[PD] Using "all_about_x" patches as abstractions in help files

[Jonathan Wilkes]

--- On Mon, 1/4/10, Hans-Christoph Steiner <hans at at.or.at> wrote:

> From: Hans-Christoph Steiner <hans at at.or.at>
> Subject: Re: Using "all_about_x" patches as abstractions in help files
> To: "Jonathan Wilkes" <jancsika at yahoo.com>
> Cc: "Pd List" <pd-list at iem.at>
> Date: Monday, January 4, 2010, 2:03 AM
> 
> Glad to see you thinking about improving the docs :) 
> We tried the abstraction thing before, but got in trouble
> because so much stuff got loaded when loading a single help
> patch, then there were also seemingly endless loops of
> loading.

Well it wouldn't be a problem if you're only using abstractions in this 
manner in help patches and not in the "all_about_x" patches.  But I guess this restriction means the method doesn't scale well.

> 
> I'd prefer to get pddplink working well and use it
> throughout.  It seems to be the best approach, provided
> it works.  Can you describe the problem with pddplink
> or provide an example patch?
> 

I don't think pddplink likes spaces in the filename.

Ok, in windows xp open the pd browser and in the examples/pddp/, click on 
pddplink-test-01.pd.  All the links should work.  Now go in and change 
the name of the containing folder from "pddp" to "pddp bug".  Now when 
you open that same patch, you'll get a tk error message for every 
[pddplink] object (excluding the ones with the -box flag).

But I don't understand why I don't see the error message in the first 
place, because pd/doc/examples/pddp/ is in the "Program Files" folder.

-Jonathan

> .hc
> 
> On Jan 3, 2010, at 1:55 PM, Jonathan Wilkes wrote:
> 
> > Currently, the help patches in the reference folder
> have two ways of
> > referring to the "all_about_x" patches:
> > 
> > 1) comments in the form of
> "docs/reference/all_about_x
> > 2) pddplink
> > 
> > The first option requires the user to open the patch
> manually, which is
> > klunky because the last patch opened is probably
> different than the
> > reference folder (not to mention the fact that the
> reference folder has
> > hundreds of patches in it).  The second option
> currently stinks because
> > pddplink is buggy (at least on winxp: for example, I
> can't open the
> > link listed in ctlin-help.pd).
> > 
> > But what about using the "all_about_x" patches as
> abstractions in the
> > relevant help patches?  So for example: under the
> "more_info" heading in
> > float-help.pd, instead of the comment
> "all_about_data-types.pd", just have
> > [all_about_data-types], which the user can open with
> one click.  Those
> > patches aren't particularly complex, so it shouldn't
> affect load time of
> > the help patches very much (I think), but it would
> greatly improve
> > navigation.  And unlike pddplink, typos would be
> obvious because the abstraction wouldn't create.
> > 
> > What do people think?
> > 
> > -Jonathan
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> 
> 
> 
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
>                
>   ¡El pueblo unido jamás será vencido!
> 
> 
>