Using Vim for Corona SDK development is really a good option. Here are the tips you need to use Vim together with Corona.

Syntax Coloring

When you use a recent version of Vim (> 7.x) it should support syntax highlighting for Lua 5.1out of the box. You can download a Vim syntax file for Lua, if you use an earlier version.

Lua Reference Manual

You can access the reference manual for Lua 5.0 and 5.1 from within Vim. Download and install the Lua reference manual for Vim first.

Installation is easy:

1. Download and unzip the package.
2. Copy lua51refvim.txt to ~/.vim/doc/
3. Copy luarefvim.vim to ~/.vim/plugin/
4. Copy help.vim to ~/.vim/after/syntax/

Now when you have a Lua file open in Vim, you can access the Lua reference by moving the cursor on a keyword and entering the keyboard sequence \lr. Or \lc to get the table of contents.

Please note that you need to enter the key sequence quite quickly in one flow. If you stop after the first key for a second, Vim will not recognize it as a key sequence!

Starting the Simulator From within Vim

If you want to start the Corona SDK simulator from within Vim you need to add the following lines to your .vimrc file.

" Start the Corna Simulator with F3 for iPhone skin. Shift-F3 for iPad skin.
map <F3> :!/Applications/CoronaSDK/simulator -project %:p -skin iPhone<CR>
map <S-F3> :!/Applications/CoronaSDK/simulator -project %:p -skin iPad<CR>

Now you can start the iPhone simulator with the F3 key and the iPad simulator with Shift-F3.

Session Support

If you need to work on different Corona projects you will be glad to have session support.

Create a folder where you want to store your session files. My folder is named .vimSessions and is in my home directory.

Add the following lines to your .vimrc file:

  " Session support. Save Session As and Session Open.
  nmap SSA :wa<CR>:mksession! ~/.vimSessions/
  nmap SO :wa<CR>:so ~/.vimSessions/

Now, when you want to save your session, just enter SSA and enter a session name. To return to a previously saved session just enter SO and enter the session name. You can use file name completion here by using the tab key.

Vim Versions

I use both the vim command line version, which you can access from within a terminal session, and the Mac application version MacVim.

I’m curious about your Vim tips and tricks for working with Corona. Please let me know them.

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When you are close to finishing your iOS project, it is a good idea to reserve the name for your app on the App Store. You do this by creating a new entry for your app in iTunesConnect.

Don’t squat the app name too early though, because Apple expects you to upload your binary at least three months after you created the application in iTunesConnect.

iTunes requires you to also provide an icon when you create a new entry in iTunesConnect. What is given below is a placeholder icon I use when squatting my app’s name in iTunesConnect.

Feel free to use this icon in your projects, be they private or commercial. Do whatever you want with it. As long as you are happy, I too will feel the same.

You can also download the Opacity Project file and adopt it to your needs. Opacity is a nifty graphics editor at a low price. It has some really nice features, you won’t be able to find in other graphics programs. For example, Opacity can generate Objective-C code which you can use in your iOS projects. Cool.

If you like these resources please subscribe to my RSS feed, follow me on Twitter, read my Google+ stream, or send me a postcard.

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Have you ever tried to forward incoming calls on your iPhone to another phone? Some weeks ago, when I was trying out the BabyFon application, I had to do divert all incoming calls. If you search through the iPhone’s phone application to find a button which lets you divert calls, you will have no luck. Instead, you have to go to the settings application: Settings > Phone > Call Forwarding. In the menu you can enter a phone number where you want to have your calls forwarded to. In the same menu you can switch call forwarding on or off. There is also another way to forward calls. This is the solution I prefer as it comes in more handy when you need to use call forwarding on a day to day basis: you can use GSM codes and make convenient short cuts in your contacts database.

Do you wonder what GSM codes are? GSM is the abbreviation for Global System for Mobile Communications. This standard defines various codes with which you can control phones which implement this standard. For example, you can configure call forwarding and other similar options too. In this article we will look at call forwarding only. You can control lots of other features with GSM codes, which I will discuss in a later post.

These are the GSM codes of interest, if you need to divert calls on your phone:

1. **21*a phone number#  – to register a phone number and activate the diversion of all calls to this number.
2. *21# — to activate divert all calls function (supposed you already have registered a phone number in the past).
3. #21# — to deactivate divert all calls.

