Accessing Event Arguments in MiceOnABeam v1.0.3

Over the next while I want to illustrate some of the new features available in MiceOnABeam v1.0.3.

In v1.0.3 event arguments can now be directly accessed from the outgoing transitions of a Choice Point, instead of having to first save them in a state variable within the action code of the transition incoming to the Choice Point. This is true as long as there is only a single incoming transition and it has an event assigned.

Applying this to the model developed in the MiceOnABeam Basics video tutorial, we no longer have to save the data argument in the Line state variable in the dataserver transition. We can now access data directly in the GetNextLine and Done transitions.

Additionally as v1.0.3 now allows multiple bends within a transition, we added an additional curved bend to the Done transition to pretty up the diagram.

You can download an updated version of the Secure Door model from the video tutorial here.

MiceOnABeam Release v1.0.3

I'm proud to have (finally!) released version 1.0.3 of the MiceOnABeam Visual Scripting Tool, for the Second Life® World!. All users should download this latest release. It's chock-full of improvements including some new features that I'm sure you'll love.

An overview of what's new is provided below. For full details please see the Release Notes and the Product Documentation.

If you're an existing user you can just download the new release and run the installer over the existing installation. For those of you who have purchased the Professional version (thanks!), your existing license file will continue to work with the new release.

(NOTE: For those of you who participated in the beta of v1.0.3, you must first manually uninstall the beta release via Add/Remove programs or equivalent, before running the installer for v1.0.3)

New Error List Window for Code Generation Errors
A new error reporting system has been put in place that makes it easier to find and correct LSL syntax and variable/function declaration errors directly from within MiceOnABeam and before exporting the generated code to your virtual world.

While LSL errors continue to be flagged inline whenever a Properties Editor is saved, the entire model is now re-checked upon generating the LSL code and a summary of outstanding LSL errors are listed in a new Code Generation Errors window.

From here you can select an error and go to the modeling component of interest. As well you can open up the corresponding Properties Editor which will display the error message right at the point in the LSL code where the error was found. You can then fix the error and quickly regenerate the code by selecting the Refresh button on the Code Generation Errors window to update the error list.

Undeclared LSL Variables & Functions are now flagged
References to undeclared LSL variables and functions are now detected and flagged as errors both when the Properties Editor is saved and again upon generation of the LSL code for the model (in conjunction with the new Code Generation Errors window as shown above).

Local variables that are multiply declared within the same local scope of an LSL code segment will also be flagged as errors.

Multi-Segment Straight or Curved Transitions with Auto-Align
You are now able to create multiple straight or curved segments for a transition! In previous releases there was only a single Selection Handle for a transition which you could then click and drag to create a curved bend in the transition.

To create an additional Selection Handle press and hold the Control key and click on the desired location on a selected transition. Then click and drag the new Selection Handle to create the new bend. To delete a Selection Handle, just Control-click it.

In addition if you would prefer straight line segments instead of curves for a particular transition, de-select Smooth Transition from it's context menu.

To align a particular line or curved segment of a transition to either a horizontal or vertical position, just hold down the Shift key when clicking and dragging a Selection Handle to the nearest horizontal or vertical plane. Note that alignment is always done one segment at a time, from the selected Selection Handle to the adjacent handle (towards the starting point of the transition).

Finally you can move the display of the transition's label to another Selection Handle by holding down both the Control & Shift keys and then clicking on the desired Selection Handle.

Those graphic designers among you can now really let your artistic side flourish! Me- not so much :-(

New State Explorer
In a more complex model consisting of several Composite States, it can be tedious to traverse the nested state hierarchy to get to the particular state of interest.

The new State Explorer feature addresses this by providing a tree-like view of the model's state hierarchy so that you can easily zero-in on the exact part of your model that you wish to examine.

Aside from just viewing the state hierarchy, you can also open up a State, Properties, Comment or State Variable/Functions editor from the context menu for a selected state in the State Explorer.




New Junction Point Modeling Component
A new toolbar component called a Junction Point is now available to help build your script models.

Similarly to an Entry/Exit Point the Junction Point can be used to merge several input transitions into a single output transition.  However a Junction Point is not limited to a state's border and can be created anywhere within a State Editor. It can really help de-clutter model diagrams by reducing the extent of transition lines.

And More...
Release v1.0.3 has lots more, including:

• New Icon Displayed for State with State Variables or State Functions
• State Variables & Functions Can Now be Moved or Copied Between States
• Direct Access to Event Arguments Now Provided in Choice Point Outgoing Transitions
• Wildcard characters Now Accepted Within Search Strings
• Larger Area Now Provided for State Variables in editor
• UI enhancements.

Upcoming
Next up I'll be focusing on enhancing the built-in library of LSL Actions and re-usable MiceOnABeam model components to help people get started. I'll also be developing a training class for new users and additional How-To videos to illustrate the use of specific features.

