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Kevin Walzer, software developer.

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The waiting is the hardest part

I first submitted NameFind to the Mac App Store on December 5. It's been rejected twice, for crashing on startup, and for accessing private functions in some Mac-specific frameworks (specifically, Tk-Cocoa, which I bundle with my apps, accesses a number of private Cocoa functions, at a low level). Both crashing and use of private API's run afoul of Apple's guidelines for the App Store. I've since tweaked NameFind yet again and resubmitted the app, in hopes that it works this time.

I realize patience is a virtue, but I am growing quite frustrated with the process of submitting my apps. None of the numerous revisions I've made to NameFind as part of the App Store submission process have improved the application. Most of the changes are simply revisions of the way I build and deploy the application--a lot of behind-the-scenes work with no visible change to the user, simply trying to avoid mysterious crashes that don't show up on my own system.

Worse, some of the changes I've made are what developers call "regressions"--rolling back some features to older, less robust versions. In the case of NameFind, I've replaced the bundled Tcl/Tk frameworks I customarily and link the program directly to the Tcl/Tk frameworks installed with OS X--some of my research suggests that while the system frameworks access the same private API's as the frameworks I bundle, it's kosher for Apple's system frameworks to do so because, well, they're installed by Apple. Unfortunately, the version of Tk-Cocoa that's installed by Apple is immature (c. May 2009), with a lot of bugs and some missing functionality. This means I can't take advantage of some of the improvements I've contributed to Tk in the past year or so, including modernizing the display of notebook tabs and implementing a unified-style toolbar.

Just as frustrating for me is putting my software business on Apple's timetable, rather than my own. The App Store submission process is slow, opaque, and bureaucratic. As an independent developer, I thrive on rapid, nimble development, but things have more or less ground to a halt as I submit my app, wait weeks, and then try again. This brings to mind Joel Spolsky's notion of fire and motion. I'm pinned down by enemy fire, rather than inching forward a little bit, day by day.

Having come this far, I'll let my current submission of NameFind run its course. The potential upside--increased sales--looks promising. But unlike the iPhone/iPad app ecosystem, the Mac App Store is not the only game in town. Patience is a virtue, but my patience is not infinite. And if NameFind is rejected yet again, I'm not going to stand still. Like Rogue Amoeba, I'll keep my focus outside the App Store, and hopefully thrive and innovate--without waiting.

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