You can enter these codes through the Phone’s keypad. Just open the phone application and tap on the Keypad tab. Enter **21*a phone number# to register a phone number to which you want to forward incoming calls. When you register a phone number, that will also activate call diversion. With the code #21# you can deactivate call diversion.

If you are like me you have every chance of forgetting to deactivate the forwarding function. Therefore, it might be a good idea to set an alarm in the clock application to remind you of turning off call diversion.

The next time you need to divert incoming calls, it is enough to enter the code *21#, as the number is already registered. If you need to divert to a different number you certainly can register a new number.

As I am not good in remembering GSM codes I have installed shortcuts in the address book. This is how you can do it:

• Open the contact to whom you want to divert the call to.
• Tap on the Edit button and select Add new Phone.
• Enter the GSM code together with the number you want to forward calls to (e.g. **21*08150815#).
• Press on the label beneath the phone field to add a custom field (Press Edit on the Label view, then select Add Custom Label).
• Do the same steps once more to add a phone number which will deactivate the divert all calls function.

This is how you can use GSM codes to forward calls to another phone. Look through the list I have linked to for further useful GSM codes. For example, there are GSM codes with which you can hide your caller id when making phone calls. Check the Quick Tip category in the coming days. I will write another short post about the caller id soon.

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Do you have a backup strategy for your iPhone? You know you will need a backup someday in the future. Just syncing your iPhone or iPod touch with iTunes is not enough. Syncing your data between the iPhone and your computer is not the same as making backups. Synchronizations and backups deal with different data. Here is a quick rundown of what data gets synchronized and what data gets backed up.

Syncing will safeguard the following data:

• Music
• Videos
• Photos
• Contacts
• Calendar
• Bookmarks
• Settings (mail account settings, device settings, etc.)

Backups, on the Other Hand, will safeguard the following data:

• Text messages
• Notes from the notes application
• Locations from the maps application
• Call history
• Contact favorites
• Cookies
• Settings (sound, widget, network)
• Photos (Yes, they get backed up and synced)
• And most importantly it will store the data of third party apps!

You see, there is a big difference as regards which data gets transferred between your mobile device and your stationary computer. You should always do both backups and synchronizations.

When you want to protect your data from being lost, there are only a few important things you need adhere to:

1. Learn how to backup your iPhone or iPod touch
2. Learn how to restore your valuable data
3. Backup your data regularly

How to backup your iPhone or iPod touch

Backing up your data is easy. Just connect your iPhone to your desktop computer. Depending on your settings, the synchronization will start automatically or you need to start the synchronizationmanually by pressing the sync button on the Summary tab in iTunes. If you are using a laptop computer, remember to connect your laptop to the power supply as backups may take several minutes to complete with the iPhone software version 2.2. If you are using an older software version it can take considerably longer. You should configure iTunes to sync automatically when you connect your device. iTunes will backup your device only when you connect it to your computer regardless of how often you press the sync button in iTunes. If you want to enforce a new backup you must disconnect and reconnect your device. This will trigger a new backup.

Never disconnect your iPhone or iPod touch while it is backing up your device. If you do, you will have a corrupt backup.

You can see the created backups in iTunes > Preferences > Devices > Device backups. This is where you can delete older backups. The backup files have a file extension of .mdbackup. You can find these files in your home directory by following Library > Application Support > MobileSync > Backup. In Backup you will find different sub folders. For each of your devices there will be one. Beneath this directory you will see the actual backup files which have been created by iTunes. You can analyse these files by using the iPhone backup extractor as described below.

How to restore your data

In order to restore a backup you created earlier just connect your iPhone or iPod touch to your computer and press the restore button on the Summary tab in iTunes.

Though I have never tried it myself, it should also be possible to restore your iPhone backups to a different device. Naturally all data gets overwritten when you restore a backup. Therefore be extremely careful. 

The backup extractor

There is a supercrazyawesome tool available with which you can have a peek into the backup files iTunes creates. The backup extractor has just two buttons. The Read Backups button will look for backup files on your computer and lists all backup files it finds. When you select one backup file from the list in the main window and press the second button labeled Extract the extractor will ask for a directory where you want to save the extracted data.

