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Michael makes a couple of good points. I should have been clearer about
applying our song, "It Depends on the User" and said that my experience was
in writing for programmers who were switching to OO from other conceptual
bases. We did an OO development system -- if they didn't understand OO, they
couldn't use it. We used the books and the help as a model for how to think
about OO.
Plus, my help system, due to time contraints, was a "what is it?" tool. It
had no conceptual flow from one screen to the other. It simply explained
what each element was and what kind of data or input that element was
expecting. I had the luxury of being able to reuse a LOT. If I had been
kept around long enough, I would have included some more
procedural/conceptual help, and then I would probably have made some of the
same decisions Michael is recommending.
Thanks for the clarification.
Bonni Graham
Manual Labour
President, SDSTC
BonniG -at- aol -dot- com
