December 2003 - Posts
I have just placed version 0.2 of the binary and source of the Object Model Generator on its web page.
Among the improvements and bug fixes:
- Clonable Objects.
- Parental Recognition.
- Improved Occurance Analysis.
- Initial Source Release.
Please mind that the examples have also been updated.
Sorry for not updating in a while, work is quite hectic.
Also, in the same sense of being a utility-tease as I was for OMG, I am currently working on a utility that would make any other CodeDOM related utility look puny in comparison.
My guess is it would take me several weeks to complete, but I'll try and post my progress here.
Scoble talks about a 'controversy' that's been going on in the Microsoft developer world today. Please read his words on the subject before reading this, for dramatic purposes. :)
My idea of a solution to this issue might be a naive one, but it's simple enough to work. Hear me out:
If someone contributes to Microsoft's software development, such as in giving ideas or being very active in the community, but they are not in Microsoft, they could be given a complimentary copy of the software once it's out.
Think about it:
- It costs nearly nothing to produce a copy of the software and give it to someone. Microsoft being the mass corporation that it is, could take that 'financial hit'.
- It could boost morale for many in the community, so that they feel as if they are 'part of the process'.
- It could somewhat reduce the pirating of Microsoft software in more ways than one.
Now, I'm not talking about the software that sells for thousands or tens of thousands of dollars, but if I tell you something that could be cool to implement in Longhorn and it gets implemented, it could be quite cool to get a copy as show of gratitude.
A post on DanF's weblog (via Scoble) reminded me of the thing I despise most about the MSDN: Samples for language reference.
I'm glad that the person who sat down and wrote the documentation took the time to write a short sample showing how to use the language element (thank you; I try to do that too in my own line of work), but some of the samples lack in several departments, such as actually explaining what they do and why.
I do not want to open a new instance of Visual Studio.NET 2003 (yes, I do know about Snippet Compiler, which is quite helpful, but I don't use it), every time I browse for documentation. Not to mention the Windows Forms samples that, at times, require you to actually build a form with the 'helpful' "this sample assumes you have, on your form, a TextBox names Bernard, a GroupBox named Zachary and a full implementation of the Towers of Hanoi puzzle" comments at the beginning.
Even the simplest of examples don't show an output at times (exempli gratia)... Quite ridiculous, and I assume you would agree.
Another thing one might consider is that the good people over at Microsoft would consider formatting their code (all it takes is a simple Ctrl+A, Ctrl+K, Ctrl+F combination, mind you) or at least using their own naming conventions guidelines...
The example escapes me, but once I even saw documentation for a method with the sample excluding the actual documented method itself.
*sigh*
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