Jim Perry (Machaira)

========================================================= RTHFHF ========================================================= This column is mainly directed towards those new to VB or programming in general. You old-timers can move along. These aren’t the droids you’re looking for. Unless you really want to read on that is. OK, so most of you are saying to yourself “What the heck is RTFHF?” Most of you probably know what RTFM is – Read The Freakin’ (or a more impolite word :>) Manual. RTFHF is similar – “Read The Freakin’ Help File”. In my visitations to several VB programming message boards, I’m astounded by the number of posts that are along the lines of “I’m too lazy to find the answer to this myself, so can you give it to me?” Why is this, I constantly ask myself? Are people really getting so lazy they don’t want to try to figure things out for themselves? Has the Internet become the ultimate tool for laziness? How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Tootsie Pop, anyway? (oops, lost my train of thought there for a second!) I doubt I’ll ever understand why someone would rather spend the time posting a message, waiting for a replying, possibly having to reply to the reply if it doesn’t help or fully answer the question, wait for another response… I’m sure you get the point. Why wouldn’t that person spend a minute or less popping up the Help file and searching for the answer? Is it really more productive to wait for a reply from a message board? Is their F1 key broken? Do they not realize there’s a Help file to begin with? How do they get Teflon to stick to a pan when nothing sticks to Teflon? (oops, here we go again – focus we must! J) The Help file is your friend – read it, get to know it well. It’s only a keypress away when you have questions. Sure, it might not be the friendliest thing around, but it is helpful – hence its name! J Microsoft even has a copy of it on their website – msdn.Microsoft.com. Every Microsoft resource you could need can be found there or in a link from there. Add it as a bookmark, you’ll find yourself visiting it frequently. I answer anywhere from a dozen to about 50 questions a day usually and most of them are questions about things that can be found in the Help file. Questions from “How do I add this control to my project?” to “How do I find a certain string in a text file?” I don’t mind answering these questions once or even twice, but after the 3rd or 4th time it gets a little old. Then I have to ask myself “Are these people really learning anything by asking questions, then copying and pasting the code?” and “What would these people do if they didn’t have an Internet connection and had to solve these problems?” Why I started working with VB I had no Internet to ask questions. I had the Help file and trial and error. Sure, it was frustrating at times, but I rarely made the same mistake more than once or twice. I also learned how to find things quicker when I had to use the Help file. I learned the VB buzzwords, which helped me know what to look for when a similar question came up. If you’re considering programming for a living, especially game programming, the time will come when you don’t have the luxury of posting a question and waiting for an answer. You’ll thank yourself that you took the time to learn how to quickly find the answers you need. I’m sure even the best programmers still have to use resource material, whether it’s a book or Help file. Coming next time – what is the shelf life of a Twinkie anyway? Well, maybe not. J

Previous Columns

State of the VB Gaming Community Address

Jim Perry is:
	A programmer at Breakaway Games