Recent Posts

2876

Developer's Corner / Re: Wording and communication of the purpose of your software

« Last post by kyrathaba on February 23, 2009, 12:51 PM »

Justice,

I think you're correct that lack of clear, concise documentation hampers the acceptance of a piece of software.  For sophisticated software, screencasts can be of great help in documenting the use of the software.  Take, for instance, the online screencast tutorials about how to use Camtasia (which, by the way, were themselves created by using the software which they document).  TechSmith gives a series of screencast tutorials that explain how to do particular things with their software (record the screen, record audio, edit a project, etc.). 

So, for software of any significant complexity, I think screencasting can be very helpful if the screencasts are well-done.  Freeware such as Wink 2.0 can be used to create a nice combination of (1) frame-by-frame instructions on how to use a piece of software and (2) a few full-motion video clips of the program in action.

2877

Developer's Corner / Re: In search of....am I the only one? Prayer list

« Last post by kyrathaba on February 23, 2009, 11:55 AM »

bwren,

I am not aware of any free SMF mods out there that do this (though that doesn't mean there aren't any).  I do know that there are quite a few web-based services that offer what you want, though of course they charge varying monthly fees.  For instance, the tools available from this site offer an API that could be used to give the kind of functionality you want.

I imagine you're wanting something simple to use and, if possible, free.  I have a friend who might know something.  I'll email him.  If I learn anything of further use, I'll report back.

2878

Developer's Corner / Re: Microsoft releases SmallBasic for Newbie Programmers

« Last post by kyrathaba on February 23, 2009, 11:47 AM »

I still have the old QBasic saved on a CD.  Looking at the environment and what can be done with it, after having used C# for the past three years, makes it seem clunky; but I suppose that, at the time it came out, it was impressive enough.

2879

Developer's Corner / Re: Introductory C# web-based tutorials

« Last post by kyrathaba on February 22, 2009, 08:13 PM »

great stuff.  i think i can see your future as a teacher.

Thanks for the compliment   I have, in fact, done a considerable amount of teaching, both in a college classroom setting and a weekly Bible study class. 

it's something for you to consider if you are open to other tools.

As a matter of fact, I recently scraped together enough money to get Camtasia, so I've been experimenting with it.  It seems to have a somewhat steeper learning curve than Wink 2.0, but also seems much more powerful/versatile.  Hopefully, I can get enough of a handle on it to do some cool stuff.  Wink does an amazing job, though (especially for a free tool) if you take the time/effort to use all its capabilities.  It may be that it is better suited to the frame-by-frame navigation of the tutorials I've been making, I dunno.  I guess I'll just have to experiment with Camtasia versus Wink, but I think I'm gonna REALLY like CamT.

2880

Developer's Corner / Re: Introductory C# web-based tutorials

« Last post by kyrathaba on February 22, 2009, 04:12 PM »

Okay folks, for anyone interested:

I've finished the first two tutorials in my Second C# Tutorial Series.  That makes eleven tutorials total (9 in the first series, two so far in the current series).  I'm starting to work on the third tutorial in the current series, which will introduce Windows programming in C#.

As with the previous lesson, I'm also making all the Wink project files, that went into making the presentation, available for download.

2881

Developer's Corner / Re: Introductory C# web-based tutorials

« Last post by kyrathaba on February 21, 2009, 08:08 PM »

Tutorial #2 in Series Two is about ready.  In the next tutorial (#3) I'll introduce the first example of WinForms programming with C#.  I've been updating my DC site's content a bit, both with and without respect to C#, and I'll put up a couple of links to new stuff, in the near future.

2882

General Software Discussion / Re: Some old VB6 software of mine will no longer open MDB database

« Last post by kyrathaba on February 18, 2009, 07:59 PM »

Geesh.  I am astounded at my own denseness.  Makes me wonder how I ever manage to do any programming at all!

Thanks, Veign!

2883

General Software Discussion / Re: Some old VB6 software of mine will no longer open MDB database

« Last post by kyrathaba on February 18, 2009, 07:20 PM »

Weirdly, the problem seems to have been solved by copying the archived project into the newly installed VB6's "Projects" folder.  Go figure.

2884

General Software Discussion / Some old VB6 software of mine will no longer open MDB database

« Last post by kyrathaba on February 18, 2009, 06:31 PM »

Back in 2003 I wrote a VB6 app that opened a database in MDB format.  It was a homemade project that showed a few generations of my family tree in a hierarchical treeview -- the info (pictures, birthdates, histories, etc.) all pulled from the MDB database.

Trouble is, now the program won't open the database.  I get a 5031 error message: Jet database unable to open database.  make sure it is not exclusive or already opened by another program.

I have the whole project on a CD (not with me at this moment, but I can provide it if it would be helpful).  But, anyone have any idea why it won't open the database anymore?  I reinstalled VB6, thinking that might help, but no dice.

2885

General Software Discussion / Re: Screen2Exe - FREE and pretty clever screen casting software

« Last post by kyrathaba on February 18, 2009, 06:14 PM »

I tried Screen2Exe.  Not bad, but does it have to get audio via a microphone?  I tried recording a song playing in Windows Media Player.  The created EXE showed the progress bar moving along in WMP as the song progressed, but no sound (and yes, I did remember to check the Include Audio checkbox.

2886

Living Room / Re: What are you getting for your Special Other for Valentines Day?

