LastTab update

Humpty — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 03:31:00 GMT

I normally don't like to comment on things I'm working on because I don't want to encourage vaporware, but I'm really happy with the progress of LastTab 3.0. I've been feeling very creative lately working on it and a project at my real job. Some people might think programming is dull and boring but I see it as an art form. Software can be designed in so many ways and trying to decide which design is the best, in your estimation, is really fun! For me there's a feeling like the software already exists somewhere else and I'm just trying my best to recreate how I see it. After so many iterations of code changes and tests it feels like nothing can be taken away or added to it, like it handles all the conditions that it's supposed to in an elegant way.

That said I definitely love object oriented programming. My project at work has me writing in C, not C++ nor C#, but just plain old C. Man, I've forgotten how nice it really is to be able to declare variables anywhere you damn well want in a code block without getting a compile error. And I miss grouping related code and data together in a class instead of having a mish mash of global functions and variable prefixes. Man, I can't believe I used to not put functions in a class! LOL

Anyway, back to LastTab. Sometimes I wonder if I should change the name of it since it seems some people think focusing the last selected tab after closing the current tab is its primary, if not original, function. It's always been a tab navigation extension, focusing another tab after closing the current one just got tacked on. I'm really excited about the new changes though. Redesigning from scratch has enabled more of the things I have in mind, and the design change alone has eliminated a few bugs and the necessity of some code fragments. Jettisoning support for Firefox 1.0 and 1.5 also helped; may even drop 2.0 as well, hmm.

My feelings on Tab Mix Plus

Humpty — Tue, 17 Oct 2006 07:46:00 GMT

I've just released LastTab 2.0.5 and it fixes a problem on Mac OS that finally allows LastTab's tab list to function properly on it, well coupled with Firefox 2.0. I was actually somewhat reluctant to even release the fix though after reading this thread over at the Tab Mix Plus (TMP) forums, http://tmp.garyr.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2385&highlight=mac. In order to fully comprehend everything you have to realize that the control-tab functionality, including the tab list, that TMP has comes directly from LastTab, my extension. So on that thread a TMP user is asking about the tab list not working on the Mac. And what does one of the TMP authors suggest to him? See if it works in LastTab and if so let him know because then he'll copy its code and incorporate it into TMP.

God that burns me. I think what pisses me off the most about this is that the co-author is basically using me as an indirect developer of TMP yet I get no credit for this. Yes, he did mention me by name -- and I really appreciate that -- but the fact is TMP would be nothing without the extensions that it's incorporated to provide its functionality. And all of the wonderful accolades heaped upon TMP would be nonexistent. Even though only two people currently maintain TMP we individual extension authors have directly contributed to TMP and we deserve to be recognized for this. And not just in some forum thread but I mean in all the places where the TMP authors are mentioned. Hell, even TMP locale translators get more credit than we do, yet we provided the core functionality that TMP is using.

If I sound a little bitter and pissed, well, it's because I am. To spend your time figuring out some problem and then have some guy come over and just take your work sucks ass. Feel like I'm in high school or something and the valedictorian is peering over my shoulder trying to look at my test.

In the world of open source about the only thing you have going for you is satisfaction in your work and recognition of it, people who release their code freely usually aren't getting monetary compensation. Many times the projects are labors of love. Seriously, why else would you spend days/months/years working on something for basically no gain? So yeah, I'm extremely peeved at TMP and their assimilation of other extensions and not giving the extension developers their proper due.

I wasn't going to write about this because I really feel the TMP co-author in question basically agrees with my grievances so there would be no point for this post, but I'm just so pissed I have to get this off my chest. I want recognition for the contributions I've made to TMP, and not just for me but for all the extension authors whose extensions have been included in TMP.

And just in case the forum thread over there mysteriously vanishes, I'm posting an image of the relevant part that got to me.

Blog de Humpty : firefox

LastTab update

My feelings on Tab Mix Plus