Tom,
Nice name!!!! My name is Tom as well.
When I started out in xTalk the single most helpful thing I found was
to download other peoples stacks and read through them and see how they
did it. It helps to have an idea of 'what' you want to accomplish so
that when you see how someone else did it then it will make more sense.
Even today I still do this. I now learn how to do things in a more
efficient manner from seeing how others do it.
Start out with a simple premise: "I want to have a series of cards and
progress through them in a logical way."
Then check out how other people do just that. You will soon discover
the go command. So look that up in the dictionary and you will find:
Go
Navigates to another card or stack.
go [invisible] [to] card [of stack] [as mode|in [a] new window|in
window]
go [invisible] [to] {first | prev[ious]| next | last | any} [marked]
[card]
go [invisible] [to] {recent | start | finish | home} card
go [invisible] [to] {forward | forth | back[ward]} [number]} [card[s]]
In it's most basic form (ignore the [] ) it is "go card "card name".
or - go first card
or - go previous card
or - go forward
or - go forward 2 cards
Then look at the examples in the dictionary that are provided:
go to card "Hemingway" -- in the defaultStack
go to stack "Controls" as palette
go to next marked card
go back 7 cards
go invisible stack "Preferences"
go stack URL "http://www.example.org/data/mystack.rev"; in a new window
Then build a blank stack and create a couple of cards and try putting
some of those in a button in a mouseUp handler. Or as I do, take
someone else's stack and change the scripts that are in their buttons
and see what effect that has on how the stack works. As long as you
keep a backup copy of the stack then any thing you do will only either
work and you can say "Ah hah" or if it doesn't work then you can say "I
won't do that again" but you can always go back to the backup.
This is the way I prefer to learn. Slowly over time as you piece things
together you will pick up enough to write your own simple stacks. Then
you can see how others handle the if - then statements and switch
statements and repeat structures. These become your building blocks.
I have not stopped learning since the day I started and I don't
consider myself a guru at all. I do however finally feel confident that
I can produce a solution to most problems via research and trial and
error - that is the beauty of xTalk in the first place.
I hope you adopt a strategy and stick with it and if reading a book is
how you learn best then get Dan's book and still download as many
sample stacks and see other examples of how codes work.
HTH
Tom McGrath
On Jul 9, 2005, at 7:05 PM, Tom McDonald wrote:
I've been running tutorials and whatever else is available to a
newcomer to Revolution but have become frustrated because it is all
beyond me The daily material is all about technical stuff between
gurus. There is nothing for the newbie. The videos are smoothly
presented and the diction is impressive but it's all above me.
There's a group of advanced users swapping esoteric fixes.
I need a video turorial that simply explains how to create a data
base of many text screens that can be called up as needed or on a
random basis.
How about a basic explanation of an If/Then and a Do While algorithm?
Perhaps an explanation of how and where to locate plug-ins and how
to use them.
Perhaps a kindergarten section in the daily blurbs would assist
people like me.
Thanks,
Tom McDonald
Macintosh PowerBook G-4 OSX 10.3.9, OS 9.2.2, 1.25 GHz, 512MB RAM, Rev
2.6
Advanced Media Group
Eagle Works Art & Sculpture
Semantic Compaction Systems
Prentke Romich Company
Prentke Romich International
SCIconics, LLC
Artist
Thomas J McGrath III
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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