« Last post by kyrathaba on February 12, 2009, 07:04 PM »

I gave my wife an artfully arranged scented-candle/flower basket.  She loves scented candles.  And I'm taking her to Gatlinburg for a weekend getaway to eat out at some nice restaurants, do some shopping, etc.

2887

Living Room / Re: wheres the download button

« Last post by kyrathaba on February 09, 2009, 07:16 PM »

Welcome to the forum, jjimbo 

2888

Living Room / Re: Results of IFComp 2008, Competition for short text adventures -- free for all

« Last post by kyrathaba on February 08, 2009, 09:17 AM »

For any of you who have never tried any of these games, I highly recommend you try a few.  They are challenging, entertaining, and very satisfying when completed.  IMHO, IF is an art form.  I've always been attracted to it; in fact, I plan on doing an entire tutorial series on the creation of a simple IF authoring/playing tool in C# (probably one or two tutorial series in the future.

2889

Living Room / Re: New Ipod/ cleaning mp3s

« Last post by kyrathaba on February 07, 2009, 08:08 PM »

I use Sharepod with my ipod Shuffle, and have been very pleased with its simplicity and ease of use.

2890

Developer's Corner / Re: Introductory C# web-based tutorials

« Last post by kyrathaba on February 06, 2009, 09:14 PM »

I have begun work on my second C# tutorial series, "C# for the Somewhat Initiated".  So far, just one tutorial, but more to come in the near future.  I figure this series will have around 10-15 tutorials total.  Then, making use of everything covered in the first two series, I'll do a tutorial series coding "C# the Adventure Game"

2891

Developer's Corner / Re: What's the Best Programming Language For...

« Last post by kyrathaba on February 03, 2009, 05:53 PM »

If you've never done any programming, I would recommend that you start with either Python or C#.  Both of these are well-supported and relatively easy to learn.  And, both are very well-supported and there is a wealth of online tutorials for them.  If you decide to pursue C#, I have some tutorials here at DC, and would be glad to help you get started.

2892

Developer's Corner / Re: Introductory C# web-based tutorials

« Last post by kyrathaba on February 01, 2009, 08:05 AM »

I've added a couple of new C# projects to my Downloads page, for anyone interested in C# sample code.

After a long hiatus, I am ready to work on a second series of C# tutorials.  I thought I would gauge the level of interest in such a series and also see what topics not already covered in the first series would be most appreciated by potential tutorial users.

2893

Developer's Corner / Re: Seeking Programming Language To Learn

« Last post by kyrathaba on January 25, 2009, 03:48 PM »

If you are looking to get up and running quickly, you can download and install a free IDE for C# from Microsoft.  And I have several flash tutorials at my little corner of DC that will help get you started learning C#.  The C# language takes many of the best innovations of Java and C++.  In my opinion, C# has a somewhat easier learning curve than Java, and a lot less steep than C++.

2894

Living Room / I have returned...

« Last post by kyrathaba on January 24, 2009, 08:08 PM »

After several months' hiatus, I have returned to DC, and hope to avoid any such lengthy absence in the future.  For anyone that might be interested, I am planning on getting back up to speed and picking up where I left off with my C# for the Completely Uninitiated series. 

2895

Developer's Corner / Re: The DC Coders' Breakfast Club

« Last post by kyrathaba on April 22, 2008, 10:40 AM »

Been awfully busy lately with work and homelife.  Yesterday, I got my DSL hooked up to a LinkSys wireless router, so now I can sit out on my deck with my laptop (or lie in bed)

Back to work today on my GDI+ learning project -- the coding of .NET Tetris.  I've sorta lost interest somewhat, but I'm probably 75% of the way to a completed game, so I'm trying to work on it at least weekly, so that the code doesn't sit around and age, and then look totally foreign to me when I open the project up again months down the road...

2896

Developer's Corner / Re: The DC Coders' Breakfast Club

« Last post by kyrathaba on March 25, 2008, 11:09 AM »

Right now, I'm developing a .NET Tetris clone solely for the purpose of adding to my C# know-how.

2897

Developer's Corner / Re: The DC Coders' Breakfast Club

« Last post by kyrathaba on March 08, 2008, 08:43 PM »

Today, I'll continue digging into the .NET GDI+, trying to teach myself how to do 2D graphics with it.

2898

DC Member Programs and Projects / Re: The Gradiator

« Last post by kyrathaba on March 08, 2008, 05:18 PM »

He may have been referring to the version number.  To be honest, it'll in all likelihood run fine on .NET 2.0, as I don't think I used any NET 3.5 specific features.  I just developed it using 3.5, so that's what I posted.  Here are images of the program.  The first is the loaded program.  The second is an example of the snapshot it can take.  The text printed on the saved snapshot is optional.  The size of the gradient snapshot is optional.

2899

DC Member Programs and Projects / Re: The Gradiator

« Last post by kyrathaba on March 08, 2008, 08:46 AM »

Gonna be hard to find takers with this requirement.

Yes, I understand what you mean, Phil.  I myself have spent quite a bit of time and effort looking for something with the portability of C but the relative ease of coding of C#.  I haven't had any luck.  Anyway, I think that many developers have .NET installed, they just don't want to develop something that requires .NET, because of the portability issue. 

2900

DC Member Programs and Projects / Re: The Gradiator

« Last post by kyrathaba on March 07, 2008, 10:32 PM »

Just a brief note.  I've embedded the help file into the assembly, so there is now no text file at risk of loss.  The entire application is a single physical executable.  You can run the application from any directory you choose.  It will not mess with your registry in any way.  The application has a tiny footprint, weighing in at 26 Kb.