Documentation update - Datablocks
by Josh Williams · in Torque Game Engine · 05/19/2004 (12:15 pm) · 19 replies
Yo,
We pushed out a big update to the docs today. A bunch of little fixes were made, along with some re-organization. Probably the biggest update though is the inclusion of a new Datablocks reference.
This reference lists all datablocks, along with each field for each datablock, and briefly describes what the field is used for. It is intended strictly as a reference, not a tutorial.
Unfortunately, I screwed up sometime in the past couple days and misplaced the most recent version of the datablock reference. What is up on the site is an older, incomplete version. So, not every datablock is covered. But, the entire ShapeBaseData tree is covered, along with other datablocks. I will either find or reproduce the rest of the document this week. I'm sure it's laying around somewhere, but even if I have to reproduce it, it won't take more than a few hours.
Another note: the document as it exists right now is quite poorly formatted. It needs to be prettier, with some styling on the table. It's a bear trying to figure out how to get DocBook to do that (if anyone knows, email me, please :), so we just pushed the doc out as is for now.
Anyway, we would appreciate those of you who are really familiar with the engine going through this documentation whenever you get a chance and identifying any errors. I'm sure there are many. Also, feel free to make other suggestions... if a description's wording could be better, let me know. If you have additional information to add about a datablock or field, let me know that too.
Once again, this is intended as a reference. An actual tutorial on how to use datablocks is forthcoming.
I hope what's out there now is useful, and look for another big update probably at the beginning of next week.
We pushed out a big update to the docs today. A bunch of little fixes were made, along with some re-organization. Probably the biggest update though is the inclusion of a new Datablocks reference.
This reference lists all datablocks, along with each field for each datablock, and briefly describes what the field is used for. It is intended strictly as a reference, not a tutorial.
Unfortunately, I screwed up sometime in the past couple days and misplaced the most recent version of the datablock reference. What is up on the site is an older, incomplete version. So, not every datablock is covered. But, the entire ShapeBaseData tree is covered, along with other datablocks. I will either find or reproduce the rest of the document this week. I'm sure it's laying around somewhere, but even if I have to reproduce it, it won't take more than a few hours.
Another note: the document as it exists right now is quite poorly formatted. It needs to be prettier, with some styling on the table. It's a bear trying to figure out how to get DocBook to do that (if anyone knows, email me, please :), so we just pushed the doc out as is for now.
Anyway, we would appreciate those of you who are really familiar with the engine going through this documentation whenever you get a chance and identifying any errors. I'm sure there are many. Also, feel free to make other suggestions... if a description's wording could be better, let me know. If you have additional information to add about a datablock or field, let me know that too.
Once again, this is intended as a reference. An actual tutorial on how to use datablocks is forthcoming.
I hope what's out there now is useful, and look for another big update probably at the beginning of next week.
#2
05/19/2004 (5:44 pm)
Holy crap Josh that is awesome! Probably the single best and most useful piece of documentation of all. Now I finally know what all those physics members and others do! YAY!
#3
Hit me on email if you have any suggestions for improvements.
05/19/2004 (10:09 pm)
Thanks guys. :)Hit me on email if you have any suggestions for improvements.
#4
I checked out the appendix B on the Torque Documentation and it wasn't there...
TIA
Bruno
05/20/2004 (8:35 am)
Could you place a link for this, please.I checked out the appendix B on the Torque Documentation and it wasn't there...
TIA
Bruno
#7
The section explaining client/server interaction immediately cleared up some things for me. The datablock reference is extremely handy, too. No more "tweak and see what it does" type behavior on my part...
05/20/2004 (9:22 am)
Wow, I haven't checked Torque's documentation in a while. It's like, a zillion times better now! Thanks guys for putting in the hard, tedious work (I know, I hate to write docs too).The section explaining client/server interaction immediately cleared up some things for me. The datablock reference is extremely handy, too. No more "tweak and see what it does" type behavior on my part...
#8
from
DocBook XSL: The Complete Guide - Chapter 25
It also includes some information on how to add more CSS Functionality (IE, apply to rows, not just cells)
05/20/2004 (11:31 am)
CSS for Table Cellsfrom
DocBook XSL: The Complete Guide - Chapter 25
It also includes some information on how to add more CSS Functionality (IE, apply to rows, not just cells)
#9
Yeah, I've looked at that, but haven't gotten it to actually work yet. Haven't spent a lot of time on it though.
Have you ever actually tried it and had it work? I could be doing something dumb.
05/20/2004 (3:11 pm)
Thanks LabRat :)Yeah, I've looked at that, but haven't gotten it to actually work yet. Haven't spent a lot of time on it though.
Have you ever actually tried it and had it work? I could be doing something dumb.
#10
05/20/2004 (3:28 pm)
Why not try the free version of xmlspy? might help
#11
The Vehicle datablocks really came in handy but could you suggest some resource that explains the physics behind it.
TIA
Bruno
05/20/2004 (3:37 pm)
@Josh,The Vehicle datablocks really came in handy but could you suggest some resource that explains the physics behind it.
TIA
Bruno
#12
I'd love it if there were, but I'm not aware of one, no. Maybe someone else is. I'd love to work on one, but it would be quite complex. If you are good w/ C++, studying the vehicle physics code is the best way to go. :)
Still, if there's a lot of people who want this, I will certainly consider doing a write-up on it. But it would take quite a bit of time, and I have lots of big projects at the moment, so there would have to be a pretty exigent call from people for this to be done any time soon.
