Export long texts to PDF?

[stam]

I guess the main difference is the user guide is written as a narrative, as opposed to an API documentation - you can't really integrate the two into a single entity as the narrative may involve several APIs.

But on the subject of wish lists i do often wish many of the entries in the Dictionary/API documentation came with more examples -- some are very well exemplified, others not at all...

[richmond62]

some are very well exemplified, others not at all...

Very true indeed.

I did feel the older Dictionary in LC 7 was rather better in some respects.

[bobcole]

The Dictionary is accessible from the LiveCode website: https://livecode.com/resources/api/
FYI,
Bob C

[stam]

The website, while not bad, is obviously not available offline

But more importantly there is no SEO - i can't remember a single time i searched the web for a livecode question and was directed to the LC online API documentation. On occasion i have been directed to a wiki with the same content - i don't enjoy that as much...

But the issue i mention isn't the format, it's the content. Some topics are completely bereft of examples and would benefit from this, especially from the point of view of new users...

Besides, i much prefer to use Dash for searching the API documentation...

[richmond62]

The Dictionary is accessible from the LiveCode website

The website, while not bad, is obviously not available offline

You could, if you felt it were worth it, download that whole thing using Sitesucker or suchlike
for offline browsing.

[stam]

Why would you want to do that when James Hale has created tools for both exporting a Dash docset of the entire documentation (hence can be used in Dash on Mac, Velocity or Zeal on Win and Zeal on Linux), as well as a stack that can display said docset - both available on LiveCodeShare/sample stacks.

And he also maintains a formal Dash docset directly available within Dash, although this is a couple of versions out of date now… so I just roll my own with his tool.

And again I’ll point out I wasn’t commenting on the form the API documentation comes in but rather that many entries needed to be furnished with examples.

[richmond62]

many entries needed to be furnished with examples.

Why do I have a feeling that a 'scrape' of these forums should supply more than enough?

Also: why pay for Dash when you can have the thing sitting on your desktop for nix?

[stam]

Why do I have a feeling that a 'scrape' of these forums should supply more than enough?

The forum is a good source of info IF you can locate what you want. But then it more often that not involves wading through tens if not hundreds of posts to find that nugget you need.

As you well know, i use the forum A LOT and I don't make these comments inanely.
You know what you know and you don't know what you don't know. Try thinking outside of your own head and putting yourself in the shoes of someone that hasn't been using liveCode for over 10 years.

So no, by and large I don't agree with your 'feeling'. The forum is more for discourse than reference and the two should be distinct. Forum = great discussion but 'Dictionary' = at best mediocre reference.
A reference should include examples. I can't count how many times i've very successfully just used examples verbatim from documentation in other languages and occasionally i do this in liveCode but sadly more often than not there are either not enough examples to cover the use case i'm looking for or it's only a fragment of the code to illustrate syntax rather than a full example.

Also: why pay for Dash when you can have the thing sitting on your desktop for nix?

There is NO COMPARISON in the utility of Dash vs the built in dictionary. Whether you think it's worth the money is a different matter, for me it is. Take a busy API like the Data Grid and say you want to search all messages and commands for the word fragment 'data' to look and see how to manipulate the DG's data. Frankly impossibly with dictionary. With the Dictionary, you can't have multiple APIs open side by side for quick reference. You can't annotate APIs. You can't store code snippets. It ONLY works with the LC IDE, unlike Dash which integrates with hundreds of apps. I like coding in VSCode and it's a doddle to look up stuff in Dash (if the cursor is in the word you want to look up just hit ctrl-H and instantly Dash pop's up at the same API entry).
As mentioned this is free on Win/Linux (using Velocity or Zeal)

Then of course you can just use James Hale's Docset Reader: https://livecodeshare.runrev.com/stack/ ... set-Reader
This doesn't really offer more features than the built in dictionary BUT you can compile it for mobile and have on your phone or tablet or other computer. And you can modify to your heart's content without worrying about breaking the IDE.

Literally any other solution offers a step up from the 'native' offering... it's not about 'having the thing on your desktop' it's about functionality.
Great whataboutism though...

[jacque]

There are big plans for updating the dictionary. I don't know if it will offer everything you want but the format and content will be much improved.

Re: Dash, I never could get it to work on Android, even after James updated his reader app. I built my own rudimentary reader for now though it's very limited and not suitable for anyone other than me.

[stam]

Well, it will be cool to see the changes… I’m not at all fussed if they come up with something same or better than Dash.

I didn’t pay for Dash as such, I get it on a SetApp subscription since I regularly use a number of apps from there and it works out cheaper. For the cost of a couple of large coffees a month I get access to a large number of useful apps. If you’re a Mac or iOS user you may want to have a look at https://setapp.com/

[richmond62]

Try thinking outside of your own head and putting yourself in the shoes of someone that hasn't been using liveCode for over 10 years.

Every summer I have a couple of class loads of kids who are not very good at telepathy, and so have no idea what goes on
inside my head (probably a good thing or they'd be jumping off cliffs ), so I DO have to think outside of my own head,
and am well aware of the 'cliff-face' that those kids have to somehow have to work out how to surmount, tunnel through,
or wiggle round . . .

AND, Yes: the documentation is very inadequate, and examples of certain central ideas are either hard to find, or
just plain impossible to find.

In an ideal world, every entry in the documentation would come with a very simple example that 'freshmen'
could get their teeth into.