In the listing of your backup files you will see one backup which is especially interesting. It is labeled Other Files. If you extract this one you will come across lots of familiar data. For example you will see a sqlite3 data base file, which contains your address book data. As far as I know it is not possible to alter any data and play it back onto your device. The author of the iPhone backup extractor is considering adding this functionality in the future. The backup extractor tool is donation ware. So, if you use it on a regular basis please support the author by making a donation.

Do backups regularly

With the new iPhone Software version 2.2, backups get created fairly quickly. Therefore, I advise you to configure iTunes to sync your device automatically each time you connect it to your computer.

This should be everything you need to know about securing your iPhone against data loss. Go ahead, start your backup now.

Should you still feel a desire for more information on making backups, please head over to the official Apple site and check out what Apple has to say about iPhone backups.

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The other day I was chatting with a friend who recently bought an iPhone. When I was looking at his iPhone I noticed some icons which I had never seen before. It turned out that these icons were bookmarks to his favorite websites. A nice little feature mobile Safari offers is the facility to drop bookmarks on your Home screen.

1. Open the site you want to have a shortcut for in mobile Safari.
2. Resize and move the page to the section you want to start off the next time you open the shortcut. Mobile Safari will remember the exact position.
3. Press the + sign in the bottom toolbar and select Add To Home Screen. The iPhone will make a screenshot of the page, which will be used as an icon on the Home screen.

Go ahead, now you have a convenient shortcut on your Home screen.

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All resources you need to write your first iPhone App.

• iPhone Developer Certificate
• iPhone SDK Application Development by Jonathan Zdziarski
• List of resources on the web
• 31 iPhone apps with source 
• TwitterFon is a GPLv2 licensed Twitter client for the iPhone. You can download the full source code from the subversion repository:
  svn co http://naan.net/svn/trunk/TwitterFon
• Subscribe via iTunes to the Mobile Orchard iPhone Development Podcast
• Repository of iPhone and iPod touch source code
• Cocoa Http Server on Google Code
• Another link list for iPhone developers
• Cocoa

Please, post your iPhone developer resources in the comments.

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Article on PCWorld by Ric Broida.

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The iPhone is not only a phone, but also a computer. And some people use it like a computer. But, strangely enough, when it comes to security, they are not taking the necessary steps to secure their data like they would on a normal desktop computer or laptop. They store contact information, documents, passwords and other confidential data. And yet they leave it all unprotected. Follow these security tips to make it harder for any villain to get hold of your valuable data.

1. Protect your iPhone against unwanted access. Activate the Pin Pad under Settings > General > Passcode Lock. Also set the Auto-Lock to at least 5 minutes. This will lock the iPhone automatically after 5 minutes. You can also configure your iPhone in a way that will erase all data after 10 failed passcode attempts. I am not using this feature, because I am afraid that my 2 year old daughter will try to guess the code and will not achieve it under 10 attempts.
2. Ensure that you reveal your location only to those services you trust. Therefore deactivate location services by default. You can do this in Settings > General > Location Services. Yes, I am paranoid.
3. Configure your iPhone to ask for permission before connecting to wireless networks. Set Settings > Wi-Fi > Ask to Join Networks to on.
4. Whenever possible, use an SSL connection when you surf with mobile Safari. You can see that a connection is secure when mobile Safari is displaying a little lock in the address bar.
5. Whenever possible, use an SSL connection to retrieve your mail. Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars > Your Account > Advanced > Use SSL is the right place to do it.
6. Under Settings > Safari you can control various security settings for mobile Safari. You can deactivate JavaScript, block pop-ups and reject or delete cookies.
7. Use a secure data store application to store confidential documents. There are several offers in the App Store.
8. Use a secure password store application to store passwords. There are several programs which will do the job. Look for applications which do use encryption.
9. Do backup your iPhone regularly through iTunes. Apple has written a short article on their support pages about backing up your data and applications.

This list is not complete. For example, you can configure a virtual private network to use with your iPhone. The headline says easy to follow steps; therefore, I will leave the VPN to another post. You can also set restrictions on various iPhone applications. I do not consider these to be essential, but encourage you to play around with these (Settings > General > Restrictions). Certainly there are even more tips and tricks regarding iPhone security. Let us know your best tips and tricks.

