On July 24, 2010 at 08:38, Sylvain said...
P.S. I still have not migrated to PEPv2 'cause I have links all over the place in my current XCF.
From time to time I miss the links, but I have adopted a much more powerful version of the links. I don't know how you use your links, but I mainly used them to keep all of a device's IR commands in one location. This allowed me to easily change devices because I would not need to track down IR commands that may have been included in a macro somewhere. (I program multi-room customer units) The current database scheme obsoletes this link technique because one can easily replace one device with another and be confident that most, if not all, problem codes will be flagged (there can be some spelling issues with learned commands).
Since I used a structured approach, I simply added ProntoScript names to all of my link buttons. And, since I was absolutely anal about the names, links can now be replaced by function calls. The general form is:
myLinks( CF.widget( "PLAY", "KEYBOARD", "KITCHEN_DVD"));
Yes, there are pluses and minuses compared to the link arrangement with respect to editing. The key is to be consistent with names.
Now that we can get a hold of things in functions, there is a whole new world of possibilities that leave links in the dust.
For example, on my cable TV pages I use a tune() function to call up a station.
In the old days I might use:
Link to (1)
Link to (2)
Link to (3)
Link to (Enter)
Now, I use: tune(123); or better yet: tune("CNN");
The tune("CNN"); version allows me to define an array that maps channel numbers to services. I maintain the master map in a spreadsheet and simply copy and paste the channel lineup into my Pronto program. (Or, one could use an include) Now, one simple edit will change the channel mappings for all rooms. And, since channel mappings will change for the whole geographic area, I can push this edit through all of the effected programs very quickly. With Links, I had to go through each program, room by room, button by button. Customer changes to or from satellite? No problem! Switch tune() to or from RS-232, IR, or TCP/IP -- perhaps on a room by room, button by button basis, or between 9:00pm and 10:00pm (if this makes sense). If you need to tweak the delays, add or delete the "Enter", tweak the function, rather than blundering through every channel button in the program.
As I said, I do miss the links once in a while, but I would not have been motivated to develop my functions if links were still available. Overall, I would not migrate back to links if they suddenly reappeared. And, I would migrate any yet to be modified programs to function calls, rather than keeping the links. tune() is just too powerful and it is the tip of the iceberg.
Last edited by buzz on July 26, 2010 01:44.
