Developer Network

Well, last week was filled with much video game playing in sunny and warm L.A. Wooooohoooo! Nintendo so rules.

To celebrate our triumphant return, we're all buying gamecubes, and we decided to drop a new build in too. Enjoy kids. :)

Not many updates this week. Too much other stuff :(

Feel free to look at this new output plugin example project, thanks to Peter, and please, feel free to read the updated beta news page, as always. :)

-g

Lots of changes this week. Removed the old PiMP and SuperPiMP sections and added the NSIS section. Also added a links page to the skinning and scripting sections. A few updates to the Maki overview and as always, an updated beta news page.

Almost forgot about the new SDK download page. It includes internal client and sdk builds now. Woo. Hoo. Hoo. Hoo.

I have to report that, sadly, Krispy Kreme definitely owns Tim Hortons :( My canadian pride is shattered.

-ghislain "I am a doughnut whore" lacroix.

Mad props to the man that wrote "Descending Into Winamp3 Skinning."

Other updates this week include: betanews and Winamp3x SDK Documentation (this includes a switch from KDOC to Doxygen). Let me know how you like the new Doxygen Doc format in the forums! :)

-ghislain, caffeine addict.

Hey everybody. I have a few more goodies for you this week and we'll get to them in just a second, but first, a little overview of the changes to come. In the next few weeks I will be updating NSDN fairly frequently with new and helpful info about Winamp3 and Wasabi. Check out the sections under Winamp3x for the new stuff and watch the old stuff die.

Now for this week love: Scripting. Ever since the dawn of humanity, man has yurned to script anything and everything (or at least, that's what Francis believes). Because of this, I have officially opened a scripting subsection for Winamp3x!!1 (intentional typo for extra leetness).

-ghislain "we have brennan's big whiteboard" lacroix

Another update? TWO WEEKS IN A ROW?!? I know, I'm as shocked as you are. I wonder how long my creativeness will last...

So this week, we have a slightly reorganized Winamp3x section, weeeee. More reorganizing will follow next week as soon as I figure out how I'm actually going to organize it. And check out the SDK section, it's not much right now, but it should help you peeps out a bit hopefully.

-ghislain "why is jonathan purchasing astroglide stock?" lacroix

I am here and I figured out how to edit this page. Woo. Hoo.

-ghislain 'aus' "wanting jonathan to stop making fun of my beadie little eyes and flappy head" lacroix

Denny is gone. Gone. Weep for him. Denny could make your plug-ins compile. He could take a nothing skin and make is suddenly seem worthwhile. But he is out. Moved on to the life of being a coed skirt chaser. Now we have hired Aus. He is a happy little French/Canadian guy who has promised to finally be the prodigy that we always hoped Denny would be.

Thanks to everyone who sent in a resume. I enjoyed reading all of them. You guys are great. I will keep you in mind when they finally decide to fire me.

-jonathan "wanting some maple syrup" ward

Denny. You love him. I know it. We all love the guy. But lets face it.....he is Canadian. I can't count the number of times that he has referred to Macaroni and Cheese as "Kraft Dinner" or how he refuses to call individually wrapped cheese slices by their proper name of American Cheese. And that is just the cheese side of the problem. Recently the guy went to Vancouver and didn't even bring me back any Kinder Eggs or All Dress Potato Chips. The guy has got to go.

So you think you can take his place? NSDN needs a lot of work and our developers are screaming for some support. I won't even mention all of the Winamp 3 documentation that needs to be written. if you think that are surly enough to fill the shoes of our beloved wayward Canadian then send us your resume along with a writing sample and/or code sample. Check out our jobs page for more info.

-jonathan "soon to be your lord and master" ward

Forum member SCHWEITN tries to derive from EditWnd!!!
Yes, NSDN has updated because I felt like it was time to shake things up! Do a little dance! Make a little love. Yes, it is dynamite! Yes, and learn from Schweitn's Folly and post your concerns and resolutions in the forums, so that other people can benefit from them. Cool? cool. What does the beta mean to you guys? Well, most importantly, the interfaces are all basically solidified. With the release of the SDK, developers can begin pumping out those skins and components. We might make one last break for the final version, but all you'd probably have to do is recompile. So go for it! Give 9 volts until death!!!

