{utility BETA} harpo's Sins Stringer

ok sinners, here is the first concept screenie for the sins stringer. it is intended to be able to find missing strings and orphan strings and help translators to translate the string files without having to edit the actual str files as the program when fininshed will take the identification info from the entities and the entered info and create the str files for you

Well I don't have sins in a foreign language but I would be happy to translate your programe to czech language.

I don't get it, why not get a IDE, turn on the line numbering option, and then look at the (last line number - 2)/3 that would give you the number of string line there are. BTW, the link to you image doesn't work.

mooster here is a link directly to the screenie http://www.mediafire.com/imgbnc.php/89486fe7dd31ac43f20699f6befd66764g.jpg

harpo

just anothe little teaser update

the program is now able to read in the string files for ALL languages present in the mod  and  expansions and of course sins, and I have written the code that will output the final strings, I just have to write the read the entity's, then compare the entity's to strings  and the code for the error correcting ui.

this looks like it might be a bit slower to create than the previous utilities, but I want to finish it to help ALL modders and translators of sins & mods

oh and mooster the program will find each error in the strings like missing values & ids AND orpan id's and values A LOT QUICKER than by hand as you suggest which is the way at present for ALL people working on sins , expansions and mods ( I am stateing this as I have heard from blair that they even use the developer to find missing strings and he sounds interested in this utility)

harpo

just a couple of teaser screenies that show the language selection display based upon the number of STR files in the folders

http://www.mediafire.com/file/dwzz5iymmmu/harpo's sins stringer alpha 2.jpg just 5 different name str's found and

http://www.mediafire.com/file/1lma4yzf2my/harpo's sins stringer alpha.jpg with 11 different name str's found

just another teaser,

I have the program now reading in the entitys and skipping the ones that are NOT in TXT.

the next section is the compare the entity id's & values against the language.strs id's & strings and the editing interface.

so there are two major modules to finish before I can start testing actual mods, and when that is working properly then I will offer it as a beta & would then want modders to help with the beta of a modding and translation tool

harpo

ok another status report

the program is now displaying all the id and display strings, and I can browse through the strings for several languages ata a view (up to 11 on screen and I picked eleven as i thought that it was unlikly that ANYBODY would have more than eleven language files in in any mod), and I developing the error checking code

harpo

just another status report.

I have reduced the number of languages displayed to 8 so that the names AND descriptions for each of the entity files is displayed in each language

harpo

a new screenie for the stringer

folks I am pauseing the development of sins stringer for another utility to copy mods to a new version mods folder & update entity files in the mods with the changes in the entity files.

when the mod updater is working I will get back to the stringer

harpo

That would be unbelievably awesome! I can't wait for you to be finished with that!

folks, I am going to re-write the entire design of the string editor to just work in the strings file WITHOUT accessing the entity files to simplify the design and debugging, and I might eventually add back in the cross-referencing of strings & entities.

the redesign will include adding planet names,ship names, and starbase names up to the actual limit of 511 of each and also editing/adding of other string entries

harpo

Hey harpo99999 would love to test this out for you when it is ready! Love your programs they help out alot!!!!!!!! 

here are the assumptions that I have based the string editor upon

1 all language files for a mod are in the SAME sequence (might not be true)

2 the entries do not have to be in any particular sequence ( confirmed by blair fraser)

3 new strings can be added to the end of the list without effecting performance ( confirmed by blair fraser)

4 altering the text in the display boxes before using the save or add functions is acceptable for entry of information to the program

5 NOT changing the string data (stored in a string array) until told to either add or save the data is acceptable

6 all button labels should be OBVIOUS(ie suggest what the button does) and with tool tips telling how to use the function

7 having the text for all(up to 6 at current size) of the language files for a mod on screen at the same time will help translators

8 no more than six languages(at curren t screen size in the program) will be worked upon at the same time(if more are wanted the program will want to have a higher resolution than 800 X 600. if you want a larger screen in this program please post stating the prefered screen resoution & I can re-design the program to fit with extra languages

9 stars & planets names have a limit of 511 ( 3 digit name counter in string file might actually be larger)confirmed by blair

10 caps & starbases names have a limit of 511 (2 digit counter in string file might actually be larger) confirmed by blair

11 users do not want to have to create all spacing and labels for each entry eg the stringinfo,id " & value " line headers.

if there are any comments please post.

personally number 11,2,3 are in my opinion are good ideas, 4& 5 are simple to program, 1 might be a significant problem, but do not know yet & could be altered in the program with indexes for each language(more fiddle in the program), 9 & 10 might not be real limits but could be,7 & 8 are more for translating mods between languages, but as I only speak english I do not know if this idea helps

harpo

the current status is the program can read & write str files (up to 6 different languages in a mod), can add planet & star names, can change existing strings, can delete strings, can add completely new strings, can determine the race names from string files and place them in a combo box for use in the ship & starbase name adding functions

functions not yet created

add starbase names (currently being worked on)

add ship names (currently being worked on)

compare entity files with str files to find orphan and missing strings ( I would like to have as a feature, but not included YET nor operational even in the first alpha with it was taking about 1 hour to load the strings and check the entities, and the current program loads ALL the string files including all the checking at present( which is count the number of star names , count the planet names, and count & list the names of races in the string) in only a few seconds).

harpo

another update

the program now adds planet names, star names, capital ship names, starbase names, and other strings and can change and delete existing strings.

also have added one more language at a time so it can work with 7(seven) language files at a time

the next feature to be added is a search of strings for text ( intention is to search through all open language files to find wanted text and display the relevent entry in all the language files.

harpo

a question for modders

would having a count of planet names,star names,capital ship names and starbase names for each of the races on the screen be desirable in a small table listing each type eg planet names 150, star names 230,tech caps 41, tech sb 10,psi caps 35,psi sb 10,phase caps 35,phase sb 10 in a table?

let me know if this is a good idea

harpo

yes  yes yes !!!!!!!  you are the man !!!

not to be dirty but you sound like you are reaching your peak....

ok jtaylor & mooster I WILL add the names count table to the display, the program needed the information for the add star name,planet name, race capship name and race starbase name functions, & I thought it might be nice to see the counts on screen, which is why I asked

harpo

latest info

search is working, the name counts table is working, the move to next/previous entries is working the add star names,planet names,capital names and starbase names are working, the write results to new string files is working, the multiple language files displays are working, the find and load strings are working,

BUT I have not even looked at the merge strings feature or the compare with entities feature that I would like to have in the program.

I would rate the current state to be about a 0.7 to 0.8 of release, and might be ready for beta if the current list of working features is acceptable

harpo

I am thinking of releasing to beta the sins string editor as it is at present, ie load strings for mods & reference files,add planet, star names, cap names & starbase names for EACH race, add & delete strings, search for text in strings and string id's and write strings back to the str files, and can open up to 7 language files for a single mod and allow editing of the string entries for EACH of the languages and saving back to the original language names, and also indicating the total numbers of names for stars,planets, the number of races, and the number of names for caps & starbases for EACH race.

the extra features might be released it a future version when I can figure out a means of doing them in a time effecient method.

harpo

I think that the string editor is about ready for beta.

if you want to beta test it please email me.

the rar size is 220kb

harpo

sent u a email!