'Round Up/Down' button to help the Tip slider reach even numbers for the total paid.
  • Possibly adding location services lookup feature - i.e. where am I, and what are the taxes here?
• Questions, Comments and/or Feature Requests:
  • Feel free to drop me an e-mail (at the address at the top of this page) with any questions about the code or the app.
• Complete Xcode sources:
  • Download the complete Xcode project disk image from here. You're free to use the code as you like and run it on the iPhone Simulator, which is provided as part of Apple's Xcode 3.1 SDK.
  • If you want to run the code on an actual iPhone or iPod Touch device, you'll need:
    • a development distribution certificate from Apple. This will cost US$99 to join the development program.
    • an Intel-based Mac for development (although there is a way to use the PPC based Mac, apparently. Google is your friend.)

I'll update this page with news of code updates periodically. Here's hoping this app helps others get started with iPhone/iTouch development.

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