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Simpler sample?

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    #1

    Simpler sample?

    I'm sure that just about everything is covered in the Alphasports sample application, but for some of us that is the problem: we can't see the wood for the trees! It's quite difficult finding one's way around: so many forms etc.
    Is there a much simpler example database which those of us who are slow learners can use to make sure we have the fundamentals right?

    Thanks

    Robin
    Tags: None
    #2
    Re: Simpler sample?

    Robin,

    Originally posted by Robin Hoare View Post
    I'm sure that just about everything is covered in the Alphasports sample application, but for some of us that is the problem: we can't see the wood for the trees! It's quite difficult finding one's way around: so many forms etc.
    Is there a much simpler example database which those of us who are slow learners can use to make sure we have the fundamentals right?
    I certainly can't answer for Alpha, but my feeling is that Alphasports was developed to give us a solid working example of many Alpha features in an application that we very possibly could develop.

    In my mind, the only real way to understand how a feature looks/works/feels is to see it in a larger environment; seeing it in insolation just doesn't it - for me.

    If you have questions on a specific function, post the question (in as much detail as possibly) along with a working example and I'm sure you will get as much help as you did with your previous posts.

    Dave
    Dave Jampole
    www.customalpha.com

    Women and cats will do whatever they want. The sooner men and dogs realize that, the happier they will be.

    Comment

      #3
      Re: Simpler sample?

      Have you looked in C:\Program Files\A5V7\samples\WebAppServerDemo?
      Al Buchholz
      Bookwood Systems, LTD
      Weekly QReportBuilder Webinars Thursday 1 pm CST

      Occam's Razor - KISS
      Normalize till it hurts - De-normalize till it works.
      Advice offered and questions asked in the spirit of learning how to fish is better than someone giving you a fish.
      When we triage a problem it is much easier to read sample systems than to read a mind.
      "Make it as simple as possible, but not simpler."
      Albert Einstein

      http://www.iadn.com/images/media/iadn_member.png

      Comment

        #4
        Re: Simpler sample?

        Al's memory obviously is better than mine.

        Dave
        Dave Jampole
        www.customalpha.com

        Women and cats will do whatever they want. The sooner men and dogs realize that, the happier they will be.

        Comment

          #5
          Re: Simpler sample?

          Thanks for the replies.

          Of course Alphasports is necessary and most instructive, but it is overwhelming to a total newby.

          And some of us are not interested in web applications.

          A cardinal principle of teaching is to start with something very simple and elementary and gradually work towards the more complicated and difficult matters, once the fundamentals are totally understood.

          What do other neophytes think?

          By the way, I have just taken up my project again after having to attend to other matters for some months, and it's not easy to see why I did certain things!

          Cheers

          Robin

          Comment

            #6
            Re: Simpler sample?

            Originally posted by Robin Hoare View Post
            Thanks for the replies.

            By the way, I have just taken up my project again after having to attend to other matters for some months, and it's not easy to see why I did certain things!
            Welcome to the human race. The same thing affects all of us, regardless of the computer language that we write in. It's human nature to not write (document) everything while it's fresh in our minds.

            From time to time, some people have asked me to enhance someone else's code and asked if I could understand what they have done. I usually reply that while it's hard to think the same way that someone else has, it's even more frustrating to look back at your own code that was so clear but is now so cloudy.

            I'm not sure why I thought of the web example, except that the AlphaSports web example is rather complete and I must have had it in my mind. But the directory C:\Program Files\A5V7\samples also points to a variety of examples.

            Have you looked through the books that are in the newsletter that show how to use Alpha 5? That's a great place to start. And if you are appealing to the neophyte's position, the how to book like that is a good place to start. Here's link to the newsletters. Note the archive column on the right. It links to back issues.

            http://www.imakenews.com/alphasoftwa...FJ0BW,b29PLcwv
            Al Buchholz
            Bookwood Systems, LTD
            Weekly QReportBuilder Webinars Thursday 1 pm CST

            Occam's Razor - KISS
            Normalize till it hurts - De-normalize till it works.
            Advice offered and questions asked in the spirit of learning how to fish is better than someone giving you a fish.
            When we triage a problem it is much easier to read sample systems than to read a mind.
            "Make it as simple as possible, but not simpler."
            Albert Einstein

            http://www.iadn.com/images/media/iadn_member.png

            Comment

              #7
              Re: Simpler sample?

              Robin,

              Your point re: not remembering why you did something that, at the time you did it, was so clear is one of the hardest thing I tried to get across to my students during my teaching days (daze?). I even offered both the carrot and the stick regarding commenting their work, but to no avail.

              Al's reference to C:\Program Files\A5V7\samples is a good one. Those samples show many of the more simple examples on how to thing with
              Alpha.

              When you run into a need that is caught between the (relative) simplicity of one of these examples and the much more complex Alphasports, post it on the messageboard. The problem is phrasing a need that is neither too simplistic nor too complex.

              Dave
              Dave Jampole
              www.customalpha.com

              Women and cats will do whatever they want. The sooner men and dogs realize that, the happier they will be.

              Comment

                #8
                Re: Simpler sample?

                Hi Robin,

                Have you looked at any of the tutorials that Alpha has to offer? They also have a nice 'How to' section in the help files now. Below are a few links that may or may not be helpful for you:

                http://support.alphasoftware.com/alp...rted_Title.htm

                http://support.alphasoftware.com/alp...How_to_....htm

                http://support.alphasoftware.com/alp...ined_Title.htm

                http://support.alphasoftware.com/alp...lphaSports.htm

                it's not easy to see why I did certain things!
                I am one to over comment my code for that very reason. Many feel that the extensive commenting that I use is overkill and a waste of time, but it is worth it to me as my mind is not what it used to be :)

                Good luck with your project.
                Cheryl
                #1 Designs By Pagecrazy
                http://pagecrazy.com/

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