I hope you are already determined to take security seriously. If not, read this funny story. Funny, because the story came to a good end. Imagine this happening to you. A nightmare!

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Here is a quick list of the features controlled by the four buttons of your iPhone. These are the physical controls available.

• Sleep/Wake button, on the top right of your iPhone
• Volume button, on the left side
• Mute switch, on the left side of the iPhone, just above the volume control
• Home button, on the front of your iPhone, just beneath the touch screen

The Sleep/Wake button lets you lock/unlock the iPhone respectively. Locking does not mean powering off though. It just turns off the touch screen. Any open application will continue to run. To power off the iPhone you need to press and hold the Sleep/Wake button for a few seconds, then drag the slider to the right side. To turn your iPhone on again just press the Sleep/Wake button for about two seconds.

The volume button controls the volume of the playback audio or the ring tone volume, depending on the context the button is used in.

The mute button mutes the external speaker. When the switch is down you can see a red dot on the switch indicating that the phone is muted. Before the introduction of the Software update 2.2 muting did not work properly. For example it was not possible to mute the sounds which came from the Koi Pond application or other third party apps. But it seems to be fixed in 2.2.

The Home button has several functions:

• Pressing and holding the Home button while you are on one of the Home screens lets you rearrange your application icons. The icons will start to wiggle. You then can rearrange the icons. You can also delete applications by pressing the x control on the top left corner of an icon. Press the Home button once more when you have finished rearranging and deleting.
• Pressing the Home button briefly while you are on one of the Home screens will bring you back to the first Home screen.
• Pressing and holding the Home button and the Sleep/Wake button will reboot your iPhone. When you hold the buttons for a few seconds a slider will appear on the screen. Drag it to the right to reboot your device.
• Pressing the Home button while an application is open will end that application.
• Pressing the Home button for about six seconds while an application is open will force quit the application. This is useful when an application is not responding anymore.
• Pressing the Home button twice quickly will bring you back to your first Home screen, open your favorite contacts list or, start the iPod application. You can choose which of these features you want to activate in Settings > General > Home button.
• Pressing the Home button twice while the iPhone is locked will launch the iPod widget, with which you can control the audio playback volume, start/stop the playback or, change the track.

Apple provides a user guide optimized for mobile Safari. There is a link in the bookmarks folder of mobile Safari, which points to help.apple.com/iphone.

That’s all folks. Have I missed a button feature? Let me know in the comments.

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Yes, yet another todo application for the iPhone. Why bother? Honestly, I didn’t. I stumbled upon it in AppSniper and, since it was free, I downloaded it. What a stroke of luck! I’m using it for nearly two weeks now and I am more than pleased by the design and usability of this little productivity helper. It has all the features I want from a decent todo application.

• Detached todos
• Priorities for todos
• Search through the complete todo and project list
• Sorting of todo lists and projects. Can be activated by tilting the iPhone
• Quickly enter new todos by copying other entries
• Projects with separate todo lists, notes and contacts
• Automatic archiving of completed todos
• Different views on projects and todo lists with filtering for completed entries
• Sync with Google Calendar
• Nice built-in help

Personally, I do not need the syncing capabilities with Google Calendar, and I haven’t tried it. But it should be pretty straight forward. Just enter your credentials in the iPhone’s settings and tap the big sync button. Syncing seems to be an important feature for most iPhone users, therefore I added it to the list above. Most of you will be aware of the possibility of syncing your Google Calendar with desktop applications like Microsoft Outlook.

What is much more important to me than syncing is the start-up time and the possibility of quickly entering new todos. Also the search capabilities are important to get a quick status of my various projects. All these work perfectly in TouchTodo.

The possibility of organising your todos in projects is also a big plus of TouchTodo. I try to organize all of my todos in projects, since the most important thing for me is to bring my projects forward. I am not a big fan of the Getting Things Done method (GTD) as proposed by David Allen. For those of you following David Allen’s approach the Things application might be better suited, though I haven’t tried it yet.

TouchTodo is also a great complement to GoalKeep.

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