Looking for Bike framework collaborator

Bike Outliner
1

I’m looking for a developer to work on Bike Outliner’s framework in return for a license to use that framework in their own app. Conditions are flexible, but generally I’m looking for:

  1. Good iOS, Swift, Xcode skills:

    • Major goal would be getting framework ported to iOS.
    • Another major goal would be cleaning up API’s over time. Existing API’s are not terrible, but they do need work to make a nice reusable framework.

  2. Willingness to choose an app that complements Bike. Ideally app would share Bike’s file format:

    • One idea would be a Calendar based on an outline.
    • Another idea would be a single file menubar outliner.
    • Or something else that you think would be fun.

This isn’t something I’m necessary ready to start on tomorrow. Just wondering if there’s any interest or if it sounds like a fair deal. Please let me know what you think.

4 Likes
2

As a user, rather than a developer, I would very much be in the market for a scalable (and graphically customisable) graphic representation of bike outline files.

A bit beyond the “mind-map” model. Argumentation dependency graphs, in various formats, and various levels of focus/filtration, with narrative paths through them, and zoomably useable at the Moby Dick scale, so that you could alternate between editing a Bike file in outline and graphic views.

3

What’s an example of an app that you think does this well?

I think change that someone builds such an app with the goal of supporting Bike’s format is small, but if there’s a good existing app maybe I can support that format in Bike, or conversion, or something.

4

Nothing yet : - )

(The Bike format, with unique IDs for each node, lends itself well to recording a custom narrative path through a tree of key points and supporting points)

5

I’m not sure how you stand with iOS and iPadOS these days, but I’m playing around with the idea of developing a Bike client for these platform.

A general cross-platform framework would be helpful.

2 Likes
6

This post was made to force myself to start moving in that direction.

Right now:

  1. Core editor is built on cross platform tech:
    a. Drawing and layout are done with CoreText and CALayer
    b. Most editing logic is implemented in purse swift without framework macOS dependencies.

  2. Except where it isn’t. There are little areas where I slipped and was lazy. It’s been a long while since I tried to get this cross platform code building on iOS.

  3. Once the cross platform code builds again, there will be a chunk of work to glue it to iOS text input and connect the CALayers in to be displayed and updated by UIScrollView.

So status is nothing ready, but big picture is OK, and detail picture is I’m now starting to think about how to get to iOS version, though I’m not actually working on it yet.

1 Like
7

Ever since I first used Bike, I have been meaning to ask you about how on earth you made it. It inspired me to dive into CoreText several times, but I always got stuck and couldn’t find any good reference text to understand how it all is supposed to fit together.

I have too much on my plate these days, but at another time I would have jumped at this offer. :slight_smile:

2 Likes