As an "average joe" with no programming experience I have been happy with mastering the PEP software by myself and never (still don't) really understand the possibilities that Prontoscript is offering.

...until these past few days when Vudu released a beta info to allow netremote control of their Movie Rental wonder (see [Link: forum.vudu.com]).

I would love to be able to implement this on my Pronto (And can't wait for Philips to allow programming of the jog dial as it would be perfect for Vudu) but between the ProntoScript and the technical info given by Vudu, well, I'm lost.

So has anyone with no programming knowledge been able to successfully master it and it is worth it for me to invest hours trying to learn something completely unfamiliar or is it time for me to call a pro to do this programming for me?

Thanks for the feedback.

With no programming experience do not even try. Call a Pro. Pronto script is not for beginners let alone zero experience. It could be with the proper documentation, but that is not what there is today. The philips documentation is more reference than tutorial, even with the examples provided

If you want to learn Javascript, I suggest you go and buy a book such as the one referenced in the Dev Guide or a book such as "Javascript for Dummies", if one such book exists.

Unless you are a programmer, just going at it using dev guide alone will leave you holding the bag.

FYI, If you make a typo in the subject line that you can edit your original post and correct the subject line. You misspelled "with".

Thanks for the feedback guys.

I looked at the Vudu protocol documents and really nothing stands out as an issue. the pronto could handle the communications with no issue. The code just needs to be written.

Prontoscript uses Javascript? I like to learn known to see what these remotes can do also. I saw a beginners book for dummies( definitley me ) which I will begin to learn, it will take a long while I'm sure they will release a few more TSU remotes before I get a grasp on it.

Hi, Pronto Script for Dummies ( but i prefer to call it " //Pronto Script For CI "

Here in NZ were are about to start a 12 week course on Pronto Script, at the end of this course we hope to e-Book it and make it available for sale on here or some other web site.

Depending on how the course goes we may even do nother more advance course.

So watch this space....

Definitley will!

as i have problems like this:-

Trying to run a reusable macro depending on the inputstatus of a RFX9600

function InputStatus()

{
for (count = 0; count <4; count++)
{
System.print(count);
i=CF.extender[extenderId].input[count];
high=CF.widget("1", "PARAMS").label;
low=CF.widget("5", "PARAMS").label;
e=i.get() ? ""+"high" : ""+"low";
System.print(e); // info for me :)
CF.widget(""+ count, "PAGE1").label=e;
if( e = low){
CF.widget("1","marks","PS_MACROS").scheduleActions();
else
CF.widget("2","marks","PS_MACROS").scheduleActions();
}
}
}

and i can not work out why it doesn't work

gopronto,

Syntax error at the "else".

Don't feel bad. I'm in the process of generalizing some routines across multiple programs of different generations. I spent the whole day picking through similar sillyness in my own code.

Perhaps this is what you meant:

function InputStatus()
{
for (count = 0; count <4; count++)
  {
    System.print(count);
    i=CF.extender[extenderId].input[count];
    high=CF.widget("1", "PARAMS").label;
    low=CF.widget("5", "PARAMS").label;
    e=i.get() ? ""+"high" : ""+"low";
    System.print(e); // info for me :)
    CF.widget(""+ count, "PAGE1").label=e;
    if( e = low) CF.widget("1","marks","PS_MACROS").scheduleActions();
    else CF.widget("2","marks","PS_MACROS").scheduleActions();
  }
}

ok with a bit of a change this worked :-

function InputStatus()
{
for (count =0; count <4; count++)
{
System.print(count);
i=CF.extender[extenderId].input[count];
high=CF.widget("1", "PARAMS").label;
low=CF.widget("5", "PARAMS").label;
e=i.get() ? ""+"high" : ""+"low";
System.print(e); // info for me :)
CF.widget(""+ count, "PAGE1").label=e;
System.print(e);
if( e== "low")
CF.widget("2","marks","PS_MACROS").scheduleActions();
else

CF.widget("1","marks","PS_MACROS").scheduleActions();
}
}

Franin,

I posted a thread entitled "But really, what is ProntoScript" a ways back. Some useful info to give beginner's a perspective as to what it really is.

Thanks Lyndel, I will give that a read:)

I had pretty close to zero experience with Prontoscript ( javascript ) when I first tried. But it it took a long time before I could write my first script. If you are going to try to write a script get " Javascript The Definitive Guide " ( fifth edition ) by Flanagan. Also check out W3 Schools http://www.w3schools.com/ online, it is free and a great way to practice writing scripts as you learn. You might want to read about HTML first . There is plenty of information online about javascript and examples of how and why it works. But most 99% of it concerns it being used in a web page like the one your reading right now. Be sure to download the Prontoscript Developers Guide.This has examples on the very basics to the more advanced options.

My guess is that it will take you at least 3 to 12 months before you get something that works for you. It all depends how much time you can spend learning a new language. Since you have a goal to achieve it makes learning easier.

Alpha,

Very nice and informative post. Thanks!!!

Is that 3-12 month estimate based on no programming background or limited programming background? I suspect that is the case.

For me, coming up to speed on Prontoscript was like simply learning how to use another tool but again, I've been developing software for 25 years. Still, it took about a month and a couple of sample projects (a mod to Philips's RSS module now available to all users and my Yahoo Weather module) to come up to speed such that I was aware of all the ins and outs. :-)