Darren New wrote:
> Patrick Elliott wrote:
>> Sigh.. Software, not a web page.
> 
> Then get the software.
> 
>> know" what a flag value is, since you can just plug in the .h file for 
>> it, the reference the name in your code.
> 
> Or, you know, look up the name in the .h file.
> 
Which you can't do ***if you don't have the compiler***. Think you 
missed that. Most language MS puts out "do not include" the .h files 
that only work with VC++/VC# anyway, so if you don't buy "both", you 
don't have any way to "look up" the value.

> All your complaints along this line come across as whining to me, for 
> some reason. Like "boo hoo, Microsoft doesn't make my job trivially easy 
> for free."  Maybe it's just a conflict between your style and mine, but 
> that's why my answers probably sound obnoxious to you too. :-)
> 
No, its called saving money. I hate spending stupid amounts of money for 
books, which don't include the data I need, then spending a mess of time 
hunting their pages, only to find the "same" references in the books, 
and messes of C++/C# code as the "only" examples, then hunting google, 
to find that there isn't anything on the specific function I am trying 
to use, which isn't "also" in the C++/C#, etc. All leading to the 
conclusion that the only way to "find" the information is by buying 
which ever version of the VC++/VC# system **actually** included the 
particular .h that you need. And, if its an older API call, you might 
need the "developer" version.

What you are suggesting is the equivalent, in some cases, of telling 
someone, "Well, is real simple. If you can't figure out how such and 
such object is defined in an AutoCAD file, just spend thousands on a 
copy of AutoCAD, and read "its" documentation on the subject. So, if its 
your "style" to go out and buy everything they want you to, simply 
because its the easiest way to get at the information, then hell yes our 
"styles" differ. ;) lol

>> Too much to have something "someplace" in one of their dozens of books 
>> that listed the actual flags and what their "values" are? Apparently... 
> 
> No. You probably get such a listing when you go to the class that 
> teaches you how to manage machines using the codes.
> 
Right.. Throw more money at it. lol But, true.. I do have an "ancient" 
version of VC++ that "almost" would have helped me. Sadly, it was like 
3.0, and the feature was introduced in 4.0/5.0, and by the time I 
realized I needed it, you couldn't "find" 6.0 any place, which was the 
last one you could "get" the libraries in, without going for the full 
"developer" version.

But, point is, in contrast, years back I bought books on the Apple IIgs 
API, when had one. It "included" the flag values in the examples, and 
had entire tables at the end, which included them, as part of the books 
on each API. The MS books.. are just a compilation of functions, often 
with little or no examples, and "nothing" to tell you what any of the 
flags actually where, just their names. Got to be the most frustrating 
documentation I have ever seen. Hell, I am not sure they even tell you 
what "TRUE" and "FALSE" are, never mind that they can be 2-3 different 
definitions, depending on the language used, which would rather imply 
that "maybe" knowing the name, or thinking you do, isn't "always" the 
same as knowing the correct value. ;)

>> :p After all, its makes so much more sense to buy a $600 compiler you 
>> don't need, than a $50 book you "do". ;)
> 
> The compiler's free.
> 
Umm. Only if you want to use the "latest" APIs. If, for some reason, you 
are trying to update, modify, understand, or just "code for" an older 
pre-.NET API, then "no it isn't". You still have to buy the full 
"developer" version. I know. I tried that path on one project I was 
attempting a while back. If it was free, it wouldn't require you to buy 
a higher level version, to get "backward compatible" library 
definitions. Just saying. ;)

-- 
void main () {
   If Schrödingers_cat is alive or version > 98 {
     if version = "Vista" {
       call slow_by_half();
       call DRM_everything();
     }
     call functional_code();
   }
   else
     call crash_windows();
}

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