he Liberty Basic Newsletter - Issue #27 - Jan 99
   "The only stupid question is the one you don't ask"!

 1)  Announcing LB and the GDI for Dummies

 2)  How to Ask for Help

 3)  How to Give Help


 1)  Announcing LB and the GDI for Dummies

 BMPworks.DLL was recently released.  It contained two functions
 that are missing in Liberty BASIC - the ability to load bitmaps
 that have more than 256 colors, and the ability to save the 

 image displayed on the screen as a bitmap.  These are things
 that cannot be done directly by LB.

 ALL of the other functions in the DLL can be achieved with calls
 to GDI.DLL!  These functions include flipping and mirroring an
 image, scaling the width and height of an image, rotating an
 image 180 degrees, displaying only part of an image, and 
 retrieving the width and height of a loaded bitmap.  As a matter
 or fact, even more transformations can be made using GDI than

 are available in BMPworks.DLL.  For instance, you can make an
 image appear twice its size AND mirror it at the same time!
 If you also consider the different Raster Operations that can
 be used, the possibilities are endless.  Oops, what are Raster
 Operations?  They are explained in LB and the GDI for Dummies,
 along with lots of other goodies.

 Be warned that it takes a bit of work to do these transformations
 via the api.  We hope that the new document will give you enough

 information so that you can start experimenting on your own.  It
 isn't easy stuff, and it is best if you have done a bit of 
 programming before you tackle it.  You should also have some
 experience making api calls.  At first, it may look hopelessly
 complicated, but if you take it step by step, you will find that
 it all makes sense.

 We have hesitated quite a while before releasing this one.  It has
 undergone numerous rewrites.  PLEASE, let us know if there are parts

 of the document that are difficult or unclear.  We have found this
 to be a particularly difficult subject to present, so helpful
 comments will be greatly appreciated!  Be sure to try out the sample
 programs enclosed.  They might make the material a little easier
 to understand.

 Get it here:

 http://www.liberty-basic.com/free/sidebyside/gdiwri01.zip


 2)  How to Ask for Help

 We all run into sticky places in programming, and we really

 need the help of another programmer!  Here are some things you 
 should and should NOT do, when asking for help:


 NOT DO:  Ask vague questions, like... how come my words don't
 show on the window?"

 DO:  Ask specific questions, like... Here is the code I am using
 to display text in my graphicbox, but the text doesn't show.
    print #w.gb, "My text"


 NOT DO:  Send a whole program, like...  Here is my program.  Parts
 of it don't work right.  What is wrong?

 DO:  Send a snippet containing the routine that gives trouble, like...
 Here is the subroutine I use to keep score in my game, but the
 score is often incorrect.  Can anybody see the problem?


 NOT DO:  Fail to read the helpfile, it is just too much trouble,
 like... Is there some command to get the length of a string?

 DO:  Read the helpfile first, then ask the question, like...
 I have read the entire helpfile on text commands, but I
 still cannot find out how to position the cursor in a text

 window.


 NOT DO:  Don't get angry if you don't get an answer!  You
 may have asked a question that nobody CAN answer!

 DO:  Please thank those who try to offer help - even if it
 isn't just the help you need!



 3)  How to Give Help

 No matter your level of programming experience, you can
 probably help others.  DON'T always assume that someone else
 will help.  If you know the answer, please jump in and
 participate.

 Be polite.  Thank goodness, most people on the LB News list

 are VERY polite and helpful!

 Give examples.  If someone posts a snippet that contains an 
 error, try posting the snippet as it would look corrected.

 Give an explanation, if possible.  Sometimes, knowing that
 method one does NOT work, but method two DOES work is all
 that is needed, but other times, the person asking will need
 to know why one way is correct, but the other isn't.




 Coming soon to an Inbox near you:

         Skinning cats - part 3

         LB for absolute Beginners - Part 1                   

--------------------------------------------------------------
 Newsletter written by: Brosco.
 Comments, requests or corrections mailto:brosco@orac.net.au

 Translated from Australian to English by an American:
 Alyce Watson -  Chief Editor.  Thanks Alyce.

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