Oh and you can get the beta here.

love, denny (1 of 3 remaining non-programming members of Nullsoft)

Photographic evidence of an Unidentified Canadian Object has recently been brought forward. Rolf Hanson, a "johnny on the spot", was heard saying: "Hey that guy sorta looked like Denny". Josh Gerrish, a "johnny come lately", rumored to have something to do with ex-Canadian Denzil Kriekenbeek's disappearance, dismissed the picture as a crudely photoshopped remnant of Denzil's horrible personal website. He was quoted as saying "No, Denny knows better than to come back to life while I'm around." Francis Gastellu, a "johnny be good", noted that the U.C.O. was whispering that a new alpha was out, and to check it out on the betanews page.

what could this mean?

After explaining to Denny and Jon the idea of having actual SDK and development information on the NSDN site, and only finding blank stares; I, Josh, new Supreme Overlord Dictator God Thingy of NSDN, felt the only possible solution was to overthrow the revolution. So I did.

As the rest of Nullsoft cowers in fear of my frequent outbursts, the following new content has been added:

- FAQ for Winamp2x SDK
- Superscope module guide
- Super Pimping 101 updated

In addtion, we believe that Jason has ascended to the next phase of evolution. Although we haven't seen him in weeks, his cubicle continues to grow and overtake the Nullsoft compound. It's thought that he has become one with it.

Josh, "I killed Denny"

About one hour after we pushed live last week, Thor, one of our senior forum members pointed out that I posted the wrong version of SuperPimp. D-oh. v1.0j is about 9 versions old. I should have known that I was on the right track but on the wrong train. Check out sexy v1.1h at Superpimpin 101

This breach of professionalism and editorial rigor must have been caused by the fact that I am still a one man kamikaze fighter. if you think you would make a good wingman (developer relations representative) Let me know.. We got some good feedback from the last casting call (check the archives for Wash Jonathan's Cat), but this time, we actually have the money to hire someone. So AFTER checking the requirements, if you think you might be a fit, but aren't sure, email us and we'll try to talk you into applying. The main stumbling blocks are:
-We need someone asap. if you can't be available soon, we'll have to keep looking.
-We can't get visas for people. Sorry to all you international peeps.
-We need someone with C/C++ experience. I apologize to the VBasic folks out there.
-We need someone who won't mind doing a lot of things (updating the site, programming, writing docs, being nice to developers).
And lastly,
-We need someone who wants to work at Nullsoft. We're all extremely loyal to the company, and we want everyone we work with to share that fire.

Denny, "Idiot en Fuego"

Yes, the brand new Nullsoft Super Plug-in Mini Packager Installation System is here for you to play with. What's new? A quick glance at the readme shows that v10j has the following improvements: * added config.h, so you can configure what features the installer is capable of utilizing. can make the header as small as 32k)
* adds and
* added UnRegDLL command (replaces RegDLL -)
* added ExecWait command (replaces exec wait)
* made Log go the normal direction
* made InstDirRegKey smarter
* made CreateShortCut set the working directory of the shortcut to the current output directory (i.e. use SetOutPath to set it)
* changed default alignment to 512 bytes (/opt:nowin98 in linker, and in data header search)
* documentation updates

Check it out at Superpimpin 101 and remember baby, this ain't matrimony, it's macaroni.

Denny, "watcher of American Pimp"

You may have heard. You may not have heard. Winamp 3 has publicly alpha'd. Nullsoft evil pervades the air. if you are willing to risk your soul, learn more over at beta news.

-Denny, "puts cats in trees" Kriekenbeek

While we are stumbling around blind, desperately trying to clear our throats of llama goo, you, 'Mr. FANCYPANTS' can sit at home in your 'luxury' with your 'toilet paper' and be let in on a little secret over at beta news. No llamas were hurt in the making of this article. Shoutcast DSP guru Jason Crawford, however, will never play the maracas again.

-Denny "you're dangerous" Kriekenbeek

We dropped the ball with 2.7, but figured the wait was worth it. Language Pack SDK 2.71 now available here. I am personally still awaiting the arrival of the Pig Latin Language pack.

