Try out the new Phrogram Help (beta) and let us
know what you think!
To get the Windows Help (.chm) version, so you can download once and don't need to be online to use, click here.
Background
The Phrogram team has been working lately on a web-based
help system, which is being officially announced by this post. Phrogram Help will be part
of our last 2.x version - - 2.5, which we plan to release by the end of August. You will be able to find it as a link under the Help menu, in place of the User Guide (in PDF format)
which is accessible from there now. So, we're ready to show
you what it will look like and see what you think ...
Let us know your feedback!
A big advantage of web-based help is that it can be expanded and improved upon, from time to time,
without introducing new product releases. But we don't want to
officially launch Phrogram Help until we hear from you. What do you think? Do you have ideas for
additional topics that you would like to see included? - If so, perhaps you could help
us write them ;). Do you see mistakes that need to be corrected - we know there are going to be at least a few ;) ? So please,
let us know what you think about Phrogram Help!
Next steps
We have some other things to do before Phrogram 2.5 is officially up and running. For one thing, we have not had enough information (unfortunately!)
about our 3D library in our Class Library Browser, and that lack is still
obvious in this Phrogram Help beta. That will be addressed soon. We will also make other "CLB" changes, and some changes to the sample program
folders, before Phrogram 2.5 becomes available as our latest product download.
Then, as you may already know from Zman’s “teaser” post, it's on to a new
version of Phrogram, rather than another 2.x “point” release... Phrogram 3.0 will introduce a new approach for 3D programming, based on Microsoft's XNA framework (the
successor to DirectX). It will also include several other changes that will improve
your overall programming experience. The release date for Phrogram 3.0 is still "TBD" - first we need to make the beta availabile, and we hope to do that in the fall.
As is generally true of commercial software applications,
if you already own Phrogram 2.x, you will be able to use your existing license
for Phrogram 2.5. But, with Phrogram 3.0, we will charge for an upgrade from Phrogram 2.x and we will have a separate pricing structure for first-time purchasers of Phrogram 3.0. These details are still being worked out. Keep in mind, though, that
programs created in Phrogram 2.x (apart from those that rely on the DirectX-based
classes for 3D and game controller functionalitiy) will be forward compatible
in Phrogram v3.0 – that is, you should have no problem opening and running your 2.x created programs in Phrogram
3.0.
Summer is a good time to get outside and forget about your
computer (at least for awhile), but its also an exciting time for the Phrogram team
and community, as we continue to make .... Real programming, really fun!
Thanks,
DavidW for
The Phrogram Team
