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Bob,
1.
As for context-sensitive help : I fully agree (we agreed upon that earier already)
and this will be added in 4.70. Note that AFL editor already is context-sensitive
(so when you press F1 the help for highlighted function appears automatically).
2.
"Updated on-line reference" links to AFL on-line reference guide
and whenever on-line version really includes more info or not depends on the fact
if someone submitted a comment to given function.
This is intended to be used similar way as PHP or mySQL on-line help systems
that users contribute comments to
(see how it works here: http://www.php.net/manual/en/function.fopen.php)
AFL on line library allows the same (user - comments helping each other to better
understand usage). Currently this feature is greatly under-utilized (very few comments)
posted, hence you don't really see "more information" because all it contains
is already present on your hard disk.
As for functions added with the beta:
adding them to the on-line reference brings some dangers of users not noticing that given function
requires a beta version and trying to use without success then thinking that somethign is broken/not working.
This could be addressed by somehow marking with red color or something that given function requires
beta version.
Also actually AmiBroker uses your on-disk broker.chm file to display topic. Topics
that does not exist (new functions) can not be displayed. In the past I was trying to
intercept HTMLHelp engine to tell me whenever topic was successfully found or not but
these attempts failed (htmlhelp does not really provide any "feedback" information about the display status).
Anyway I will try other approaches to resolve this issue.
Best regards,
Tomasz Janeczko
amibroker.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Bob Jagow" <bjagow@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <amibroker@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, January 23, 2005 3:48 AM
Subject: RE: [amibroker] Re: Training and/or User Groups
>
> Tomasz,
>
> Two as yet un-mentioned help/reference deficiencies are:
>
> An utter lack of context-sensitive help.
>
> A need to make the "updated on-line reference" link functional. Currently,
> I'd bet that far less than 5% of these links provide "More information:",
> therefore one is soon conditioned to avoid the expected disappointment.
> Would it be feasible to update this link-portion of the help file along with
> the updated beta?
>
> Bob
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Tomasz Janeczko [mailto:amibroker@xxxxxx]
> Sent: Saturday, January 22, 2005 10:27 AM
> To: amibroker@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Subject: Re: [amibroker] Re: Training and/or User Groups
>
>
>
> Hello,
>
> Thank you for your kind words.
>
> Of course there is a room for constant improvement. And it is being done,
> step by step, everyday.
>
> There will be examples added to each and every AFL function.
> You may have noticed that all new functions (TimeFrame for example)
> come with examples already. Only some very old and pretty
> basic functions are without extensive examples (like sin() ) but
> at the time I wrote this it looked to me self-documenting.
>
> In attempt to provide even more examples, the AFL function reference
> already features automatic linking to code from AFL on-line library
> showing usage of referred function.
>
> For example if you look at the reference to HighestSince:
> http://www.amibroker.com/guide/afl/afl_view.php?highestsince
>
> you immediatelly get the list of formulas that use this function.
> Moreover each occurence of the function in question is automatically
> highlighted. This provides real-world example of usage of virtually
> every AFL function.
>
> Best regards,
> Tomasz Janeczko
> amibroker.com
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "tkoinaustin" <tkoinaustin@xxxxxxxxx>
> To: <amibroker@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Saturday, January 22, 2005 6:59 PM
> Subject: [amibroker] Re: Training and/or User Groups
>
>
>
>
> I have to agree with Tomasz. I had developed and marketed a custom
> piece of software for 10 years so I am familiar with the issues of
> customer expectations and satisfaction. I think Tomasz has done a
> good good on the manual. I have used the search engine repeatedly and
> found the information I need. I do agree that the one area for
> improvement would be concrete examples of how to use the various
> functions. There is so much capability in the program that I am sure
> very few people are actually using it effectively, and ceratinly not
> to it's fullest extent. This would be addressed, in great part, by
> more examples with explanations on what the various sections of the
> code are doing.
>
> Tomasz, please do not take this as a dice. I think your program and
> documentation are outstanding. Think of this as an area to excel! I
> am essentially brand new to AB, and I could use more examples, but in
> lieu of that, this forum provides most of the info I need.
>
> Tom
>
>
> --- In amibroker@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, "Tomasz Janeczko" <amibroker@xxxx>
> wrote:
>> Hello,
>>
>> While criticism is OK, I am pretty much surprised by some
> statements of yours.
>> Your e-mail must come from the fact that you do not know how to
>> use tools already shipped with AmiBroker (like HTMLHelp).
