In article <01bfed13$18efe640$1a1ba1d0@mk>, "CreeD" <meshe@nqi.net> 
wrote:

> Sorry to sound overly whiny about the documentation.  Please don't 
> take my comments on it personally if you had a hand in creating it.  

Don't worry, I wasn't taking it personally...and this portion of the 
documentation probably existed long before I had ever heard of POV.


> I don't have any particular aversion to programming terms, and I'm 
> sure I'll pick them up over time (or be forced to actively seek to 
> learn them).  
> 
> 	Still, I feel that the latter bit of writing that you insist is only
> 'different, but not better' than the documentation -IS- better.  If the
> documentation is being done well, it balances 
> A.The need to get the point across clearly and concisely and 
> B: The writer's need to sleep.

Actually, I thought my description was repetitive, a bit imprecise in 
areas, as well as very long-winded, and highly redundant in areas(almost 
as redundant as the adjectives I am using to describe it in this 
sentence). :-)
If I really wanted to explain this at such a basic level, I would draw 
pictures and make an HTML document...and if this was done for the whole 
manual...

Anyway...when you are looking for this kind of information, and you know 
the terminology, this kind of long-winded explanation is a burden, not a 
help. Imagine having to wade through pages of useless information to 
find one little piece of information ("The numbers are uniformly 
distributed, and have values between 0.0  and 1.0, inclusively.", for 
example). My bit of writing might have been better for a dedicated 
tutorial, but this is a basic language reference.

For the people who need help understanding this type of thing, there is 
all the information you need on these newsgroups, in sample scenes, or 
on the web. You just have to listen, and try to understand the 
terminology...most of it is quite logical once you understand *why* a 
term is used. It isn't some magical capability you are born with or need 
to study books to learn. (Though books can help...unfortunately, I can't 
afford many. :-( )

-- 
Christopher James Huff - Personal e-mail: chr### [at] maccom
TAG(Technical Assistance Group) e-mail: chr### [at] tagpovrayorg
Personal Web page: http://homepage.mac.com/chrishuff/
TAG Web page: http://tag.povray.org/

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