Reviving PureBasic's SDK — which is in a REALLY bad state
Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2016 12:20 am
I've spent quite some type sifting through the /SDK/ of PureBasic's setup folder (Windows), trying to read the various text documents that come with it...
Most of them are «broken»: they mention files, folders, or URL which no longer exist, or have been renamed into something else since a long time. The general impression is that the SDK has been overlooked since a long time — ages? — not following PB in its updates.
The Header Converter tool creates broken validation files (when you try to run the generated "*_Validate.pb" file you get a "WriteStringN(): Incorrect number of parameters" error!
Also, most of the SDK's .txt files are written i a very approximative English — very hard to follow, at times impossible to understand what the writer is trying to say — and the used terminology is often odd (eg: "drawer" instead of "folder", etc.).
I think its really a pity, for I realise that the SDK should be the key to enjoy advanced PB functionality. But in its present state, it brings more confusion than clarification, with all its mistakes and wrong references, and it forces users to try and find answer by Googling them.
I also think that the SDK should be mentioned in PB's Help documentation — not a word about it there, right now. Possibly, all those .txt files could be incorporated into PB's Help file.
I don't know if its the same on Linux and MaxOS X, but for Windows the state of PB's SDK is presently very bad, and I consider it the one major point that tips the scales of balance in the overall quality of this great tool — introducing in it an element of unkemptness and lack of attention to details in an area which is most dear to programmers: the SDK!
I really hope some of PB devs can cut corners and dedicate time to running through the SDK anew, and bring it alive by updating its documentation, broken tools, and bring it level to the standard of PureBasic's IDE and documentation.
Thanks
Most of them are «broken»: they mention files, folders, or URL which no longer exist, or have been renamed into something else since a long time. The general impression is that the SDK has been overlooked since a long time — ages? — not following PB in its updates.
The Header Converter tool creates broken validation files (when you try to run the generated "*_Validate.pb" file you get a "WriteStringN(): Incorrect number of parameters" error!
Also, most of the SDK's .txt files are written i a very approximative English — very hard to follow, at times impossible to understand what the writer is trying to say — and the used terminology is often odd (eg: "drawer" instead of "folder", etc.).
I think its really a pity, for I realise that the SDK should be the key to enjoy advanced PB functionality. But in its present state, it brings more confusion than clarification, with all its mistakes and wrong references, and it forces users to try and find answer by Googling them.
I also think that the SDK should be mentioned in PB's Help documentation — not a word about it there, right now. Possibly, all those .txt files could be incorporated into PB's Help file.
I don't know if its the same on Linux and MaxOS X, but for Windows the state of PB's SDK is presently very bad, and I consider it the one major point that tips the scales of balance in the overall quality of this great tool — introducing in it an element of unkemptness and lack of attention to details in an area which is most dear to programmers: the SDK!
I really hope some of PB devs can cut corners and dedicate time to running through the SDK anew, and bring it alive by updating its documentation, broken tools, and bring it level to the standard of PureBasic's IDE and documentation.
Thanks