Topic: ILDA is over

[meandean]

 Let's see... Two flavors of fmt 3 coexsisting under the umbrella of the .ild extension: that sounds like "pollution" to me.

http://laserboy.org/forum/index.php?PHPSESSID=qbs5fqhsbkcsbhi0c4amq1bgv4&topic=183.0;message=1794

 It destroys the concept of having individual format codes in general.

 Wait a minute, let me put my hacker hat on here, maybe there is a solution. I'll call it 'The Big Endian Pow-Wow Checksum'!

 Here's how it works: when a format 3 byte is encountered, immediately grab two 32 bit integers after that- we'll call them
int1 and int2.

  If int1 = int2 * 3 + 4, Then we know with about 99.99999% certainty it's the REAL thing, otherwise we should probably just
skip past the whole deal... Psyche! Just kidding.

  Maybe there was a 'hidden adgenda' as to why ILDA decided to be redundant in specifying both the package size in bytes, as
well as the number of colors in the fmt 3 proposal (moo hoo ha ha ha ha)...

[James]

It's not pollution if you just read it.

You still need to know exactly what every byte is designated for in order to make any sense out of either the 32 or the 16 byte header.

That's what documentation gives us.

The only thing we don't know is what we have never seen. That would be outside of all that which is defined.

Drlava employed exactly what you describe to read some stuff he found on an ftp share.

I pasted his code snippet into LB quite a while ago.

What I want to know is what application made the .ild format 3 example he found.

It was all in !3................. AND................. it used nothing more than the standard 63 color palette!

Who came up with that?

Somebody really missed the point!

James. 

[BlinkenLights]

we love assholes Gary.... you me james drlava.. all assholes in their own way... dean, lenny, chris.. well they are practicing the are and will soon be well on their way to becoming their own kind of assholes too 

[Fanny Pack]

I don't think standards committees love assholes.  That was pretty much my entire point.

[James]

Put it together Gary.

The com of 04 - 05 were assholes.

The current administration can see that just as clearly as any other normal person would.

But they can't do anything that would prove that to everyone else in the world.

Bill Benner is most definitely an asshole. He has gone WAY out of his way to put me down and get others to do so as well.

I pick him out of the rest because he has the position that he does and he should know better about how to act with that kind of responsibility.

So they do nothing but ignore the fact that they have a bunch of asshole doing asshole things that are way outside of their own rules. And life goes on as usual for all of them.

That's why getting any kind of recognition from any of them now is pointless and of no value to me.

I think Dean described it best in a phone conversation.

One word.....

PangILDAlin

James. 

[Fanny Pack]

Put it together Gary.

The com of 04 - 05 were assholes.

The current administration can see that just as clearly as any other normal person would.

But they can't do anything that would prove that to everyone else in the world.

Bill Benner is most definitely an asshole. He has gone WAY out of his way to put me down and get others to do so as well.

I pick him out of the rest because he has the position that he does and he should know better about how to act with that kind of responsibility.

So they do nothing but ignore the fact that they have a bunch of asshole doing asshole things that are way outside of their own rules. And life goes on as usual for all of them.

That's why getting any kind of recognition from any of them now is pointless and of no value to me.

I think Dean described it best in a phone conversation.

One word.....

PangILDAlin

James. 

So it is all Bill Benaras fault now?  I will be sure to thank him at SELEM.

[James]

Fuck you Gary.

You're not so dumb you can't see the common sense of this whole incredible waste of time.

Nothing about this it Bill's fault. He just took full advantage of the situation.

You haven't had too many decent things to say about it either.

If you sum up the last 6+ years into a 5 minute story, it's just plain pathetically stupid and it caused a hell of a lot of bad behavior among several people.

And after all this time, format 3 with a 32-byte section header is STILL the best technical solution and LaserBoy STILL reads and writes it perfectly.

What's the point of quoting the whole thing? Are you thinking I might edit or delete my previous post? I own this forum you know. I can edit and delete YOU. But I don't.

James. 

[Fanny Pack]

A circle is the best shape for a toilet drain because it is the shape of the crap that flushes down it.  But, no one wants to use a toilet as an ILDA format because that would be stupid.  Same goes for Format 3.  It was a retarded attempt at being clever at the sake of common sense and good programming practices.  I would like to meet the dilweed who ever thought it up.  Congratulations for figuring out the correct shape for that turd.  But, you look a little stupid with a toilet hanging off the side of LaserBoy.  Actually, I have never encountered the toilet in LaserBoy.  I never got past the front porch due to that blender for a door knob.  Enjoy having the best header solution for the worst ILDA format that no one uses.

[Fanny Pack]

I like how you keep refering to this forum as yours and claiming ownership.  I'm not denying it.  But,  I know you understand the history of how this forum started and why.  This forum exists in large part because of me.  So suck it. 

[James]

I like how you keep refering to this forum as yours and claiming ownership.  I'm not denying it.  But,  I know you understand the history of how this forum started and why.  This forum exists in large part because of me.  So suck it.

That's the funniest thing I've ever read of yours!

How in the hell do you figure that?

BTW, you're the only person I know who claims to be a software engineer who doesn't see the superior nature of 0, 1, 2 & 3 over 4 & 5. The only good anyone can say about 4 & 5 is that they are easier to implement in code; NOT BETTER; DUMBER!

