[PD] Help Docs: element vs. item

[Hans-Christoph Steiner]

On Aug 12, 2009, at 6:22 PM, Mathieu Bouchard wrote:

> On Wed, 12 Aug 2009, Jonathan Wilkes wrote:
>> --- On Wed, 8/12/09, Mathieu Bouchard <matju at artengine.ca> wrote:
>>> Actually, "selector" would be the most sensible column name
>>> for the column that lists "the accepted messages"...
>> It would, but there currently aren't column names in the pddp  
>> template.
>> Are you looking at a different template than the one for [float] in
>> pd-ext?
>
> I'm not looking at a template, why?
>
>> Hmm...I don't think these more general terms require definitions,  
>> because they are superficially describing what one types to produce  
>> the desired behavior.
>
> I don't think that it's a good idea to directly connect "what you  
> type" with "what you get", except in examples. The theory should  
> connect "what you type" with an internal representation, and connect  
> the internal representation with "what you get", or any other number  
> of intermediate steps, whatever is needed to make people distinguish  
> between "a symbol" and "the spelling out of a symbol by a user" and  
> "the printing out of the symbol by pd" and other things.
>
> It's more obvious (and more critical) if you think of the float  
> situation.
>
>> There's an implicit step when the term "message" is used (i.e.,  
>> typing something in a message box and sending it to the object).   
>> But if you look at the Max docs where they say, "the word 'set'  
>> followed by a number", there's not even that.
>
> And so... how are the Max docs related to how Pd should be  
> documented?...

They are widely regarded and good to learn from, and Pd is part of the  
Max family.

.hc




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