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WDZ
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Well, what if you do all the advanced features yourself, in C++, then have scripting as just an extra feature that people can use to make simple stuff? :undecided:

09-30-2002 12:21 AM

Chrono
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quote:
Originally posted by Patchou
I already added the multi-lungual support. Basically, all you'll have to do is request the file to translate, it's like a big txt file... when it's done, you send it back to me and it's part of the software!

I translated Ginges msg++ :grin:

He send me a text file , the same idea...

And Jae ... Chrono17@hotmail... Spanish :grin:

09-30-2002 01:00 AM

Muss
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Well, might be more work for you but is a suggestion, you could release two versions.

One with the scripting, and one with just the basic features. That way the people who wouldn't understand how the scripting would work can get the basic version, and the others can get the one with scripting enabled

09-30-2002 02:15 AM

··¤(`×[¤kår(v)å¤]×´)¤··
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hmmmmmm ... i guess i should also follow the pack and say welcome back *waves* ...

09-30-2002 04:05 AM

Johnny_Mac
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The 2 releases idea sounds alright... I dont know how confusing that might get for some people...

How about make an add-in to MP!2.00? The add-in could be the scripting thing...

so you have the basic package (the new messenger plus!) and then download add-ins, hence the scripting... therefore only advanced people will download and use it.

09-30-2002 07:45 AM

shine
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Could be and Optional Installation

09-30-2002 09:43 AM

ginge
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Scripting should NOT be optional in anyway - it defeats the whole point of doing scripting and moving many functions of Plus! into script. Either have script or don't, but just as a program wide decision.

To create a script in VBScript or JScript that uses a GUI you would need create your own GUI COM object that supplies all the methods you want - calling the Windows API doesn't work too well, and creating a message loop would make most people give up and shoot themselves.

One solution I have used before is to supply a COM object with the necessary functionality to create a window object that is actually an instance of IE's HTML object. This way you can use CSS, DHTML and HTML as the GUI, which is pretty much all powerful, and users can apply their own styles, which always looks nice.

//Sample of how to display a dialog
var NewWindow = Patchou.CreateWindow(100, 200); //100px by 200px
NewWindow.Write("<html><body>MSN Plus! Dialog box</body></html>");

The other way is to completely encapsultate all the window functionality you need in a COM object, or find one that has this already done this (I know the Forms 2 library with Office has already done this, but I think you can only access it from Office).

Maybe the middle ground is too have a C++/C binding for MP, and have it look for all dll files in some directory on startup or when you press "find new plugins". From this you could then write a script plugin, just as a C++ plugin, and leave the GUI decisions for later.

Then again you could give up on scripting as just too hard - depends how much you like playing with COM really.

http://www.nmitchell.co.uk/programs.htm - free good programs

09-30-2002 10:34 AM

Patchou
Messenger Plus! Creator

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O.P.

Well ginge, personally I really love COM, I'm just thinking about all the others

. There's a big difference between telling people that they can do scritps and telling people that for most stuff they'll have to create COM objects. Also, I disagree with the idea of two different versions, it would make scripts useless for most people.

I hope there will be a mximum number of posts today about this matter, I can't develop anything until we've decided somthing final on this important question. Also, I think that some of you didn't understood the problem correctly.... my firs goal was to move most of my built-in features (QuickTexts, loggin, different text transformations, etc...) into scripts. Now that I see the limitations, I'm not sure I want to do that anymore. Of course, I could do as ginge says and create COM objects (for those who do not know really what it means... it's ActiveX, or any kind of object you generally use in VB). If I do that, however, the script will contain pratically nothing except for an object creation and a mthod call, as all the code will be encapsulated in the COM object itself. So... what's the point? If I do that, I'd better expose com COM interfaces directly so that people can interact with them using VB, as they already do with Messenger itself.

Waiting for your posts and ideas,
Patchou.

09-30-2002 01:56 PM

··¤(`×[¤kår(v)å¤]×´)¤··
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Well speakin from a non computer techie brain as myself i figure you will all make the best decisions you can for the forum ... i have no suggestions really so i shall just leave it at that but im sure like i said above you will all come to some reasonable setup ... i will just sit back and watch it happen ... good luck deciding on a solution to make this forum the best it can be :thedevil: ... i really shouldn't b up so damn late ... i am actually starting to make sense lol ... well i am to me making sense lol

09-30-2002 02:42 PM

shine
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As far as I understood, ginge is proposing something like the header files in C++, so that users could use it to have custom GUI's etsc.....(So far I have not gone throughly into the COM-scripting and cannot comment on that.) And ginge's Idea (if my undestanding is right) is acceptable. Otherwise as he said most of the users will get fed up ultimately.

But sure, many are going to share their successful scripts, and it could work for even those who are beginners. (BTW could arise many a bug reports due to conflicts in shared scripts :grin:

) So if its going to be some kind of library files (like i said above) its would be pretty easy.

But as Patchou said there will be less flexibility for scripting if you do the above. We sould also keep in mind that most users of plus are not literate in scripts.

The program could have a scripting option, with a choice for the user to install and/or enable (By default disabled)

09-30-2002 02:56 PM

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