On Sunday, April 4, 2004, at 03:30 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
Subject: Re: How do I use a Tabbed Button??? To: "How to use Revolution" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Hi,
I can send you an attachment off list coverng all the areas that you cover
in . Let me know if you want me to know by sending me an email offlist at
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Hi Guys,
The above question is one other example of areas where the documentation is kind of lacking.
The documentation is excellent when it comes to the textual aspects of the individual elements of RR. There is not much information on how to put the elements together into useable programs.
Let me give examples of what I mean.
When you enter "Tab Button" into the Document Search Engine, no such entry is found. This shows a basic problem. Why is a very common data selection method like this not even mentioned. A simple discussion about how to implement "Tab Buttons" should be addressed in the documents.
There are many broad topics that are common to most programs. How to implement them with RR should be something that is addressed in the documents. Using simple tutorials for the most common usages of program interfaces as well as for the most common types of programs RR is aimed at is a must. The documents should give step by step examples with screen shots, etc. for these most basic elements; elements RR can able to run circles around other programing tools.
Topics that should be in the documents:
Using tap buttons, developing a simple database, developing simple web management / browser, using images, etc.
Doing a search on these topics will reveal "nothing found" in many instances, to simple one card definitions in others. There is very little information that will help beginners to begin developing programs that deal with these common interfaces / application. The tools are there in Rev to create these interfaces and applications fairly simply. Part of the problem is that there is so much highly detailed information in the documents about the elements of the engine, the tools that we use to make it work, but there is not nearly as much information about how to put those elements together to make it do something that we want. (develop a database, access / transmit data over the web, etc.) That is why so many people are asking these same questions over and over again on this forum. (By the way, you guys are great about sharing information with folks and attempting to answer / solve peoples questions.) Giving examples on how to do these common things with Rev will do several things.
1. It will helps people to help themselves. They will have samples which they can work through and experiment with. It gives them terms that they then can look up in the dictionary, etc. How many questions do you see on how to build a menu? Not many.
2. It would help keep the old pros from burning out here on the this forum. They don't have to keep answering the same type of question over and over again. This can become frustrating because new folks are always come in. I am truly amazed by how hard you guys work at helping others solve their code issues. This is rare and is an example of how dedicated people are to seeing RR succeed.
3. It would free up a great deal of time and energy toward being able to explore more complex issues of getting Rev to work in other areas. It would allow more thought to go into wanted / needed features. It would also help develop working solutions, not only for problem areas within the rev environment, but for new market areas for which RR applications could be the ideal solution. Having to spend less time helping users figure out how to do the typical things that programs and interfaces do would help this forum delve a lot deeper into RR. That's good for all of us.
The documentation as it is right now is like having an excellent dictionary that defines all of the words. There are descriptions of nouns, verbs, and pronouns, and how they work, and you can find a bit of information on how to put the sentences together, but there is very little is information provided on how to actually write the story. What are the common elements that every story writer needs in order to be able to develop his ideas? I'm not asking the write my story, but I do need to see examples of the most common elements that every writer uses to create a masterpiece.
If you give examples / tutorials in these broadly used areas you will give people the tools to use Revolution to solve their own problems. By the examples you give, they can see their own programs. Then they can apply those techniques to their own applications. By reading the documents, I can see that the tools are there to create and my database, I just don't see how to put them together. Having the documentation deal with these common elements will make them much stronger as well as will make using them much easier to do. The documents still will need to add to the visual, and kinesthetic aspects in order to be truly powerful.
I am not asking the documentation to get into advanced levels and details which apply to these areas. Advanced design issues can and should be addressed in books like Dans ebooks, and on various web sites.
I have listed several areas that I feel would be beneficial to most new users as they are learning how to apply RR to there projects. Adding these to the documentation would give most people a starting place, which they can then adapt their specific applications.
Using tap buttons, developing a simple database, developing simple web management / browser, using images... These are topics that I think need to be addressed in the documents. People should not have to ask the forum about how to add and work with tab buttons.
Thoughts?
What other areas / topics should be addressed in the documents?
I'll post this to both lists, because I think it is relevant to both groups.
Dave Calkins
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