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Subject: 
Re: Backwards Compatibility (Was Calling all Meta-commands)
Newsgroups: 
lugnet.cad.dev
Date: 
Sun, 16 Mar 2003 16:08:51 GMT
Viewed: 
4862 times
  
In lugnet.cad.dev, Dan Boger writes:
> On Sun, Mar 16, 2003 at 03:53:02PM +0000, Tim Courtney wrote:
> > I'll make a side note on the { } issue. One of my goals (as Kevin knows) is
> > to see this software more useable and accessible to general computer users
> > and even kids in the intermediate level on up. I'd like people to have
> > access to good quality free CAD software they can understand. Having watched
> > your average computer user try to familiarize themselves with this, I can
> > attest that even the concept of hand-editing a file makes them uneasy.
> > Requiring { } on meta-commands would just add another layer, albeit
> > perceived, on their part of this system's complexity. Allthough we see them
> > as characters, they see them as jibberish they don't understand.
> 
> Making LDraw accessible to the average computer user is a great thing!
> But, as you mentioned yourself - these users won't be editing the files
> by hand, they'll be using "good, free CAD software".  So whatever meta
> commands they need to add, the software will be adding for them, right?
> So Mary Smith could select "Set light value" from a menu in her GUI,
> enter some data in a dialog box, and the program would add
> 
> 0 {LIGHTVALS} 0 1 2 3
> 
> I think the fileformat spec should be completely transparent to the
> (average) user.

That's the ideal, but we don't have that right now at this moment :-) A good
goal to aspire to, and one I'll certainly be promoting among those who are
interested in hearing what I have to say.

> Advance users that edit the files manually already have
> to understand the file format, with everything that goes with it.

Sure, understood. I still like the idea of a more common character; even
encapsulating (META) in parenthasees is more common.

:-)

-Tim



Message has 1 Reply:
  Re: Backwards Compatibility (Was Calling all Meta-commands)
 
(...) sure, that works almost as well as {}. It's the _lack_ of any punctuation that bothered me there. :) (24 years ago, 16-Mar-03, to lugnet.cad.dev)

Message is in Reply To:
  Re: Backwards Compatibility (Was Calling all Meta-commands)
 
(...) Making LDraw accessible to the average computer user is a great thing! But, as you mentioned yourself - these users won't be editing the files by hand, they'll be using "good, free CAD software". So whatever meta commands they need to add, the (...) (24 years ago, 16-Mar-03, to lugnet.cad.dev)

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