Torque Documentation Somewhat Haphazard
by Rob Cain · in Torque Game Builder · 05/28/2010 (7:35 pm) · 9 replies
I'm looking at what I believe is the latest version of the Torque Game Builder offline documentation and the Reference section is really borked. It's the version that came with the 1.7.5 download. Here's a couple examples (this page can be found in the documentation folder under "content/documentation/Reference/TGB Reference/t2dSceneObject.html").
In the t2dSceneObject section:
getDstBlendFactor()
Description: Returns the dst blend factor. Return: dstBlend: The destination blend factor.
getFlip()
Description: Gets the flip for each axis. Return: dstBlend: The destination blend factor.
getFlipX()
Description: Gets whether or not the object is flipped horizontally. Return: dstBlend: The destination blend factor.
getFlipY()
Description: Gets whether or not the object is flipped vertically. Return: dstBlend: The destination blend factor.
And again, immediately after:
getForceScale()
Description: Gets the objects force-scale. Return: float scale: The scale factor.
getForwardMovementOnly()
Description: Gets the object forward movement only status. Return: float scale: The scale factor.
And again...
getFriction()
Description: Gets Object Friction. Return: float friction: The friction value of the object.
getGraphGroup(integer group)
Description: The group the object is on. Return: float friction: The friction value of the object.
getGraviticConstantForce()
Return: float friction: The friction value of the object.
getHeight()
Description: Gets the height of the object. Return: float friction: The friction value of the object.
This copy-paste effect happens throughout the t2dSceneObject reference. Not knowing the return data for these methods makes them difficult to put into use. Is my version outdated, or is this something to look at?
In the t2dSceneObject section:
getDstBlendFactor()
Description: Returns the dst blend factor. Return: dstBlend: The destination blend factor.
getFlip()
Description: Gets the flip for each axis. Return: dstBlend: The destination blend factor.
getFlipX()
Description: Gets whether or not the object is flipped horizontally. Return: dstBlend: The destination blend factor.
getFlipY()
Description: Gets whether or not the object is flipped vertically. Return: dstBlend: The destination blend factor.
And again, immediately after:
getForceScale()
Description: Gets the objects force-scale. Return: float scale: The scale factor.
getForwardMovementOnly()
Description: Gets the object forward movement only status. Return: float scale: The scale factor.
And again...
getFriction()
Description: Gets Object Friction. Return: float friction: The friction value of the object.
getGraphGroup(integer group)
Description: The group the object is on. Return: float friction: The friction value of the object.
getGraviticConstantForce()
Return: float friction: The friction value of the object.
getHeight()
Description: Gets the height of the object. Return: float friction: The friction value of the object.
This copy-paste effect happens throughout the t2dSceneObject reference. Not knowing the return data for these methods makes them difficult to put into use. Is my version outdated, or is this something to look at?
About the author
#2
Asking kindly = this post. On searching through the online documentation (which was down for a while when I first acquired TGB, hence my reliance on the offline documentation), I found these problems non-existent. As long as I have access to the internet while developing, I should have no problems. However, an offline reference point is also helpful and so making sure it's updated and coherent would be a plus.
05/28/2010 (8:59 pm)
Ren: I'm referring to the offline documentation, sorry I didn't mention that. I'll edit the original post to avoid confusion.Asking kindly = this post. On searching through the online documentation (which was down for a while when I first acquired TGB, hence my reliance on the offline documentation), I found these problems non-existent. As long as I have access to the internet while developing, I should have no problems. However, an offline reference point is also helpful and so making sure it's updated and coherent would be a plus.
#3
05/28/2010 (9:54 pm)
@Rob - Well, that's very odd. I'll look into this tomorrow morning. Thanks for bringing this to my attention, and sorry about the inconvenience. 
#5
05/29/2010 (9:04 am)
ps. what/ where is the offline documentation? Does it have anything over the online in terms of information? Just wondering.
#6
There is an important consideration, though, and that's that being offline, any updates or changes in information will be reflected much slower in the offline documentation as it doesn't utilize any kind of automatic update, meaning you only get new versions of the documentation when new TGB releases include them.
05/29/2010 (9:14 am)
@Ren: The only pluses in the offline documentation (especially right now, since they seem to have a couple kinks) are that it's offline, meaning you can access it regardless of available internet and the status of the wiki server, and that TGB connects to it directly from the help menu. Otherwise, as long as they update the data, it's the same information.There is an important consideration, though, and that's that being offline, any updates or changes in information will be reflected much slower in the offline documentation as it doesn't utilize any kind of automatic update, meaning you only get new versions of the documentation when new TGB releases include them.
#7
05/29/2010 (9:35 am)
@Rob - Contrary to the past year, the offline TGB documentation has actually more up to date than the online. This is due to the TGB 1.7.5 release taking precedent. However, as you pointed out the online documentation will typically be more up to date than the offline. It's much easier for me to push documentation online than to rebuild the engine installers, especially if the engine repository is constantly changing. In the near future, I will be updating the online documentation for TGB, Torque 3D, Torque X, and pushing iTorque docs online for the first time.
#8
@Ren: there are currently three different documentations... there's the official online documentation at http://docs.torquepowered.com/tgb/official/, which is somewhat out of date, and then there's the TDN documentation at http://tdn.garagegames.com/wiki/TGB/Reference which is much more thorough, organized, and accurate. Finally there's the offline documentation which can be found by opening TGB and selecting Help -> Documentation.
05/29/2010 (9:48 am)
@Michael: Sounds cool. Documentation is really the cornerstone of any good development project so it's good that it's got high priority for you guys. I'm glad the online documentation is working again(when I first started using Torque some time ago, it was really... um... well... not useful (lol) ). I do have one thought... the offline documentation seems kind of unprofessional in comparison to its online brother. I think it's the presentation, perhaps the chicken in the header that does it, versus the online version's clean interface. That's just me though, functionality is foremost.@Ren: there are currently three different documentations... there's the official online documentation at http://docs.torquepowered.com/tgb/official/, which is somewhat out of date, and then there's the TDN documentation at http://tdn.garagegames.com/wiki/TGB/Reference which is much more thorough, organized, and accurate. Finally there's the offline documentation which can be found by opening TGB and selecting Help -> Documentation.
#9
TDN is about to get some exciting news as well, but that will be covered in my next blog post about documentation. It will be a REALLY good read =)
05/29/2010 (9:51 am)
@Rob - Glad you like the appearance of the online docs better. I agree. We are actually pushing our new branding, unifying the appearance (more simplistic) for both online and offline, and really driving consistent formatting.TDN is about to get some exciting news as well, but that will be covered in my next blog post about documentation. It will be a REALLY good read =)
Torque Owner rennie moffat
Renman3000
float for instance.
http://tdn.garagegames.com/wiki/TGB/Reference:_Glossary#Float
I am not sure exactly what your copy paste was from, better to show that page. But yah, as a complete newb a year ago it did seem a bit like garbldy gook to me but I can assure you, once you become familiar the possibilities are endless.
Just dig, or ask kindly, people will help.
I like your pic.
Ren