-ennyDay, exySay amaMay

Yes, it's TRUE. Nullsoft is hiring. We need someone to bolster our developer relations team. What does this mean? Well, aside from plowing our fields and trimming our nose hairs, our new recruit would get to write official Nullsoft plug-ins both for us and for tutorials for the poor starving plug-in developing masses. You would get the power to make direct changes to the Winamp API's and serve as another liaison to our coding brethren. Check out the following prerequisites.

TEN MAGIC THINGIES:
1) Thou shalt have experience with Winamp plug-in and/or Win32 development.
2) Thou shalt be willingest to movest toest the Sanest Franciscoest Areast.
3) You kan talk en rait gud, nat laik us. (Excellent expository and documentative writing skill.)
4) Must be able to instantly learn any game after a quick 50 hour warmup.
7) Must be able to speak, read, and write in 1337, but saves it for special occasions, like Canada Day.
5) Easy bake oven experience a BIG PLUS! No, seriously.
6) Must suffer from permanent "case of the mondays".
8) Must have some sort of "Instant Messaging" experience.
9) Can identify this "quote": "I'm sorry, I do not know nuthin about the money launderin'".
7) Skinning experience a very hot, large, sexy, sweaty, "plus".
10) Must not EVER use "finger quotes".


If you think you'd make a good fit, send your resume to us.

-Denny, wants to go to Chotchkie's

We aren't sure exactly what made him snap but Denny has now officially gone off the deep end. Not content to be the normal padded room type of psychotic, Denny decided to express his lack of sanity through a >web comic. It just so happens that the strip illustrates what the Nullsoft Dev team has been up to for the past few weeks. Irony? Check out the beta news section to see this curiously informative work of art.

-Jonathan, I am the cool guy with glasses in the comic

The folks from the Winamp Skin Discussion group have cooked up one helluva contest for all of you skinning magicians out there. Not only do you get a chance to compete against the best of the best but the winner will be rewarded a special edition of MikroAMP. And the winning skin will be featured on Winamp.com What more incentive do you need! The contest is running from now until November 20. Check out the contest rules and submission guidelines on the WSD site.

-Jonathan, always a fan of a good skin job

We feel sure that big news happened somewhere in the world this week. We want to assure you that NSDN had absolutely nothing to do with it nor were we aware of it in any way. Carry on.

-Jonathan, strong proponent of the "these are not the droids you are looking for" campaign

Congratulations to Todd "tokeone" Piperi from Ventura County, Ca, who not only tracked down our hidden page but also managed to do a nifty photoshopped pic of our sacred flounder.



Todd seems like a nice lad. He sent us several pictures of himself skateboarding, flipping off old ladies, and doing something that could only be construed as ritual sacrifice.

We raided the local stores to find the perfect prize. Thanks Todd, your prize is on its way and no, you didn't win a bike.

for those of you who missed out on our suave NSDN contest, you can join the forums and get in on the next one. We promise not to spam you more than once a month. Just imagine you will be the hippest kid on the block with all of the insider info on those great guys at NSDN.

-Jonathan, proud purchaser of the mystery prize

Here are the first official pictures of the Winamp 3 base skin. Look at them in all of their rich and creamy glory.

-Jonathan, official photographer of Mike the Llama

The gates are open and the flood of info on Winamp 3 is raging out of control. Check out the beta news for some astounding revelations.

-Jonathan, I spotted bat boy at a Charlotte Nascar rally

Take a look at our Super PiMP section for a tutorial that will blow your mind. Well, at the very least it will teach you how to make your apps uninstall.

-Jonathan, Superfly TNT

In a huge leap forward we have begun to place content regarding the impending release of Winamp 3.x on the site. We realize that it is a bit thin right now but we hope to overwhelm you in the following months.

-Jonathan, the light in your otherwise bleak existence

From those hip guys who brought you PiMP comes an installer so awesome that it could only be called Super PiMP. Check it out.

-Jonathan, bad mamma jamma

It has been brought to our attention that some evil doers are posting skins that are not theirs to post. This behavior is intolerable. We are making every attempt to remove these forgeries from our site.