As a reminder of support options, for starters there's the MiceOnABeam group in Second Life. I encourage you all to use it for Q&A with other group members as well as myself. For more detailed Q&A you can always post in the forums on the MiceOnABeam website or contact MiceOnABeam Support. To report a product-related problem, please send an email to support@miceonabeam.com, or click Send Problem Report for a convenient form.

Merry Xmas!

Antonius

MiceOnABeam v1.0.3 Beta Anyone?

MiceOnABeam v1.0.3 has just started integration testing and is ready for a short beta trial. I'm looking for a few existing users who are interested in trying out the latest and greatest features.

If you are a regular user or plan to use the program over the next two weeks, please send an email to support@miceonabeam.com and I'll send you the info to access the beta. No need to do anything special for the beta; just use it as you would normally and report any issues via email.

Full details on the release are available here: http://bit.ly/vhtC42

If all goes well, I expect to run the beta for two weeks or so, ending with the official release of v1.0.3.

Thanks for helping out!

Antonius

Sneak Peek Part II for MOAB v1.0.3

Feature development for the upcoming v1.0.3 has finally finished! I was a bit slower getting things done with the hot summer (@Pilot: Yes I know 30C is cold to you! :-), but I'm really happy with the results.

As promised with the earlier Sneek Peek for v1.0.3. here's a quick review of the latest features to have been completed.

Flagging of Undeclared LSL Variables/Functions

Long-awaited by most MOAB users I'm sure, v1.0.3. will now flag all undeclared LSL variables and functions as errors. This will reduce the occurence of generating the LSL from MOAB and then going into SL only to get a syntax error reported in the code editor there. See: http://screencast.com/t/qnJ8Y15vg.

Junction Point

The Junction Point is a new modeling feature that allows you to merge multiple incoming transitions into a single outgoing one. It will be great to help declutter model diagrams. See: http://screencast.com/t/3FanYhnmFxGh.

State Variables/Functions Icon

With this new feature a special icon will show on those states which have State Variables or State Functions defined. Now you can quickly look over a model and see where your variables and functions are defined. Further the icon will display at the bottom of a State Editor that is opened on a Composite State if that state has state variables/functions defined. See: http://screencast.com/t/2X5gg0ef2t.

Extended Comments

http://screencast.com/t/2X5gg0ef2t also shows how modeling component comments can be extended to display additional design information for states and transitions. By using the Show Comments toolbar button , you'll be able to see a list of handled events, state variables & functions, simply by moving the mouse over the component of interest.

This will also work for the State Variables/Functions Icon shown at the bottom of the State Editor for composite states as shown in http://screencast.com/t/ssoYPBBRHB.

Multi-Segment Transitions

In previous releases, there was only a single Selection Handle for a transition which you could then click and drag to create a curved bend in the transition. Now you'll be able to create multiple straight or curved segments for a transition!

In addition if you would prefer straight line segments instead of curves you can select that option from the transition's menu.

Additional new capabilities include being able to align a particular line or curved segment of a transition to either a horizontal or vertical position, and to move the display of the transition's label to a different point on the transition.  

See: http://screencast.com/t/8fi2XxhSX  for examples of these. You can even let your artistic side flourish when drawing your models. See: http://screencast.com/t/4bBSIPtiy6N.

Still a fair bit of cleanup and testing to be done. I anticipate a release early November.  If anyone is interested in beta-trialling the new release, please drop me a note at support@miceonabeam.com and let's chat.

Antonius

Sneak peek at some MOAB v1.0.3 features

I've posted a few graphics of some of the new features that I've been working on for the upcoming v1.0.3. Take a look.

State Explorer

Here's the new State Explorer: http://screencast.com/t/ldGOojlyDQ

You will be able to open a State Explorer on any State Editor and it will show a tree of all the nested states. You can hide/display each level and open up a menu for each item. See: http://screencast.com/t/cUtMS7sN

From there you can open up various editors relating to the State.

Error Reporting

For the next feature I put in a new error reporting system for the code generation which will now check all LSL code in the model at code generation time for syntax errors, undeclared variables (new!) and validate LSL Actions. See: http://screencast.com/t/0IN2Uc8hVuy

This should save being surprised in SL with a syntax error after copying the generated code. From the error dialog you can open up the containing State Editor for the component as well as the actual properties editor.

This shows the modified code windows and how errors will be shown after being selected from the error list dialog. See: http://screencast.com/t/gx7PN2OSQy

Note that code lines are now numbered!

Direct Access to Event Arguments

Lastly (for now) is the feature that will allow you to directly access event arguments from the transitions leaving a Choice Point (if that Choice Point only has a single transition into it). See: http://screencast.com/t/mKtcPk4iN4c5

The graphic is from the door script from one of the tutorial videos. Note that in the Done transition you can now directly reference the data argument of the dataserver event of the transition leading into the Choice Point. I think that will remove alot of confusion for new users to MOAB who would naturally expect to access the arguments in this situation directly.

I'll post more info on additional features as they continue to be developed for v1.0.3.

Antonius