The exact same thing can be said of C# compared to C++.

James. 

PS. Don't tell a gay man to suck it. It probably doesn't mean what you intend.

No thanks! 

OMG! I thought it might look egotistical of me to have my own forum. I never imaged taking credit for the existence of someone else's!

That's priceless! 

[Fanny Pack]

Now you are being stupid and argumentative.  Part of being a good software is analyzing and choosing paths that offer the most value at least cost and long term maintenance.  Formats 4/5 do everything I need in my application at a smaller cost than Formats 0,1,2,3.  It's faster to process Format 4/5.  Less code is needed.  I don't need whatever it is you think is so important about Format 3.  I have no problem supporting 0,1,2 for legacy reasons but Format 3 is just stupid.  Why would I add support for a Format that offers no value and comes at a higher cost.  You call yourself a software engineer?  I call you a hack.
 
C# vs C++?  Same argument.  It does what I need and I can get things done faster with it.  On the other hand.  You chose to use multiplatform C++ and are largely crippled by it.  If you had to sell LaserBoy to make a living you would be eating dirt.  Again, I ask, you call yourself a software engineer?   I'd like to see your resume.

[Fanny Pack]

As for this forum, I don't want to claim any part of what it now.  You can go ahead and delete the Hinged Newt section for all I care.  In fact, I would prefer it if you did and I am asking you to do so.  But, that Hinged Newt section is there for a reason and has been there from the start of this forum.  I didn't ask anyone to put it there.  I was called and asked if I would be a part of this forum IF it was put there and was told I would have complete control over it.  But, I gave that up awhile back when I walked away from your retardedness just like I am about to do now.  You can claim whatever you want about this, format 3, correction amp, etc... you seem to make up your own history about a lot of things.  Why would anyone believe you about anything?  You're just a liar and a hack.
 
--------------------------------------------------
 "James Lehman - A liar and a hack"

[James]

You're a very angry person, Gary.

That blinds you from things that are plainly obvious to other people.

Calling me a liar and a hack is about as far from reality as you can get.

I'm anything but a hack. I NEVER choose the easy, sloppy way to do anything.

I'm a perfectionist and I am meticulous to a fault. That's why I can see the value of things like format 3. It's in the details. You'd never see it if you've never worked with it.

If you always choose the easy rout, you'll never understand the value of anything technical. The whole point is to explore the entire range of possibility as far as your mind will allow you to go.

LaserBoy isn't what it is because I don't know any better.

LaserBoy has been developed from an environment that you are simply unfamiliar with. I had a set of working principles and I stuck with them and worked within that environment to maximize the utility of the whole application. I could have gone with FLTK or Qt or whatever to get platform independent windows.

Instead I had to invent all kinds of ways to connect the keyboard to the vector art. It might be difficult to learn, but once you get it, you can fly through LaserBoy without even thinking about the actions on the keys.

But you would never know that. You take the easy way and then you claim that anything that is beyond your ability to understand is no good.

Let's face it Gary. You just don't like me and you never will. That keeps you completely blocked from ever even giving LaserBoy a fair chance.

So think whatever you want.

Keep taking the easy way and keep hating people who know THE BETTER WAY.

As long as you ignore other people with good ideas, then your project will always be the best in your own mind.

Oh and BTW, Your welcome.

James. 

[Fanny Pack]

By hack, I simply meant you are a poser as far as being a software engineer goes.  You might be a fantastic C++ programmer but you don't seem to know how to apply. 
 
The hard route is not always the best route.  For example, I am aware and acknowledge that you did a lot of work to get the LaserBoy interface to work.  But, everything that you did already exists and in packages that are easier and more powerful for the developer with a much nicer result for the end user.  You spent years working on something that could have taken a week or so?  I'm guessing on times but the point is made.  I couldn't have created Spaghetti if I hard to start at the machine code level and work my way up.  But why would I want to?  That's just more code to maintain and more potential bugs.  By choosing a stable development platform I was able to get right into making a laser show application and not worry about having to make the building blocks for a basic application.  It was difficult enough to create the timeline, directx ilda viewer, DAC drivers, interactive effects, show players, graphical element choosers, etc.  Why would I want to complicate the task by having to create my own menu system or display system?  If I did, I would have no time and the application would probably look similar to a DOS app.  You don't think I have the skills to do it from scratch?  I know how to program in machine code.  I know how to program in assembler.  I know how to program in C in embedded devices.  I know how to program in standard C.  I know C++.  I know Visual C++.  I know the various Windows toolkits such as Win32, MFC, COM, etc.  I know BASIC.  I know Visual Basic.  I know Pascal.  I know Borland Delphi.  I know Java.  I know the .NET languages, VB.NET, and C#.  I used to be an electronics technician and nuclear reactor operator and instrumentation and control tecnician.  I have restored cars and did the whole range from mechnical to paint and body.  I have done wood working.  I have a metal shop with lathe and mill.  I am a DIYer.  I have put down tile.  Replaced siding. Hardwood floors. Paint.  Me not technical?  Dude, I shit technical for breakfast.

[Fanny Pack]

Well, this discussion was stupid many posts back and it is especially stupid now.  I am not sure how I managed to get myself in this rathole.  Go on doing what you are doing.  Good luck with it.  I would really like to see you do something nice with LaserBoy because it could serve a purpose.