DarkEDIF - Taking suggestions

[Phi]

Yo folks.
I'm making a derivative of EDIF. It's strictly a derivative because it is not compatible with anything lower than Visual Studio 10, and uses a lot of C++11.

This question is for both regular users and extension developers:
What do you want to see in an extension SDK?

What I am implementing now:

• Multi-linguistic support
  The JSON supports multiple languages for all its settings. All the object properties (excluding identifier and dependencies) are contained within a language group. DarkEDIF reads the languages from top-to-bottom and chooses the top one by default.
  DarkEDIF otherwise loads a "DarkEDIF.ini" settings file, where it reads the languages, for example someone's whose first language is UK English might look like:
  Languages = UK English; US English; French; Spanish
  The first language in the edittime properties will be a combo box with the languages, unless MMF2 updates to support it in a function call.
  
• Name it what it is name
  Call something described as a Level Object a LO? Why not call it a LevelObject instead?
  All names will be changed to something readable and instinctive. Not something 300 miles long obviously, but abbreviation is unnecessary in most of the current uses.
  If the SDK is confusing at any point, it will be commented.
• Efficiency rather than readability
  Despite the last point, the focus of this SDK will be on efficiency more than being blatantly obvious. For example, C++ initialiser lists are faster than manual "=" in constructors, so the SDK will use as many of those as possible.
• Object properties within the JSON
  Set up your list boxes, editboxes, checkboxes and etc right in the JSON. No more MMF2SDK way of handling it. [Requested by Villy]
• Permits comments in the JSON
  Although this is not JSON standard, it is recognisable that many people would find this feature useful. Both single-line and /* multiline phrase */ are supported.
• Minimalist files
  The current SDK has all kinds of structs and classes, carried over from Click 'n' Create and such. Well, you can't actually make CNC extensions any more, so those are getting scrapped. If you want them, go back to an older SDK, cause I just went through the SDK header files and my days they are pointlessly bloated.
• Multi-threading support
  There is no support for multithreading in the MMF2 libraries. If two threads complete at the same time and you create an event, the expressions will only show the last thread's data. DarkEDIF has an optional memory model that will loop through triggered conditions and ensure the expressions are correctly obtained. By default, this is disabled.

What else do you think would kick ass in an MMF2 extension SDK?

[oruga]

It would be cool if you could create Flash only extensions with this too. EDIF seems great but with little documentation and no examples I couldn't get it to work properly.

[Phi]

It's a C++ extension SDK man. You use EDIF to make menus and properties, and use the Flash SDK separately to put the ActionScript v3 code in.

[Atom]

This sounds really great, it sounds like it will be able to easily create decent controls with JSON. If this allows custom window dialogs like XLUA or is expandable to allow some new controls etc then even better yet.

Other than your list i would say maybe a good ready to build template extension and a few simple examples to go with it would be great as it's always good to be able to just download and compile.

[Phi]

Actually the 4th link in my signature points to a repository, where the solution file will compile all of the extensions in one go to an output folder, despite being from different SDKs.

[LB]

It would be cool if you could create Flash only extensions with this too. EDIF seems great but with little documentation and no examples I couldn't get it to work properly.

EDIF is not a Flash SDK. You can use a dummy EDIF MFX file with your own JSON and be good to go.

@Phi: How do you plan on doing the properties? I understand the JSON part but the hard part is specializing the data for each and every property, serializing and deserializing it, bring it to and using it at runtime, etc.
I'm rather good with the properties and such and am willing to help

[happygreenfrog]

Add a "Make extension for you" button... No, just kidding. Make it have great documentation, so that anyone can use it, even those who don't know C++/Actionscript. I know it may take a while, but it would really help new extension developers get started...

[LB]

Make it [...] so that anyone can use it, even those who don't know C++/Actionscript. I know it may take a while, but it would really help new extension developers get started...

That's what EDIF was for, though not the Actionscript and I don't think Phi will go as far as that either.

[Phi]

EDIF was never intended to write Flash extensions. The only part it plays in non-MFX runtimes, i.e. iOS and Flash, is providing an easy way to create a dummy extension which does not nothing in windows (.mfx runtime). It contains all the actions, conditions, etc, in the JSON file, so your MFX counterpart of your Flash extension lets you view all the menus for development without actually having any ActionScript 3 code. You then write the Flash extension with the Flash SDK and create a .dat file, which has no menus (afaik), and use EDIF to provide the menus.

[happygreenfrog]

Oh. So you still need the Flash SDK. Got it! Didn't know that. *Notices that there is no blush smiley, would use one here...* Though it still would be great if it had documentation, as it would allow a absolute newbie to C++ to make extensions. Even a simple example extension wrote with DarkEDIF being included with it (source code and built MFX ) would be good. A extension that actually does something (simple), but is simple enough for anyone to understand. That would still allow a absolute newbie to C++ to learn from the example extension and then make their own extension, it just might take them a little bit longer to understand what code they need to use to make the extension they want to make.