Inside “application:didFinishLaunchingWithOptions:” method:

tabBarController = [[UITabBarController alloc] init];
tabBarController.viewControllers = [NSArray arrayWithObjects:navController1, viewController1, viewController2, nil];
[window addSubview:tabBarController.view];
[self makeTabBarHidden:TRUE];

Here is the “makeTabBarHidden” method:

-(void)makeTabBarHidden:(BOOL)hide {
	// Custom code to hide TabBar
	if ( [tabBarController.view.subviews count] < 2 ) {
		return;
	}

	UIView *contentView;

	if ( [[tabBarController.view.subviews objectAtIndex:0] isKindOfClass:[UITabBar class]] ) {
		contentView = [tabBarController.view.subviews objectAtIndex:1];
	} else {
		contentView = [tabBarController.view.subviews objectAtIndex:0];
	}

	if (hide) {
		contentView.frame = tabBarController.view.bounds;
	}
	else {
		contentView.frame = CGRectMake(tabBarController.view.bounds.origin.x,
									   tabBarController.view.bounds.origin.y,
									   tabBarController.view.bounds.size.width,
									   tabBarController.view.bounds.size.height - tabBarController.tabBar.frame.size.height);
	}

	tabBarController.tabBar.hidden = hide;
}

And you are probably wondering how to change the views that are normally controlled by the tab bar? Here is the answer…just simply change the selectedIndex property of the tab bar.

tabBarController.selectedIndex = 1;

Part of this code came from a post I found on iPhoneDevSDK.com, so I took it one step further and made it a complete solution.

I am going to start off with the the basic Hello World example that is created for you when you create a new Cocos2d project.

In the HelloWorld.h file add the following lines of code to import the needed files:

#import "SimpleAudioEngine.h"
#import "CocosDenshion.h"
#import "CDAudioManager.h"

Now we will move to the HelloWorld.m file to add the rest of the code. Inside the init method will will preload the background music so there is no lag when opening this layer. Since we only have one layer, it makes no difference. This will help when you have multiple layers in a game. One thing to note, the backgroundMusicVolume can be set from the range of 0.0 to 1.0. If you load a new background music file, you will need to set this again.

SimpleAudioEngine *sae = [SimpleAudioEngine sharedEngine];
if (sae != nil) {
	[sae preloadBackgroundMusic:@"mario-theme.mp3"];
	if (sae.willPlayBackgroundMusic) {
		sae.backgroundMusicVolume = 0.5f;
	}
}	

To play the background sound and other sounds use the following code:

// Start the background music from the beginning and stop the background music
[[SimpleAudioEngine sharedEngine] playBackgroundMusic:@"mario-theme.mp3"];
[[SimpleAudioEngine sharedEngine] stopBackgroundMusic];

// Mute and unmute all sounds
[CDAudioManager sharedManager].mute = TRUE;
[CDAudioManager sharedManager].mute = FALSE;

// Pause and unpause the background music
[[SimpleAudioEngine sharedEngine] pauseBackgroundMusic];
[[SimpleAudioEngine sharedEngine] resumeBackgroundMusic];

As you can see, CocosDenshion is very simple and easy to use. More information on it can be found here.
If you would like to see this in working action, then head on over to my github repository and download the sample project.
http://github.com/ndubbs/CocosDenshion-Example
As always, comments are welcomed and greatly appreciated.

Download the Reachability project from Apple. The link to the project is:
http://developer.apple.com/iphone/library/samplecode/Reachability/index.html

The two files we will need are: Reachability.h and Reachability.m

Add SystemConiguration Framework:
1. Control click (right click) on the Frameworks folder and select Add then select Existing Frameworks.
2. Scroll down and select SystemConfiguration.framework.
3. Click Add.
4. Control click (right click) on the project icon and select Add then select Existing Files.
5. Find the Classes folder in the Reachability project, and select the files Reachability.h and Reachability.m.
6. Click Add, then make sure the check box is selected for “Copy items into destination group’s folder (if needed).”
7. Click Add.

Inside ViewController.h file, add the following statement to the top of the header file.

#import "Reachability.h"

Inside the interface definition of the view controller, add the variable definitions:

NSString *urlAddress;
NSURL *url;
NSURLRequest *requestObj;
NetworkStatus remoteHostStatus;
NetworkStatus internetConnectionStatus;

Add the following properties:

@property (nonatomic, retain) NSString *urlAddress;
@property (nonatomic, retain) NSURL *url;
@property (nonatomic, retain) NSURLRequest *requestObj;
@property NetworkStatus remoteHostStatus;
@property NetworkStatus internetConnectionStatus;

Inside ViewController.m file add the synthesize statements after the implementation statement:

@synthesize webView, urlAddress, url, requestObj;
@synthesize remoteHostStatus, internetConnectionStatus;

Inside the viewDidLoad method, add the following lines of code to set the variables:

[[Reachability sharedReachability] setAddress:@"http://www.apple.com"];
[[Reachability sharedReachability] setNetworkStatusNotificationsEnabled:YES];

Inside the programming logic, use the following lines of code to test network connectivity. Substitute the code you would like to execute where the “NSLog(@”Connection Made”)” statement is.

// Query the SystemConfiguration framework for the state of the device's network connections.
self.remoteHostStatus = [[Reachability sharedReachability] remoteHostStatus];
self.internetConnectionStatus = [[Reachability sharedReachability] internetConnectionStatus];

// Check if there is a connection
if (self.internetConnectionStatus == NotReachable && self.remoteHostStatus == NotReachable)
{
     UIAlertView *alert = [[UIAlertView alloc] initWithTitle:@"Error Loading"
                                     message:@"No Internet   Connection"
                                     delegate:self cancelButtonTitle:@"OK" otherButtonTitles:nil];
     [alert show];
     [alert release];
} else {
        NSLog(@"Connection Made");
}

Don’t forget to clean up and add the following statements to the dealloc method.

[urlAddress release];
[url release];
[requestObj release];

 cd desktop/cocos2d-iphone-0.8.2

Step 4: Run the install template script.

./install_template.sh

The process is complete. Startup XCode and have fun!

What’s next?

I finished the MBA up this past Sunday, and now I have some free time again.
So, I will be working on some iPhone development in my free time. I plan on writing about it and providing some things I find useful and would like to share. I also plan on putting out some coding examples as well as doing a Cocos2d presentation for Cocoaheads Pittsburgh. Stay tuned in and may you have a happy holiday season!

DC Traffic Cams iPhone/iPod Touch app is now available in iTunes. Conveniently view Washington DC’s District Department of Transportation traffic camera images at the touch of a finger. Most of the major Washington DC area roadways are included in this application. Other features include a map of traffic speeds, and a traffic feed of accidents, construction, and road closings. Check it out!

Quacktastic Lite iPhone/iPod Touch app is now available in iTunes.  This is the free version of Quacktastic which contains ads.  Check it out!

It is probably a small ratio of people who take the time to click the next arrow, or fully read the entire description. Having the “wrong” image as the primary screenshot has probably deterred people from downloading my app. This one change has produced a significant improvement!

In other news, I also created a short survey of questions on PA Traffic Cams. Please help me out and answer the questions, so that I can provide the best possible app that I can. The survey is available on the PA Traffic Cams website.

PA Traffic Cams Website

Don”t forget to check out my other iPhone/iPod Touch app. Quacktastic is a quacking blue duck that is sure to entertain kids as well as adults.