1) Announcing LB and the GDI
for Dummies
Liberty Basic is develeopped by Carl Gundel Original Newsletter compiled by Alyce Watson and Brosco Translation to HTML: Raymond Roumeas
1) Announcing LB and the GDI
for DummiesBMPworks.DLL was recently released. It contained two functions that are missing in Liberty BASIC - the ability to load bitmaps that have more than 256 colors, and the ability to save the image displayed on the screen as a bitmap. These are things that cannot be done directly by LB.
ALL of the other functions in the DLL can be achieved with calls to GDI.DLL! These functions include flipping and mirroring an image, scaling the width and height of an image, rotating an image 180 degrees, displaying only part of an image, and retrieving the width and height of a loaded bitmap. As a matter or fact, even more transformations can be made using GDI than are available in BMPworks.DLL. For instance, you can make an image appear twice its size AND mirror it at the same time!
If you also consider the different Raster Operations that can be used, the possibilities are endless. Oops, what are Raster Operations? They are explained in LB and the GDI for Dummies, along with lots of other goodies.
Be warned that it takes a bit of work to do these transformations via the api. We hope that the new document will give you enough information so that you can start experimenting on your own. It isn't easy stuff, and it is best if you have done a bit of programming before you tackle it. You should also have some experience making api calls. At first, it may look hopelessly complicated, but if you take it step by step, you will find that it all makes sense.
We have hesitated quite a while before releasing this one. It has undergone numerous rewrites. PLEASE, let us know if there are parts of the document that are difficult or unclear. We have found this to be a particularly difficult subject to present, so helpful comments will be greatly appreciated! Be sure to try out the sample programs enclosed. They might make the material a little easier to understand.
2) How to Ask for HelpWe all run into sticky places in programming, and we really need the help of another programmer! Here are some things you should and should NOT do, when asking for help:
NOT DO: Ask vague questions, like... how come my words don't show on the window?"
DO: Ask specific questions, like... Here is the code I am using to display text in my graphicbox, but the text doesn't show.
print #w.gb, "My text"
NOT DO: Send a whole program, like... Here is my program. Parts of it don't work right. What is wrong?
DO: Send a snippet containing the routine that gives trouble, like... Here is the subroutine I use to keep score in my game, but the score is often incorrect. Can anybody see the problem?
NOT DO: Fail to read the helpfile, it is just too much trouble, like... Is there some command to get the length of a string?
DO: Read the helpfile first, then ask the question, like. I have read the entire helpfile on text commands, but I still cannot find out how to position the cursor in a text window.
NOT DO: Don't get angry if you don't get an answer! You may have asked a question that nobody CAN answer!
DO: Please thank those who try to offer help - even if it isn't just the help you need!
3) How to Give HelpNo matter your level of programming experience, you can probably help others. DON'T always assume that someone else will help. If you know the answer, please jump in and participate.
Be polite. Thank goodness, most people on the LB News list are VERY polite and helpful!
Give examples. If someone posts a snippet that contains an error, try posting the snippet as it would look corrected.
Give an explanation, if possible. Sometimes, knowing that method one does NOT work, but method two DOES work is all that is needed, but other times, the person asking will need to know why one way is correct, but the other isn't.
Skinning cats - part 3
LB for absolute Beginners - Part 1
Comments, requests or corrections: Hit 'REPLY' now!