AT-Robots clone alpha now available for download on SourceForge.

[Daniel Pitts]

I've finally put my AT-Robots clone on SourceForge. It is lacking in
documentation, and the UI leaves a little to be desired, but it is
usable, especially if you are familiar with the original AT-Robots.

If there is any interest at all, I'll be working on improving the user
experience by adding tournament support, ability to save entrant lists,
etc...

<http://virtualinfinity.net/wordpress/site-news/2009/12/30/at-robots-clone-now-on-sourceforge/>

<https://sourceforge.net/projects/at-robots2-j/>

 

[RedGrittyBrick]

I've finally put my AT-Robots clone on SourceForge. It is lacking in
documentation

I shall frame this and put it on my wall. Whenever anyone casts doubts
about my professionalism, I shall look at it and draw comfort

 

[Daniel Pitts]

I shall frame this and put it on my wall. Whenever anyone casts doubts
about my professionalism, I shall look at it and draw comfort

This made be LOL. Thanks for the laugh.

This project is not a professional endeavor, and it is in the alpha
stage. There is existing documentation on how to write robots, but it
is in the original software package. I have been too busy to get
permission to copy or to re-write it.

Once I'm ready to slap the "Beta" sticker on it, you can bet there will
be documentation, and it will be a lot more polished.

Anyway, this is my hobby, so professionalism needn't be as high. Final
product quality will be though, if I find enough people have interest in
the product at all. I fear I may have been a little late, and that
interest may have waned to zero.

 

[Casey Hawthorne]

I beg to differ.

Even on a project that's not a professional endeavour, documentation
might land you future contracts.

 

[Pascal J. Bourguignon]

This made be LOL. Thanks for the laugh.

This project is not a professional endeavor, and it is in the alpha
stage. There is existing documentation on how to write robots, but it
is in the original software package. I have been too busy to get
permission to copy or to re-write it.

Once I'm ready to slap the "Beta" sticker on it, you can bet there
will be documentation, and it will be a lot more polished.

Anyway, this is my hobby, so professionalism needn't be as high.

Indeed.

But there's no need to be ashamed.

Professionnals only need to make a product _saleable_.
Amateurs need to make a product _usable_.

 

[Daniel Pitts]

I beg to differ.

Even on a project that's not a professional endeavour, documentation
might land you future contracts.

Point taken, but in my particular case I don't think it is relevant.

I have a career at a corporation, and my job is fairly secure. I'm not
looking for contracts at the moment, and by the time I do, my portfolio
will be very well polished. Like I've said before, this project is pure
hobby, and it is in the alpha stage.

Also, I have begun the JavaDoc process, so the project is not completely
devoid of documentation. It just has no user targeted documentation
yet. This is partly because I have been focusing more on the core
simulation and less on the UI. The core simulation is a clone of an
existing product, so the documentation for that product *is* relevant
and useful.

Once I finish polishing the UI, the documentation will come.

 

[Rui Maciel]

So as long as it is not unprofessional the author is fine. If it
is/looks amateurish, it might become a problem.

The terms "professional" and "amateur" have since been used to express the same
meaning as "quality work" and "poorly put together", respectively. That, as anyone
can attest to, doesn't make sense. We have grown accustomed, particularly in the
computing word, to see purely "amateur" projects being adopted as standard
professional tools while witnessing some "professional" products producing
disappointing results even when compared to their "amateur" counterparts.

More to the point, a talented craftsman doesn't suddenly become incompetent when he
decides to apply his craft in his own time.

For those reasons, expressions such as "unprofessional" and even "amateurish", as
they have very specific meanings that don't really apply in this case, aren't
exactly the best words to be used in this context.


Rui Maciel

 

[RedGrittyBrick]

The terms "professional" and "amateur" have since been used to express the same
meaning as "quality work" and "poorly put together", respectively. That, as anyone
can attest to, doesn't make sense. We have grown accustomed, particularly in the
computing word, to see purely "amateur" projects being adopted as standard
professional tools while witnessing some "professional" products producing
disappointing results even when compared to their "amateur" counterparts.

More to the point, a talented craftsman doesn't suddenly become incompetent when he
decides to apply his craft in his own time.

For those reasons, expressions such as "unprofessional" and even "amateurish", as
they have very specific meanings that don't really apply in this case, aren't
exactly the best words to be used in this context.

This thread has turned in a worrying and unintended direction

I think it perfectly understandable and acceptable that alpha-stage
hobby-projects be lacking a few items.

Whilst many IT professionals start a project by writing the
documentation (use-cases etc), In this case the OP had access to some
existing documentation from which he could work.

For what my opinion's worth[1] - I'm genuinely certain the OP's
contributions are of very high quality, worth studying and only enhance
his already fine reputation.

 

[Daniel Pitts]

For what my opinion's worth[1] - I'm genuinely certain the OP's
contributions are of very high quality, worth studying and only enhance
his already fine reputation.

I appreciate the compliment given and the confidence in which you give
it. I can only hope that if someone takes your advice that they are not
disappointed.