Being a software developer is hard. In addition to the rigors of programming, once a new title — or even a small update — is finished, hours are spent notifying customers, changing the version on the Web site, and getting the right update on all of the shareware sites.
MacPAD, a file format developed by a consortium of developers and released via the Mac shareware tracking site MacShareware.net, aims to ease the burden for programmers. MacPAD — which functions similarly to PAD on the Windows platform — automatically sends out updates whenever a new version is released.
In order to take advantage of this new feature the existing shareware listing sites would have to implement MacPAD support, and there is no indication yet as to the probability of that occurring, although MacShareware.net has already pledged its support.
The Software Development Kit for MacPAD is available for free download, and soon will move to the open-source development Web site sourceforge.net.
When a new program is created with MacPAD a small file is updated on the developer’s Web site. Shareware sites check this against their version number in order to automatically update their Web sites. The same functionality can also be built into software, enabling programs to check automatically for updates.