Documentations Biggest Flaw

[Judy Perry]

If anybody's interested, I should be finishing up a "tour" in the
Hypercard sense (haven't looked at it in years, though, so don't remember
exactly what it was like -- didn't want to for this purpose) along with a
mouse messages/events module; a first draft version hopefully end of next
week.

Last  night I also cobbled together a new tool bar (strictly demo as I
lack the programming knowledge to implement it fully) such as, instead of
the buttons now on the button bar thingy, I have just "New Stack", "New
substack", "Events", "Commands" "Math Stuff/Functions" (yes, I know
they're not necessarily the same; commentary to follow) and "Properties"
(I think.. it was late last night).  Oops.  Forgot "Choices" (how do you
come up with a one or two work name for "control structures" for people
who haven't the foggiest idea what that term means?!).

Anyway, the idea is that, for the absolute novice programmer (e.g.,
someone who's NEVER done anything like this), pare things down to reduce
cognitive clutter/paralyzing confusion.  Thus, the "Events", "Commands"
and "Properties" buttons (which have drop-downs that are really substacks
for selection) don't contain ALL commands/properties etc., only those
likely of interest to the new person with a little line of "Don't see what
you're looking for?  Check the documentation..." at the end.

These are Supercard/early MC style in that the new user aught to be able
to select them when inside the script editor window and have them
auto-inserted (this is what I don't have the vaguest idea how to do -- the
idea was courtesy of Andrew who I think started this thread) -- so the
demo only works for a field in a substack that I guess I'll make look like
a script editor window for my project's demo (hint, hint: help eagerly
welcomed!).

Judy


On Thu, 25 Mar 2004, Wolfgang M.Bereuter wrote:

> Exactly thats the point I was talking about on this list since it has
> started. Finally I gave up. Thanks that you Dave came up and explained
> it much better than i could. But, how du you think you (we) can get
> this in to the head of verbal, left brain, digital and sequential
> working heads of a programmer?