Hi,
I recently switched from another 3dengine to Panda.
I must say I like it a lot, it’s powerful and charming.
What I do not like, is the fact I have to go through the forums all the time,
just to find out how some silly simple thing should be used in c++.
Might be my lack of understanding things, but it’s a fact
Basic conclusion: The panda examples for c++ would be very valuable.
Since there is only the roaming ralp for c++ ( helped me a -lot- ),
I decided today to start converting the examples to c++.
However, it’s a tedious job and I would really appreciate some help from
other c++ programmers. (And highly likely from experienced programmers like rdb )
If there is any interest, please use this thread to declare wich example you are willing to convert. I’ll start with chessboard.
Thanks in advance, and please leave a comment if you will find the whole idea usefull, or not.
I don’t have the time currently for actually translating examples, but I can offer my help translating particular snippets to c++ so if you have any problem with anything just ask away in this thread.
Personally, I try to translate manual sections to c++ whenever I look something up, I think it’s a more pressing need, since c++ programmers in general already understand how to structure the code so samples don’t help that much. I find it troublesome when I have to rely on full samples to learn about something because it forces you to understand the structure of a full program just to learn how to use a particular feature, and that feature maybe comprises 5% of the code. Relying on samples is bad style. In this sense, I think that translating the snippets at the manual would be much more helpful. So consider starting with this instead. Not to say that translating samples wouldn’t be helpful, but I just think that the manual should be first. Note that many people would disagree, but I think that documenting (exclusively) via samples is a terrible trend, you just see it a lot because it’s easier to drop a sample in a code distribution than writing a proper manual. After all, the samples are already half-done because there’s always a test while the feature is being developed, so this test is easy to morph into a sample with some cleaning up. Anyway, if you are interested, check this post for info about how to edit the wiki:
EDIT: Another reason I’d encourage you to help with the manual instead is that the manual is very well documented (sic) while the python samples aren’t. (For example in the manual you will find notes telling you what the hidden consequences of some calls are, alternative ways to do the same things, etc.)
You have a very good point there, I did not realize there is the possibility to help with the manual. Count me in.
I think I might be able to contribute a fair share
I’ll do some carefull editing on a simple subject, starting with:
Panda3D Manual: Text Fonts
I’ll definately ask for help when I need it, but the work you’ve done already on the c++ side of the manual helps a lot clearing out things a bit.