>>
>> Personally I find your e-mail pretty unfair considering the amount
> of
>> work I have put into documenting AmiBroker. Try writing 800+ pages
> of docs
>> (manual, newsletters, how-tos) and preparing video tutorials and
> then
>> you will get some idea about what "comprehensive documentation"
> means.
>>
>> 1. The manual *is* comprehensive. It may not be structured to well
>> but it covers simply every bit of AB.
>>
>> 2. Compiler DOES locate the error and tells you what is wrong.
>> It gives you error line and character position and highlights the
> place
>> where error occured.
>> Actually it often gives you much better and long explanations than
> other languages.
>> Such as this one:
>> "Error 3. Condition in IF, WHILE, FOR statements\nhas to be Numeric
> or Boolean type. You can not use array here,please use [] (array
>> subscript operator) to access array elements"
>>
>> This actually tells you WHAT YOU SHOULD DO in order to fix an error
>> NO OTHER compiler would tell you as detailed error message.
>>
>> The only thing that need to be improved is that if error occurs
>> inside for/while loop then the compiler points you to the end of
> the coding block.
>> This problem will be addressed but it is unfair to tell that
> compiler does not
>> tell you what the problem is.
>>
>> 3. Search in off-line mailing list archive
>> http://www.amibroker.com/listarchive.html
>>
>> is based on Microsoft full-text seach engine.
>> http://www.microsoft.com/mind/0297/htmlhelp.asp
>>
>> In Microsoft opinion it is the next best thing to sliced bread.
>> If you think it is bad, send complaint to Microsoft.
>>
>> The same applies to search implemented in HTMLHelp
>> User guide that is installed on your computer.
>>
>> 4. Requiring "diagnostic ability of Visual C++ compiler" from AFL
>> is ridiculous because of the following
>> a) AFL is for traders, not for programmers, so it offers simple
>> syntax without type declarations, prototypes, templates, etc.
>> b) AFL is not C++ (has no type declaration for example and this
>> itself 'removes' type checking for example)
>> c) AFL is not general-purpose language, does not operate
>> directly with machine code, does not have direct access to
> physical memory, etc.,
>> so Visual C++ tools like CPU view, memory dump view, disassembly
> window
>> are useless.
>> d) AmiBroker is developed by 1 person, while Visual C++ is
> developed by thousands of people.
>>
>> 5. If you are "IBM programmer" - instead of bashing other's work
> like this,
>> go on code your own trading software that will be surely better and
> write great comprehensive manual
>> and everybody will be happy including me.
>>
>> Best regards,
>> Tomasz Janeczko
>> amibroker.com
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: "Barry Scarborough" <razzbarry@xxxx>
>> To: <amibroker@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>> Sent: Saturday, January 22, 2005 5:05 PM
>> Subject: [amibroker] Re: Training and/or User Groups
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> We need a comprehensive manual with well documented and coded
>> examples with comments on each line, the more the better. And we
>> need a compiler that locates the error and tells us what is wrong.
>> Both of the current items fall short of what we need to write
>> effective code without pulling our hair out.
>>
>> I do not agree with using weekly subjects with examples within the
>> context of the forum. Have you tried to locate articles on the forum
>> using search arguments? It is almost impossible to find a specific
>> topic and difficult at best to find what you are looking for. A
>> search returns many articles, then you have to browse through them
>> spending huge amounts of time and often coming away more frustrated
>> than when you began. Many of the example assume you already know how
>> to program within AB, bad assumption, and they are not commented
>> well at all. The more terse the example the more difficult they are
>> to follow. You can, and some often do, pack a lot of code on one
>> line and unless you understand the language and have a block comment
>> above the code telling you what is being done in human language, you
>> will not follow what is being done. Examples should not do this.
>>
>> An online manual or a newer version in PDF that allows searches
>> would be good. How-to subjects with examples would be much better
>> than the manual we now have. The manual we now have often provides
>> links to examples on their website but they are not commented well
>> and many times are terse and very difficult for a newbie or even a
>> programmer to understand. Finding exactly what you are looking for
>> is very difficult. But that is what the forum is for. If the same
>> question is asked over and over then it is a candidate for an online
>> example withj comments. Examples should also have meaningful
>> variable names or good comments so they are easy to follow.