We need you to help us keep the integrity of Winamp.com intact . Please report any ripped skins or plug-ins to the official skin rips forum here: OFFICIAL SKIN RIPS FORUM.

-Denny

We have been giddy like little schoolgirls trying to get this new addition to the site ready for all of you developers out there that are starving for sample code. Now you can see what the rest of your ilk have written and perhaps even put your own code on our site.

It should be a super happy funtime for all. Just close your eyes, make a wish.

-Jonathan, your fiend and neighbor

This week we have a special treat for all the frustrated developers out there (you know who you are). We have added a few more functions to our Application Programming Interface (the list of commands that you can use inside of your plug-in to control the behavior of Winamp). Just look for the seal of Quality approval.

We have also placed frontend.h on the API page for easy download. Frontend.h houses all of the IPC(WM_USER) commands for Winamp. Just compile it in, and you too will be able to use our snazzy #defines. Of note are the previously undocumented miniborwser commands, some shoutcast disabling commands, and the ability to actualy set shuffle and repeat modes.

-Jonathan, the hammer of truth

As of 11:00 AM, July 12, 2000, we were legally compelled by real to remove two of our most popular plug-ins from Winamp.com. Innover's real Audio Input Plug-in and the Magus RTSP Input plug-in will be sorely missed. I felt real pain as they were violently ripped from the safe haven of the Winamp plug-in repository. I apologize for their loss and hope our developers understand.

-denny, the harbinger of doom

We would like to welcome a new member to our NSDN crew. Jonathan "mental" Ward has signed on to better service your developer needs. Jonathan will now be responsible for regular updates to the NSDN site. I will still be available, but I'm more of the guy behind the guy behind the guy. So please send all of your mailbombs and death threats to Jonathan.

-denny

And so it begins. Greetings TRUE believers. I must say that I am all moist after reading the warm welcome that Denny wrote for me. I promise to try to live up to his standards (translation: I will update the site at least once a year).

Well, I have been at work only a day and they have already whipped me into submission. I have just rewritten the PiMPing 101 tutorial. For those out there who were having a hard time PiMPing their plug-ins there is now a new hope for you all. I also added actual questions to the PiMP FAQ. It is small now but I expect it to grow. If you come across any glaring omissions just fire me an email and I will rectify the problem right away.

That is all for now. Peace, love, and Soul Train to you all.

-jonathan

I took a week and reorganized NSDN into logical sections. I added some stuff and removed some stuff. Hopefully this will make life easier for us to update the site, and for you to navigate through the site. As a side note: Steve is really sexy in a dress.

-denny

Added the AVS (Advanced Visualization Studio) Developer Docs. The Users Manual for it didn't quite make it in to this weeks docs. Bear in mind that these docs are all kinda in development, Denny really laid a bunch of stuff on me and these may not be finalized. Hope that it's all good enough to get started. Enjoy!

-steve

More stuff has been added to NSDN! Updated the SDK for Winamp's Language pack, added documentation on how to skin AVS. Denny's written wonderful documentation on AVS, however, there is so much to make into html, it may not be done this week. look for it next week!

-steve

Hello people, at the request of Denny, I've written up a brief document that explains what the WSZ (Winamp Skin Zip) actually is and how Winamp uses it. If you are curious, check out the WSZ link located in the left Navigation tree.

-steve

News from the other side of the world travels fast to the Nullsoft world domination control center that there are now TWO Delphi SDK's and tutorials are available on the STND homepage. We have looked over these SDK's and sample code and found them to be rock hard as well as easy to use. Many thanks to the STND-team, they gave all of you Delphi programmers the SDK's you have all been waiting for!

Take the time to check them out at http://www.stnd.de/

-cody

Hey y'all, Justin worked long and hard to write this document on the Winamp IPC Mechanism. What is the IPC Mechanism you ask? Basically it allows the programs that you write to communicate with Winamp. If you're interested, you can get to it from the Winamp API link located in the left Navigation tree.

-steve

Everything!! This section of Winamp.com is entirely a new addition to the Nullsoft network of sites... Instead of wasting time by listing everything that's been added, why don't you just have a look around for your self. From this point on, anything that's added will be listed in this section. Enjoy folks!

-steve