Re: Usability and Documentation (was Re: [Bluemusic-users] Tooltips)
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From: Michael B. <got...@ya...> - 2005-04-21 13:40:55
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--- Steven Yi <ste...@gm...> wrote: > Oh, I see what you are saying now I think. Did you > want to get rid of > the ftable tab altogether and only support ftgen > statements? > > Well, as a design principle for blue, I'm concerned > with not forcing > anything on a user in terms of Csound style or > compositional style. > IMO, It's what really separates blue from any other > Csound program, > the fact that it is made to be very generic... I'd have to agree. I've thought about it some more, and I think the fault in this case doesn't lie with blue, but rather with csound itself; f-statements just don't lend themselves to instrument encapsulation, no matter what front-end you're using. If you start to design blue to make up for some of csound's faults, that could get ugly. So consider my concerns more directed at csound than blue. > > Now, I think that since the method of using ftgen > statements embedded > with the instrument has proven to be really useful > that I would > definitely recommend it as a best practice. > ... > -I will definitely start working on a Tutorial on > this subject of > designing encapsulated instruments. As it is now, > the blue manual > seems that it should perhaps start to be split up a > bit more: > > -User Guide (how to use the program, tutorials, best > practices, FAQ, > Glossary, etc.) > -User Reference (info on all the plugins) > -Developers Guide with API docs for Plugins > That would be great, particularly the user's guide. Blue is a great program, but there are definitely best practices one should follow in order to get the most out of it. I've found out some on my own, and I'm sure there are others that I haven't found. In fact, the use of ftgen opcodes for instrument encapsulation is new to me; I've always wondered why people use ftgen, now I know. Of course, if I had ordered the csound CD from Dr. B. then I might have found that out earlier, but... > > -Regarding the last section, should we have a blue > tips page show on > startup? (With possibility to disable as well as > reenable in program > options). This seems like something pretty common > in programs. > That might be nice, but maybe a more comprehensive manual/user's guide should be a priority. Then you could develop the auto-tips to pull from sections of the user's guide. > BTW, Michael, I appreciate your comments very very > much. I hope > nothing I've said has come across as harsh but > simply curious. =) So, > a big thanks for your comments!!! > No problem; you didn't come across harshly at all. I know that some developers get offended when they hear any kind of criticism of their code, so I appreciate your patience and understanding. BTW, let me know if you need any help with that documentation; I'd be happy to chip in. Michael Bechard __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around http://mail.yahoo.com |