pythoncard-users

[Pythoncard-users] Sudoku

[normanwinn <nor...@on...>]

Hi,

Just read that Alex Tweedly is working on a Sudoku for Pythoncard. I 
immediately thought he might have a solution for my rather simple 
problem - to produce Sudoku blanks. Quickly rejected posting this 
request as I thought it was too lazy of me.

Then an idea hit me. Why not something that will take the scanned image 
of a Sudoku game and put that into Alex's implementation. I don't know 
what the state of things is elsewhere but in the UK every newspaper has 
them. The Times has three daily. This could just be Python's killer app, 
and via Pythoncard.

I presume there is an OCR package around for Python?


Norman Winn


-- 
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Anti-Virus.
Version: 7.0.338 / Virus Database: 267.10.4/66 - Release Date: 09/08/2005

[Pythoncard-users] Re: Volunteer proof-reader(s) wanted.

[normanwinn <nor...@on...>]

Hi,

In making an attempt at the proof reading (here's somewhere where my 
naive Python state is actually useful) I found myself running the 
resource editor to check out the text. I found some issues.

Platform Windows XP, laptop 1400x1050 screen resolution
PythonCard version: 0.8.1
wxPython version: 2.6.1.0
Python version: 2.4

Here they are:

1. My resourceEditor Property Editor window isn't sized properly. The 
'Update' button is cut off, both bottom and right. This is probably a 
tiny thing to correct but, as it is something that a beginner hits right 
off, it might/must discourage some.

2. I created a Dialog Template and edited one or two properties. I hit 
'Update' and previewed my dialog. It hadn't changed. I then closed the 
resourceEditor and saved my work. On re-opening it my changes were 
there. Is this correct behaviour? I just worked it out. I have to save 
first and then I see my changes. Doesn't the 'Update' button suggest it 
does this? Might actually be nice to have 'Preview before' and 'Preview 
with changes' buttons. Which would kind of lead to an 'Undo' feature. 
I'm probably wandering into Pythoncard 2.0 territory but the neat way 
the resource is stored would appear to make a multiple resource 
'Undo/redo' straightforward to implement.

3. When I click the 'Show Desktop' icon on the Windows system tray, 
everything disappears correctly. When I then just want to look, say, at 
Alex's work in the browser, the resourceEditor components show up as 
well. Is this a Windows TM issue?
(Oh, how I miss 'Hide others' as on the Mac)

---------------

I have got myself diverted from proof reading. Will wait to get shot 
down on my comments before adding more,

Norman


-- 
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Anti-Virus.
Version: 7.0.338 / Virus Database: 267.10.4/66 - Release Date: 09/08/2005

Re: [Pythoncard-users] Re: Volunteer proof-reader(s) wanted.

[Alex T. <al...@tw...>]

normanwinn wrote:

> Hi,
>
> In making an attempt at the proof reading (here's somewhere where my 
> naive Python state is actually useful) I found myself running the 
> resource editor to check out the text. I found some issues.
>
> Platform Windows XP, laptop 1400x1050 screen resolution
> PythonCard version: 0.8.1
> wxPython version: 2.6.1.0
> Python version: 2.4
>
> Here they are:
>
> 1. My resourceEditor Property Editor window isn't sized properly. The 
> 'Update' button is cut off, both bottom and right. This is probably a 
> tiny thing to correct but, as it is something that a beginner hits 
> right off, it might/must discourage some.
>
I don't see that problem. Same versions (XP Home, slightly later 
PythonCard from CVS, but there've been no changes in the 
resourceEditor), though lower screen res (1024x768)).

> 2. I created a Dialog Template and edited one or two properties. I hit 
> 'Update' and previewed my dialog. It hadn't changed. I then closed the 
> resourceEditor and saved my work. On re-opening it my changes were 
> there. Is this correct behaviour?

Not really. There is a note in the source that this should be changed. 
I'll take a look at it.

> I just worked it out. I have to save first and then I see my changes. 
> Doesn't the 'Update' button suggest it does this?

Not really, the Update button means that the changes in the property 
field are accepted and "made" in the internal resource (the Update 
button used to be much more important than it is now - nowadays the 
change is taken when you navigate away from the edit field).

> Might actually be nice to have 'Preview before' and 'Preview with 
> changes' buttons. 

Tricky. If you've made some changes, then saved, then made some more ... 
the "preview before" would show the last saved version, not the one just 
before the current change.

> Which would kind of lead to an 'Undo' feature. I'm probably wandering 
> into Pythoncard 2.0 territory but the neat way the resource is stored 
> would appear to make a multiple resource 'Undo/redo' straightforward 
> to implement.
>
Sounds like 2.0, or at least 1.1    Undo/redo can soak up a lot of space 
and CPU if we save a whole resource file for each change ....need to 
experiment to see if that's feasible.

> 3. When I click the 'Show Desktop' icon on the Windows system tray, 
> everything disappears correctly. When I then just want to look, say, 
> at Alex's work in the browser, the resourceEditor components show up 
> as well. Is this a Windows TM issue?
> (Oh, how I miss 'Hide others' as on the Mac)
>
Sorry, but what's the "Show Desktop" icon ?   Or maybe I should say "How 
do you get one of those ?"


-- 
Alex Tweedly       http://www.tweedly.net




-- 
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Anti-Virus.
Version: 7.0.338 / Virus Database: 267.10.2/65 - Release Date: 07/08/2005

Re: [Pythoncard-users] Sudoku

[Alex T. <al...@tw...>]

normanwinn wrote:

> Hi,
>
> Just read that Alex Tweedly is working on a Sudoku for Pythoncard. I 
> immediately thought he might have a solution for my rather simple 
> problem - to produce Sudoku blanks. Quickly rejected posting this 
> request as I thought it was too lazy of me.

Do you mean completely blank blanks ?
Or to generate puzzle definitions ?  (i.e. 9x9 squares with 30-36 
initial values filled in).
(I noticed the cheaper newspapers seem to use what must be 
machine-generated puzzles, with 4 initial values in each of the small 
3x3 squares, while the broadsheets have fewer initial values and 
asymmetric allocation of them).

I'm not sure if I'll do any printing  - that's an area I have never had 
any reason to look at yet, and I suspect it's got a few quirks involved.
I probably will do puzzle generation (either random, or allow the user 
to give any number of initial "seeds" and complete the generation of 
enough initial values to ensure a unique solution).

>
> Then an idea hit me. Why not something that will take the scanned 
> image of a Sudoku game and put that into Alex's implementation. I 
> don't know what the state of things is elsewhere but in the UK every 
> newspaper has them. The Times has three daily. This could just be 
> Python's killer app, and via Pythoncard.
>
Scanning them sounds like a lot of trouble to me. To enter a puzzle from 
a paper into the file format I use takes about 30 seconds; to enter a 
puzzle definition and save it within the program takes about 60-90 
seconds (but is much more user-friendly).
[ I think there's a general lesson about GUI vs command-line hidden in 
there :-) ]

And it won't be PythonCard's killer app - there are already a good 
number of Sudoku solvers, helpers and generators out there in a variety 
of languages. I haven't yet noticed a good free one - but I haven't 
really been looking, because I wanted to solve this programming task 
myself for the fun of it.

-- 
Alex Tweedly       http://www.tweedly.net




-- 
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Anti-Virus.
Version: 7.0.338 / Virus Database: 267.10.2/65 - Release Date: 07/08/2005