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Shared core patterns across Small* apps

This document summarizes common functionality used by SmallNote, SmallBarcoder, SmallColourSync, and other Small* apps, and suggests what could be extracted or refactored into a reusable core (e.g. inside SmallStep or a separate SmallCore).

What SmallStep already provides

  • SSHostApplication + SSAppDelegate: Cross-platform app lifecycle; desktop apps call [SSHostApplication runWithDelegate:myDelegate].
  • SSFileSystem: Documents, cache, application support directories; read/write/list/delete files.
  • SSMainMenu: Build a desktop main menu from an array of item descriptors + Quit.
  • SSFileDialog: Open/save file dialogs (modal or completion handler).
  • SSPlatform: Platform detection (macOS, iOS, Linux, Windows).
  • SSWindowStyle, SSConcurrency, NSView+SSTag: Additional helpers.

Patterns repeated across Small* apps

1. App entry and delegate

  • SmallBarcoder: main.m creates NSApplication, sets AppDelegate as NSApplicationDelegate, runs. No SmallStep lifecycle.
  • SmallColourSync: Same: AppController as NSApplicationDelegate.
  • SmallNote: Uses [SSHostApplication runWithDelegate:SNAppDelegate] (SmallStep pattern).

Recommendation: Prefer SSHostApplication + SSAppDelegate for new apps so lifecycle and “quit after last window” are consistent. Optionally refactor SmallBarcoder/SmallColourSync to use it.

2. Main menu

  • SmallBarcoder: Uses SSApplicationMenu (Barcode-specific: File, Decode, Encode, Symbologies, etc.).
  • SmallColourSync: Custom or GORM; no SSMainMenu in the snippet seen.
  • SmallNote: Uses SSMainMenu with generic items (New Note, Open Folder…, Delete, Toggle To-Do, Quit).

Recommendation: Use SSMainMenu for apps that need a simple app menu + Quit. Keep SSApplicationMenu (or app-specific menus) for domain-heavy menus.

3. File and directory paths

  • All use either SSFileSystem (SmallStep) or NSSearchPathForDirectoriesInDomains / platform paths.
  • SmallNote: Notes directory = [SSFileSystem applicationSupportDirectory]/AppName/Notes.

Recommendation: Standardize on SSFileSystem for app support, documents, cache, and all file I/O so behaviour is consistent on Linux (XDG), macOS, and Windows.

4. Optional FOSS libraries

  • SmallBarcoder: ZBar, ZInt (optional; pkg-config, conditional compile).
  • SmallColourSync: lcms2, OpenGL, Vulkan (optional).
  • SmallNote: No extra libs; core logic is Foundation + SmallStep.

Recommendation: Keep optional libs behind HAVE_* and conditional linking; document in each app’s README. No need to put these in a “core”; they stay app-specific.

5. Build system (GNUmakefile)

  • All use GNUSTEP_MAKEFILES, common.make, application.make (or framework for SmallStep).
  • SmallStep path: apps -include the shared SmallStepLib/GNUmakefile.include (from an app dir: -include ../SmallStepLib/GNUmakefile.include; from a Tests/ dir: -include ../../SmallStepLib/GNUmakefile.include). It is location-independent and provides SMALLSTEP_INCLUDE_DIRS, SMALLSTEP_LIB_PATH and SMALLSTEP_LDFLAGS; each app then adds -lSmallStep to its own ADDITIONAL_LDFLAGS / TOOL_LIBS.

Recommendation: Done — the shared snippet is SmallStepLib/GNUmakefile.include; new Small* apps (and their test makefiles) just -include it and paste the three-line link block.

What could become “SmallCore” (or live in SmallStep)

  • App delegate template: Minimal SSAppDelegate implementation (menu build + main window) as a starting point.
  • Document/window pattern: “One main window, one document type” helper (e.g. list + editor) is currently app-specific; could stay that way or become an optional pattern doc.
  • Settings/preferences: If several apps need the same “load/save plist in Application Support” behaviour, a thin SSPreferences or SSSettings in SmallStep could be added later.

No code need be moved immediately; this doc is a reference for consistent patterns and future refactors.

Summary

Concern Source Reuse / recommendation
App lifecycle SmallStep Use SSHostApplication + SSAppDelegate
Paths & file I/O SmallStep Use SSFileSystem everywhere
Main menu SmallStep Use SSMainMenu for simple apps
File dialogs SmallStep Use SSFileDialog for open/save
Optional libs Per-app Keep optional; document; no core extraction
Build Per-app Share SmallStep link snippet in docs

SmallNote follows these recommendations and uses SmallStep for as much as possible; core note and to-do logic is implemented with Foundation only and no extra FOSS libraries.