>>
>> Another thing that would really be helpful is a compiler that placed
>> the cursor ON THE FAILING LINE with a good explanation of what the
>> failure is. I often, especially when I am using for or if
>> statements, I find an error at the end of the code with the cursor
>> on the last line of code and saying something like "Hey you screwed
>> up. He he. See if you can figure out where you made a mistake." Many
>> times I have had to comment out large blocks of code trying to find
>> out where the problem is. Then it is not always obvious what the
>> error is. A compiler that found all the errors, listed them at the
>> bottom with what the error definition is and allowing me to click on
>> that line and be taken to the error line would be much better, but
>> now we are talking about the diagnostic ability of a MS Visual C++
>> compiler. I double we will ever get that. But improvement could be
>> made.
>>
>> A comprehensive manual is what we need. Allowing users to provide
>> comprehensive well document examples would be great too. Put them in
>> a library on the AB site, not in the forum.
>>
>> All the seminars I have attended, I am an IBM programmer and have
>> attended tons of them, addressed general topics, unless they are
>> weeks long. Newbies need a general, low level seminar to get used to
>> the code. People who have a fairly good grasp of the language and
>> how to use it would require a more comprehensive seminar, actually a
>> programming class that lasts a week or more. But when you walk away
>> from a seminar you had better have a comprehensive manual because
>> you are not going to remember what you were taught in a month.
>> Typically you lose 80% to 90% of what you are taught in three months
>> unless you start using it right away and keep at it. If you go to a
>> seminar and try to use what you learned a year later, forget it. You
>> will be looking in the manual.
>>
>> We also need a more comprehensive description of how to use the
>> Automatic Analysis tools, back tester especially. I have not figuree
>> out how to use them effectively yet and I have been coding in AB for
>> 1.5 years. Once again, how do you set the settings? I still don't
>> know how to set them for a real world experience.
>>
>> Barry
>>
>> --- In amibroker@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx, CM TOMSON <chic195a@xxxx> wrote:
>> >
>> > As a newbie I relate to requests for training. Attempting to sort
>> through 70 postings per day, in hopes of keeping abreast of what
>> problems lie ahead, and ways to head them off, coupled with
>> attempting to read a 600 page manual, is a challenge. I cringe when
>> an answer to a simple question is read the manual. I'm still in the
>> process of doing so, and it isn't that easy.
>> >
>> > I have seen many suggestions about going to Clearwater, but feel
>> beginners would still be at a disadvantage, as well being out
>> airfare, and hotel rates.
>> >
>> > The administrators and writers, and many participants are an
>> educated and sophisticated lot. My hats off to you, but even among
>> you, the crème of the crop, is patience tested. Novices always begin
>> sentences with the fact that they are new; it seems waiting for
>> their lack of knowledge to be challenged.
>> >
>> > I realize most of those involved in amibroker are strained to the
>> end. I also know that you're tired of hearing questions if the
>> manual already answers that. However, as great as that manual is,
>> perhaps there are lingering doubts that if I experiment, and do what
>> I think the manual suggests I may actually create another problem
>> that is not covered, or again ask the same sophisticated people,
>> another really stupid question on how to get out of this or that.
>> >
>> > Is it possible therefore to have a weekly subject with examples,
>> and step-by-step procedures, for a particular starter topic? The
>> tutorials are fantastic, and I don't mean that those instruments
>> need be done, but a simple step by step approach to a common
>> denominator may avoid thousands of future questions, and permit
>> those of us who are less knowledgeable a chance to catch up.
>> >
>> > The person who started this topic stated he was at this a year,
>> and still learning. This is a great program, and its expansion and
>> success, also lies in new people coming in. Will these new people be
>> willing to have patience for a year? If new people come in and the
>> program expands, and more and more questions asked, and you have
>> problems now, what happens then? Will postings go from 70 to 200
>> per day?
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > Respectfully submitted
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> >
>> > ---------------------------------
>> > Do you Yahoo!?
>> > Yahoo! Search presents - Jib Jab's 'Second Term'
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Check AmiBroker web page at:
>> http://www.amibroker.com/
>>
>> Check group FAQ at:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/amibroker/files/groupfaq.html
>> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Check AmiBroker web page at:
> http://www.amibroker.com/
>
> Check group FAQ at:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/amibroker/files/groupfaq.html
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Check AmiBroker web page at:
> http://www.amibroker.com/
>
> Check group FAQ at:
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/amibroker/files/groupfaq.html
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Check AmiBroker web page at:
> http://www.amibroker.com/
>
> Check group FAQ at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/amibroker/files/groupfaq.html
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
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>
>
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>
>
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