[PD] Is there something like "adddollar" for messages?

Jonathan Wilkes jancsika at yahoo.com
Thu Aug 6 16:01:54 CEST 2015


On 07/28/2015 03:07 AM, Alexandros Drymonitis wrote:
>
> For some reason I didn't even think to check the help patch of the 
> message... quite embarrassing. Sorry list, should have thought twice..

All kidding aside, it's a very informative thread.  You didn't consult 
the docs but were able to surmise the method "adddollar" from scratch.  
That tells me the message-building interface is consistent.  And if 
"adddollar" had a default float argument, it's likely you would have 
figured out how it works without ever having to consult the list or help 
patches.  (I.e., you would have noticed that it creates "$0" by default, 
then probably tried using different integers as args.)

Even more informative are the threads where a large number of users are 
unable to surmise how to do something due to an inconsistent interface.  
That's essentially free usability feedback. Unfortunately the free 
software ethos has traditionally been to wholesale ignore that data, 
even going so far as to deride it with the acronym "RTFM".  Projects 
that cherish (and mine) this free data-- like SDL-- flourish, while 
others do not.

-Jonathan





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