Version 6

I can’t leave well enough alone. I’m a code tinkerer. It’s what I do.

I’ve finished yet another version of the mobile app that Tammy and I use to keep track of our financial information. Why? Who knows. Well, there are a number of reasons:

• There were limitations on the server-side code that were preventing me from doing a good job of some of the things I wanted to, like bulk editing of transaction series, and batch checking against bank records.
• That led me to redesigning and re-implementing the server code. Originally I toyed with implementing it in server-side Swift (Kitura) and Kubernetes and Docker, but as time passed I realized I was setting my sights too high. The high-value stuff was migrating to Linode and redesigning the server APIs to be compliant with the Codable protocol in iOS. The rest would have to wait.
• I also wanted to try making an app that would work with Mac Catalyst, the technology that Apple released at WWDC 2019 that would allow a UIKit (i.e. iOS) app to run on the Mac. I have written a Mac version of the FFF, and would like to only have one app to maintain instead of two. Again, that fell by the wayside as I realized I was biting off more than I could chew.
• At one point I was also trying to integrate SwiftUI into the app, but that was frustrating. I also started looking into RxSwift, which I’d heard a lot about. But I think I was just stalling.

In the end, I’ve got a much fuller-functioned iOS app that runs well on both iPhones and iPads and might work on the Mac in the future. It supports Dark Mode. I’m pretty happy with it. It’s not done; it’s never done. The short list of things that still await:

• Running on the Mac,
• Add more charts and lists that help to summarize the information. The Mac version is better at this for now,
• Integrate the tools to cross-reference the bank data with the FFF data (Mac-only at the moment),
• Improve the calendar view (scrolling, icons),
• Improve the list view. It does “infinite scrolling”, but it “jumps” when it loads more data.

It’s the software project that never ends. It’s almost sixteen years old: I started when Tammy was on mat leave with Miranda. It’s simple enough to be a one-person job but complex enough to get creative. And it’s been used every day since 2004.