Bjoern wrote: ↑16 Mar 2018, 22:56
So the change from the previous to the current version is mainly bugfixes?
10% are bugfixes for "FMC Airport Manager" 90% are for the already existing created Airports.
Never expected such a sign at such a place.
To check the values of an airport over and over again and all at once makes the program terribly slow and difficult to handle.
To make it fast and not to notice a delay it is divided into different sectors.
These are then executed when the right time for deeper checking is available.
- "OPEN" (SID STAR APPROACH): 40% of the error control.
- "Line Test": 35% of the error control.
- "Manual Maintenance" 25% of the error control.
If an error can not be assigned exactly, the "Manual Maintenance" is called.
There, an attempt is made to alert the user to detected errors and offered "Try to solve" buttons.
As I said it is easier to visually display wrong values.
An experienced user will soon know what's wrong and change it.
An
inexperienced user who has never worked with excel on the .csv files is overwhelmed.
The simplest possibility is to say. Here is something wrong I just do not know what.
- is it a comma in the wrong place?
- there are too many or too few commas in the waypoint data.
- is it a wrong value in the wrong data field
- is it because a missing comma before the data. Now all the data have moved forward one data field.
- the whole waypoint with all its data is just a remnant of a waypoint data that has no consecutive number. (just forgot to assign a number.
It can not help a user to inform with "Wrong value at position "LATITUDE"should be a numeric value like 123.123456"
Now the user change the value to "123.123456" but the
"ICAO name of the waypoint" (due the missing comma is now overwritten) with "123.123456"
hundreds of possibilities.
This is not a chess program that finds the greatest likelihood and then serves the solution on the silver tray.
I tried to do something like this.
In some exceptions was cases ...
In doing so, the airport data was destroyed more than it was to be improved.
So I had to let this kind of help out to the user.
Because there was no guarantee for a success to improve.
Always remember. A change in the data in one place can easily have an impact on a completely different position.
A comma seperated .csv file is a Database.
In real life: normal databases are no longer opened with a hint.
- Database corupted!
Without pointing out where the errors are.
This is done for a simple reason.
No database server can decide.
- when writing to the hard disk a sector error arose.
- The hard disk has invalid sectors or more worst case is damaged.
- the database has been changed by an unwanted program.
- etc.
Therefore, simply the database is declared as invalid and ready.
Should the user take care of a restore from a backup.
This can not do my program just like that.
The user is disappointed and expects help.
So I offer the user a solution he should decide for himself what is wrong.
This is visually much easier to do than for a software code.
It offers the waypoints line by line to visually let the user decide what is missing or wrong.
Here's a riddle for you.
Look at next picture where is the mistake.
Hint: look at the column STATUS the line with the most content (also
!! are in) is the right line.
What is wrong.
(normally you would select that line and the Hint to the mistake is shown.)
(But it's only a picture. So no click at the picture can help)
Bjoern wrote: ↑16 Mar 2018, 22:56
I would give the Airport Manager a try to correct at least TXL (which has a bug in a SID or STAR),
but the process of applying for each new updated version and running the risk of not being picked because there are no more slots available for the month is simply too inconvenient for me.
I can not know in advance how high the interest in "FMC Airport Manager" is.
If you read my last post correctly, there are no more restrictions.
That does not mean that will not come again when the rush becomes too big.
But all accepted users have no restrictions and also not in the future.
Register once and you're done.
More users, more questions, more time, etc.
At the moment I have almost no time to program. because
- help me here and help me there
- the manual must be completed urgently.
changes and new functions have to be added.
- newly discovered Airport mistakes must be treated.
- etc
Bjoern wrote: ↑16 Mar 2018, 22:56
If the current version runs well enough, why not simply post it for everyone to download with a disclaimer that stupid questions will not be answered and users must read the manual before using it?
When I do that, I have no control over my development at all.
Everyone downloads it and does what it wants with it.
Hundreds of unknown people ask for help or shower me with spam.
To protect my program, I had to pay 500, - euro.
To a company for professional software protection.
Of course I do not say what protection it is.
That would only make it easier for pirates to crack it.
Some download it just to disassemble the program and make a new design about building some new features and then selling it as their own program.
Many useful features in my program
This can be used well in other FSX applications.
and users must read the manual before using it?
And how can I control that.
A user claims he has read it three times and still does not understand it.
With specific questions, I can see that he has not read it yet.
But how can I prove that, he does not say the truth. He is lying!
Bjoern wrote: ↑16 Mar 2018, 22:56
Or lock the program with a password, which is hidden in the manual to make people read it.
After all, development would only be as easy as some people imagine.
Clever people open the manual read a page and close it again.
How should I control something like that.
Is this additional effort worth the reason.
Thank you for reading
Thomas