PureBasic Forums - English

I love the new PureBasic IDE, I finally have a decent version of PB running on my Mac!! I guess that this new IDE has been written in PB, isn't it? In that case, will the source code for it be made available?

Yes, it is written fully in PB, but for various reasons, the source will not be available.

Can't say I blame you, considering how some people have taken the source on the former IDE and used it to create IDEs for other languages!

Perhaps a compromise would be to, in the future at some point, allow plug-ins to be created for it so that the users can still add features without having to know everything going on under the hood.

I know adding a plug-in capability is not an overnight kind of request, but it could be very powerful (probably would require a complete rewrite of much of the code).

Anyways, at the very least, I'm sure PB et al will carefully consider our feature requests for the IDE...

Russell

A plugin system is already build-in in the IDE, but it's not tested/stable enough to expose its interface to the public.

so you are saying that who ever wants to make those plugins must first rev.engineer ide?


btw. i found this from helpfile:

Syntax
Gosub MyLabel

yLabel:
...
Return


see? missing M front of label didnt think this is worth separate post

It's corrected, thanks

After really reading the new docs, I discovered that there is, in fact, a way to sort of write plug-ins through the 'external tools' preferences that are executed under various conditions (like when the source is about to be compiled, for example, so that you can write your own pre-processor).

And speaking of the docs, I found Microsoft's "HTML Help Workshop" a surprisingly nice tool that allows you to decompile .chm files (Windows help files), edit them and then re-compile them into .chm files. So, I've been going through the one that comes with PB and looking for spelling and grammatical errors (not that many, but still). I'm also looking into including a "User Guide" into the PB help file that sort of leads the newbie through the whole process of learning how PB works.

If anyone would like to donate some tutorials on some of the more advanced features like Interfaces, pointer access of video memory, etc, please let me know and I will try to include them into the User Guide (giving you credit, of course).

I'm still checking the reference section for grammar/spelling, but I should be through it in about a week or so. Then I can start on the User Guide.

If anyone wants to contribute, please let me know.

Russell

The raw text files for the PB help are available on a public cvs here: http://cvs.purebasic.com/
So if you plan to correct errors, the best place to do it is there, as these files are the base for
the other help formats as well. (for example for the buildin help viewer on linux)

Just send an email to fred and he can setup an account with write access for you.

There is also allready the start of a userguide there (started by tinman). There is somebody
needed to finish that one too.

> Just send an email to fred and he can setup an account with write
> access for you.

I've love to help with the docs but I find CVS so damn confusing...

Even after reading the help found in cvs.purebasic.com ? May be we can do it together step by step and modify the help accordingly (as it was written by me and i was already familiar with CVS, it's may be not objective). Also TortoiseCVS instead of WinCVS sounds an easier alternative for new users.

> Even after reading the help found in cvs.purebasic.com ?

Okay, I'll e-mail you...

I have to admit that I, too, don't understand why cvs is so popular when it just seems so "thrown together". I didn't find it (cvs) intuitive in the least. Wiki, on the other hand, is very easy to follow for anyone and from what I can tell should be pretty easy to convert to other help file formats since it is basically a website (which many help file programs can import directly and export as .chm, .hlp or whatever the case may be).

It seems to me that html would be the ideal format, since there are browsers available on every platform there is (even the Commodore 64 has one!). The one downside, at least as far as straight html is concerned, is that doing searches within the documentation, for example would be a bit of trouble, but not too much - Either a simple java\script program could be written to handle that or the OS's built-in search feature could look within the documenation. The second option is a huge kludge, but the first would be quite easy and would have the benefit of being incorporated into the docs themselves, perhaps in a top-of-the-page frame that is always available.

I'm currently trying out different options along these lines and will let you know how I'm coming along.

Again, if anyone would like to donate some info on any topics, especially intermediate to advanced tutorials, please let me know.

Let's make the documentation a real standout!

Thanks!
Russell

> I didn't find it (cvs) intuitive in the least

I installed TortoiseCVS and it's still very confusing, but I know what I'm
doing now. Wiki would be much easier, because, as you said, it's web
based so there's no need to download any of the files you wish to edit.
CVS is a "download, edit, upload" concept, with the act of downloading the
hardest part because it wants servers, names, passwords, folders, etc.
Also, you need to create the local folders and right-click them via the
Explorer pop-up menu to do the downloading/uploading -- there's no
built-in file list or anything like that.

Much easier just to use Wiki where you make changes online, enter your
password, and click "Submit".

PB, I notice on your sig line that you're running a 667mhz P3. How's that working for ya? Do you have speed issues with PB-written programs or is it adequate for the most part?

On the topic of wiki, I'm sure there would have to be some restrictions on who could edit...but otherwise it could be quite good as long as, say once a month or so, someone puts the whole thing together into a downloadable help file for those of us who are not on a full-time connection

Don't want to give up the F1 IDE access, you know? It's so convenient!

Russell

> PB, I notice on your sig line that you're running a 667mhz P3. How's that
> working for ya? Do you have speed issues with PB-written programs or is
> it adequate for the most part?

My PC is perfectly fine for everything except the latest games. Web browsing,
editing apps with PureBasic, PureBasic apps themselves, video capturing and
editing, etc, is all fine. Quake 2 and 3 are fine, but Doom 3 doesn't run well
at all (3 fps?) and nor does any other recent game (RollerCoaster Tycoon 3,
etc). For the most part, I'm happy with it. I did try to upgrade my video
card recently to help get those games more fluid, but it was incompatible
with my motherboard, so I've just given up playing games again for now.