05/20/2004 (4:16 pm)
Bruno,I'd love it if there were, but I'm not aware of one, no. Maybe someone else is. I'd love to work on one, but it would be quite complex. If you are good w/ C++, studying the vehicle physics code is the best way to go. :)
Still, if there's a lot of people who want this, I will certainly consider doing a write-up on it. But it would take quite a bit of time, and I have lots of big projects at the moment, so there would have to be a pretty exigent call from people for this to be done any time soon.
#13
element did export to the element.
I also tested all the commands
The one for setting the cell background color is evidently wrong, I looked in the .xsl stylesheets. it should be:
05/20/2004 (4:22 pm)
I just tested with a sample table and the role="something" for the docbook I also tested all the commands
The one for setting the cell background color is evidently wrong, I looked in the .xsl stylesheets. it should be:
<?dbhtml entry-bgcolor="#EEEEEE" ?>
#14
05/20/2004 (4:28 pm)
A-ha! Thanks Labrat. :) That'll be nice for the next update.
#17
The problem I have is that there is no Script object reference. If you want to know what things are available in a class of a certain type (that you are going to make a datablock out of), you have to go and paw through C++ code. I know C++, but why work through it and have to use the engine source as a reference for exported fields, methods and other crap for scripts.
Isn't there a SCRIPT reference for script objects? How about a function reference? How about anything other than a language reference? I get the language syntax, already. Just give me a reference to all the symbols from the engine without having to look for "ConsoleFunction", "addNamedField", etc. in the C++ source.
If you are going to write a scripting language, provide a #%@$ing reference to the "standard library" of the language. Pawing through the engine code is no way to try to understand how to write scripts.
05/23/2004 (9:16 pm)
Ok, so there's supposed to be a "Datablock reference"... where is it?The problem I have is that there is no Script object reference. If you want to know what things are available in a class of a certain type (that you are going to make a datablock out of), you have to go and paw through C++ code. I know C++, but why work through it and have to use the engine source as a reference for exported fields, methods and other crap for scripts.
Isn't there a SCRIPT reference for script objects? How about a function reference? How about anything other than a language reference? I get the language syntax, already. Just give me a reference to all the symbols from the engine without having to look for "ConsoleFunction", "addNamedField", etc. in the C++ source.
If you are going to write a scripting language, provide a #%@$ing reference to the "standard library" of the language. Pawing through the engine code is no way to try to understand how to write scripts.
#18
Re: the datablock reference, did you see the link I posted above? Here it is again: www.garagegames.com/docs/torque/general/apd.php. The most commonly used datablocks are listed there, and we'll have the rest of the reference up hopefully some time next week.
Re: a script object reference. We have certainly considered producing one. In fact, we just talked about it last week. It will be a monumental amount of work, but we're leaning towards producing one right now. First, we have to update the basic scripting chapters in the current official documentation. In the mean time, you may want to check out Ken Finney's new book, 3D Game Programming All In One. That book has an appendix listing many of the script objects and their methods. You can also use the console dump() function to get detailed on info on script objects. Of course, we realize that it'd be nice to have all of this info in a nice tidy document, but I'm just offering alternatives for the time being until such a doco exists.
Re: function references. Again, Ken Finney's book has a helpful appendix. Also check out Ron Yacketta's TorqueScript functions reference. It is getting a little bit outdated and isn't quite complete, but it's still very, very helpful. Again, updating this reference is definitely something we're considering internally.
I hope you can understand. We're all very, very busy with many high-priority projects. There's always more to do, but everyone should take heart that GG is very serious about continuing to improve Torque documentation. I think we've made lots and lots of progress over the past year, and the pace is even quickening recently.
05/23/2004 (10:44 pm)
Jeff,Re: the datablock reference, did you see the link I posted above? Here it is again: www.garagegames.com/docs/torque/general/apd.php. The most commonly used datablocks are listed there, and we'll have the rest of the reference up hopefully some time next week.
Re: a script object reference. We have certainly considered producing one. In fact, we just talked about it last week. It will be a monumental amount of work, but we're leaning towards producing one right now. First, we have to update the basic scripting chapters in the current official documentation. In the mean time, you may want to check out Ken Finney's new book, 3D Game Programming All In One. That book has an appendix listing many of the script objects and their methods. You can also use the console dump() function to get detailed on info on script objects. Of course, we realize that it'd be nice to have all of this info in a nice tidy document, but I'm just offering alternatives for the time being until such a doco exists.
Re: function references. Again, Ken Finney's book has a helpful appendix. Also check out Ron Yacketta's TorqueScript functions reference. It is getting a little bit outdated and isn't quite complete, but it's still very, very helpful. Again, updating this reference is definitely something we're considering internally.
I hope you can understand. We're all very, very busy with many high-priority projects. There's always more to do, but everyone should take heart that GG is very serious about continuing to improve Torque documentation. I think we've made lots and lots of progress over the past year, and the pace is even quickening recently.
#19
One question about class methods in script. If I write an override to a class method, say "MissionMarker::onAdd()", do all I have to do is declare a function with the same signature as onAdd() to make my own implementation?
Thanks ahead of time.
05/24/2004 (5:54 pm)
Thanks, very much. I can appreciate being busy, but the learning curve for this stuff is STEEP.One question about class methods in script. If I write an override to a class method, say "MissionMarker::onAdd()", do all I have to do is declare a function with the same signature as onAdd() to make my own implementation?
Thanks ahead of time.
Torque Owner Nicolas Quijano