I stumbled across a lost post today. It was categorized as a draft in Blogger.com. I had such a hard time getting the formatting to work, that I just saved it as a draft instead of posting it.
Well, I have just resurrected it. After a few miner changes to the content, here is the original entry originally dated August 3, 2008, without the original code snippets and detailed explanations:
"Background: I have always wanted to know C++ so for the past 10 years or so I studied as many tutorials and books teaching the language. At the conclusion of every one, I felt confident I knew the language well enough to code my own programs. However, since all the programs I needed, were already written, I had no practical use for the knowledge, and the fact that none of the material I read taught GUI, was discouraging.
"I am a Linux user, and for the most part very happily doing everything in Linux that I once did, and occasionally still do, in MS Windows. I say almost because, so far, Linux does not have one thing I want; a Linux native Yahoo! Messenger with all the features of the real thing.
"I have been waiting years for someone to write a full feature clone of Yahoo! Messenger, and the outlook still looks grim. Apparently most Linux software developers simply are not interested in a Yahoo! Chat (I wrote CHAT, not IM) client, or the voice and webcam features Yahoo Messenger offers.
"The Project: I have decided to launch a personal project in an attempt to accomplish two objectives; 1, Teach myself C++ GUI programming with QT 4; and 2, Provide the Linux community with a full featured Yahoo! Messenger clone.
"The Problem: No, not biting off more than I can chew, (the whole point is to learn how to chew it in the first place). That is to say, that since libyahoo2 exists, I decided to use it to write my client. After all, that’s how this stuff works, right? The problem is that my instruction in QT 4 was limited mainly to the GUI, which I understand great. But it lacks in practical application. In other words, I’m having trouble getting my GUI code to blend with the libyahoo2 functions. The specific problem I’m getting is during the compile stage and appears to be dealing with scope.
"Any Linux coders out there want to put this whole thing out of my misery? I’m not really a programmer, just a wannabe."
