Re: Feedback
Posted by
Michael Bien on
Jul 21, 2010; 5:13pm
URL: https://forum.jogamp.org/Feedback-tp978714p984876.html
what kind of documentation would you like to read? Sure we could
improve documentation for key parts like initialization and some
jogl concepts and APIs.
But if you would like to read basic OpenGL tutorials or
documentation you would be better served with an GL book (since
there is not that much difference between C and java+jogl as soon
you begin rendering).
main problem is time... as always but thanks for the feedback,
so if you could write a few things down (e.g via a blog entry)
while you are learning jogl... this would be great.
best regards,
michael
On 07/19/2010 04:53 PM, kyjava [via jogamp] wrote:
Hi, I have been in Java for a long time but just getting into the
world of desktop development and hardware acceleration and OpenGL
and found JogAmp in my searches. It appears to be just what I am
looking for. However, I find it may be impossible for me to
actually try to implement it into my development.
I am also a developer so I totally understand the adversion to
having to take the time to do documentation. It is also usually
at the bottom of my to-do list. However, there are times that
documentation is just as essential as the code itself. In my case
I have a project to complete. I don't have time to emerse myself
in the code for an API just to figure out how it works. Yes,
examples help, but they don't provide the in depth description of
why you use certain features of the API and how they work. A
JavaDoc helps define the API but still does not provide the
overall picture of why you do certain things. I am sure that the
pure Java geeks just love taking the source and building their own
executables. But it is time consumming and a distraction for a
developer just looking for an api to help with a bigger solution.
This is not intended to be criticism. Just feedback. It appears
that this API could become a significant presence in the area of
high performance application development. But without a decent
user document it may be bypassed by a significant number of
developers. We need an API that allows us to accomplish what we
need to accomplish without having to "look under the hood" and
figure out the API ourselves. That sort of defeats the purpose of
the API. There have been a lot of good developer products die
because of this sort of thing.
One suggestion that will come up is why not just use the example
code? They would be right of course. Example code really gives a
nice introduction to how to use an API. But example code
generally is written for the easiest and most obvious case. The
first time a new users tries to implement code based on the
example and needs to do something different they are still stuck
trying to figure out how the API works.
I may get flamed by the purists in the forum. It would be nice to
spend the next 3-4 weeks digging into the code and learning out to
make it work. The trouble is, by then I need to have a proof of
concept application working that USES this sort of API. And,
again, I think that defeats the entire purpose of having the API
in the first place.
I appreciate those who contribute their time and effort into these
projects. With good user documentation the acceptance of the
product will be MUCH greater and growth of its usage much faster.
Just my humble 2 cents worth.