Main menu puzzle, Klaus

[Mark Swindell]

On Feb 18, 2006, at 7:04 AM, Ken Apthorpe wrote:

>
> To answer Klaus.  I know Rev is event driven. Problem is it seems  
> no one can
> explain the driving.  I get advice: do this (trust me, it will  
> work).  Do
> that: (trust me, this will work (better)).
>
> I do trust you, and that the suggested solutions will work. What I  
> don't get
> is a clear explanation of how and why they will work (in plain  
> english,
> that, sadly, is all I understand).  If I am to use Rev, I need to  
> know what
> I'm doing, and how/why it will work. Otherwise there is no point in  
> even
> trying.
>

This seems a bit extreme.  There is a level of understanding beyond  
which no one needs to understand further to get the job done.   Else  
perhaps we should start off with machine language and work our way up  
from there?  It really doesn't get more "English" than the X-Talks.   
I've created many very functional, useful tools without fully  
comprehending the intricacies of the code I've created and borrowed.  
(Especially when I go back to something after having not commented it.)

> To summarise, most suggestions about my menu problem tell me to  
> change the
> script.  As I based my various versions of the script on what Rev  
> said (as
> best I could understand), but if you all tell me this was wrong,  
> and I need
> to change it, it doesn't give me a lot of confidence in Rev or the  
> Docs. It
> suggests to me that the instructions in the Rev Docs are not  
> correct, or are
> so incomplete as to be misleading to new users.
>
> This is not a good look.  It turns me off, and I'm persistent. Some  
> will
> think to the point of stupidity.  Fair call, you may be right.  I  
> could
> prove it by saying, well, hey, Donald Trump says never give up.   
> I'm not
> that stupid.   I've given up before, and I might again.  The last  
> time I
> gave up with software was with Rev, in 2003.  For the much the same  
> reasons.
> There are lots of Rev experts, but few good teachers.

This also seems extreme.  There are many fantastic teachers on this  
list, and time after time they help the beginners, intermediates, and  
advanced users.  If you have specific problems understanding an  
explanation, I'd suggest you restate what you did understand, and re- 
ask the specifics of what you didn't understand.  For example, what  
didn't you get about menupick pWhich?

This is coming from someone who is far from an "expert," and has  
struggled with many of the same concepts that you seem to be  
struggling with.  Parameters are, to me, the least well-explained and  
least intuitive aspect of Rev (and programming in general).  I  
thought Klaus did a good job in casting some light on them, but a  
good parameter tutorial would be good in the tutorials.  I think  
maybe Sarah Reichelt may have written one... I can't recall.

Good luck... I learn from the answers to your questions, and I'm sure  
others do too.

Mark