> You are right in many aspects. However, I think newbies and the rest > of us too would be more willing to look for answers if we had a single > place to go to where we could search across the resources.
I agree. Yet, as Herman pointed out, this is what the UKB was supposed to be. Unfortunately, it still has not lived up to its potential as too few have been willing/able to make a contribution. AmiBroker could certainly use more in depth documentation. But in the meantime, we have not ourselves stepped in to fill the gap. Given a shortage of resources, I am content to struggle through the learning curve so long as I have some level of confidence that the software will deliver in the end. For me, AmiBroker has lived up to that expectation. > I am amazed at how helpful people are to the extent that they write > out a complete solution from the first hint of a question. > Unfortunately that makes others dependent on the list for free coding > services instead of a resource to learn how to do it themselves. To some degree you are right. And, I am guilty of handing out code as you describe. Yet, every coding guide always starts with a complete "Hello World" example. Just giving snippets here and there with possibly hours or days between clarifications and follow up questions can be as frustrating as not being able to find the documentation in the first place. Not to mention artificially dragging on the life of a thread that could otherwise so easily be put to rest. Admittedly, this forum is not a coding guide, and your point is well taken. It would be best if posters made some attempt at finding an answer on their own. Also, that those replying made some effort to direct the poster through the inclusion of well selected links or descriptive comments in any code sample given. Personally, I come from a programming background, with professional coding experience in multiple high level languages. But, none of those are array based. And, none of them are geared towards purely financial applications. It was the direct result of a complete solution to my initial question that clarified much for me and presented me with some understanding of what was possible. Sometimes it is the working example, even a simple one, that provides the all important "context switch". I am forever grateful for that working sample. Mike --- In [email protected], Dennis Brown <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Bill, > > You are right in many aspects. However, I think newbies and the rest > of us too would be more willing to look for answers if we had a single > place to go to where we could search across the resources. > > There will be a never ending source of newbies, so just saying to go > to this resource and then that resource, then another resource until > you discover that either the question has not been answered in the way > that you can understand it, or more likely you don't know the right > vocabulary and concepts to find what you are looking for. Then they > come to this list and ask after wasting several frustrating hours or > days, and if the answer is that you can't do such a thing anyway it > really turns one away from even trying next time! When I first > started, I did not know what to call things, so most of my searches > failed. > > I try to make sure that I have at least made some kind of effort > myself before asking on this list. As I have learned more, I come to > the list less often and with more difficult technical questions and > only occasionally get a satisfactory answer unless Tomasz answers. > > I am amazed at how helpful people are to the extent that they write > out a complete solution from the first hint of a question. > Unfortunately that makes others dependent on the list for free coding > services instead of a resource to learn how to do it themselves. I > try to give the basic idea about how to solve the problem without > coding it up --as if I had time to do that for others while I am > always struggling to find enough time to do my own coding anyway. > > It is encouraging to me to see newbies bring a chunk of AFL that they > wrote and ask why it will not do what they were trying to do. I shows > initiative and that means they will learn from the answer. > > Sometimes it is appropriate to code an example for something out of > the ordinary --which becomes something to be referred to later. > > I think it is appropriate for a newbie to ask basic questions on the > list like, can X be done in AFL and what do I search for to find out > how? > > Then a pointer to the single search page with a nice keyword gets them > started on the right path. To paraphrase: > > Give a person a fish and he will eat it and come back for another. > Teach a person to fish and he can feed himself. > > From the developers point of view, this list is valuable in one sense > in that it provides a window into what are the stumbling blocks to > understanding AB/AFL. The common themes point to a need for some > additional ways of explaining, organizing, or presenting those problem > areas in a new way. > > Best regards, > Dennis > > On Aug 27, 2008, at 10:41 PM, wavemechanic wrote: > > > The problem, imo, is not the format but rather that too many are > > willing to provide answers to elementary questions over and over > > again instead of simply directing the person to the Users Guide or > > UKB or past messages (use Yahoo search). The individual is > > responsible for extracting the information needed from the available > > documentation/messages and only resort to this forum when they hit a > > wall. Instead, many of the new users use this forum in lieu of > > doing their homework. If they were forced to find the answers, I > > suspect the number of messages would drop by at least 50% and more > > interesting discussions would take place. > > > > Bill > > ----- Original Message ----- > > From: James > > To: [email protected] > > Sent: Wednesday, August 27, 2008 8:24 PM > > Subject: Re: [amibroker] Re: 'Rule Based' versus 'Discretionary' > > trading... > > > > IMO, this is the main problem with our format. First thing I asked > > on this forum was about Plot Shapes. Just couldn't wait to get > > started or read anything. Since that time, I bet similar plot > > questions have come around 100 times. It is very hard and time > > consuming to search this list. If we had a forum/board format where > > all threads relating to plot were in a certain section, I think it > > would help people study more and get frustrated less. This has been > > discussed before and I know most people want emails and don't want > > to browse a board, but there is a lot of redundancy on this list. > > > > > > >
