GGDT/HGDT Request Thread

[hectmarr]

To solve the error that the installation of HGDT in window gives, component ´comdlg32.ocx´
[youtube][/youtube]

[hectmarr]

There was no luck to install HGDT on my pc. The file that appears in the video description also exists in the folder I downloaded here. I could not make the error disappear with either of the two files, which I understand should go in the folder, window / system32.
Any suggestion of someone who understands more than me, very little, how to eliminate this error?

[jrrdw]

Put .ocx where he used .dll, then reboot your PC.
[youtube][/youtube]

[hectmarr]

OK thanks. I will try this way.

[Spudgunmaniac24]

I installed HGDT, but the link to usage page is broken.
Does anyone has documentation about how to use it?

I would really appreciate it

[jackssmirkingrevenge]

I installed HGDT, but the link to usage page is broken.

So it is, the only person I can think of who would have the documentation is creator D_Hall so you might want to send him a private message, otherwise if you have any specific questions feel free to post them here and I'm sure you will get the answers you need.

[D_Hall]

Not really a question but some commentary....

Obviously, it's been a very long time since I wrote GGDT/HGDT. I've learned a lot since then and I think I could do a better job. I've spent a lot of time thinking about things. If I rewrote them, how would I do it? Well, first and foremost I would creat a single package that would handle pneumatics AND hybrids. That seems like a no-brainer. But experinece with G/HGDt (and this very thread) indicates that the tough part would be getting an installation script that works for everybody AND is stable over time. I mean, I don't want to turn it into a new hobby where I have to keep updating things and such. So what's a guy to do?

Suffice to say that a couple weeks ago I started plugging away on an Excel spreadsheet. Oddly enough, I think it will work. I've tried what I've got (so far) on OpenOffice and it works too. The point being that I may be able to replace G/HGDT with a spreadsheet that is compatible with those two productivity packages. If so, keeping everything current should be a no-brainer. Blah blah blah... I'll keep ya'll posted.

[btrettel]

It's your choice, but I'd recommend against using a spreadsheet for anything nontrivial. Debugging and testing spreadsheets is far too difficult. Actual code is a much better option. I might make a prototype of something in a spreadsheet, but for any "production" software, code is a better choice.

If you're worried about portability and want something easy, make the new G/HGDT a single Python file or a Python package. Python's easy to install and easy to code. Lots of guides out there. Python code I write at work runs fine on both Windows and Linux as long as I use the portability features built-in to the language and avoid platform-specific packages. There are many good reasons why the air gun models CALM and my own BAGS were written in Python.

Related: Last year I started coding a new air gun model in Fortran, though I didn't get very far. I'd love to write a new model myself, but I probably won't have time for the foreseeable future.

[D_Hall]

Yes, I actually looked at doing it in Python a couple years ago. The biggest issue was that Python is generally not compiled and you have to install the IDE for it. Well, that's all well and good except that only geeks actually have done so. Meanwhile, pretty much everyone and their brother has a spreadsheet installed. Can it be done via spreadsheet? I'm not 100% certain yet, and the look/feel will never be as slick as a full on GUI, but... Well, I'm giving it a whirl (although I haven't made any progress since the earlier post simply due to life getting in the way).

[btrettel]

Good points. If you want something that doesn't require installing any extra software, JavaScript or WebAssembly would be better choices than a spreadsheet. It would be neat to have a webpage that does the simulation. It would be completely cross-platform. You could even run on your phone! It would be easier than a spreadsheet for the user, too. I personally don't like JavaScript, but WebAssembly is compiled, so you could use a variety of languages. I think I will look into WebAssembly myself now that I think about it...

[D_Hall]

But now someone is on the hook for maintaining the web presence, no?

[btrettel]

You can definitely run JavaScript in a web browser locally without a web server. Many programs today also are written in JavaScript but basically embed an entire browser with the program, so the user doesn't notice that it's not native.

I'm not so sure about WebAssembly. I think Chrome doesn't like running WebAssembly locally, but Firefox is fine with it. It presumably could be embedded with some sort of runtime as well like with JavaScript.

Still, with so many free web hosting options these days, I don't think using a web server is a major problem. No real maintenance needed, just upload the files as I understand it.

[D_Hall]

Free web hosting or not is irrelevant. The money is a complete non-issue. The catch is that this is likely my last forray into spud guns. I'll likely write the new tool, put it out there for the community to do whatever it sees fit with it, and not really think about spud guns again. Having a web presence is not compatible with that mindset.

Running JavaScript locally is an interesting option, I'll grant that.

[jimmy101]

It doesn't take much of a web presence to host online code. But if you don't already have a web server of some kind then it is definitely a barrier, plus cost $20/year forever.

Perhaps SpudFiles could be the long term host?

[D_Hall]

It's not the money. It's the fact that it's something that needs doing. It would be something that once I was happy with it, I would release into the wild and probably never touch again; thus my concern for anything that requires ANY sort of upkeep. I haven't built a spud gun in a looong time. I still have two that I shoot (one a golf ball launcher, the other VERA), but that's it. Revamping the theory is just a side project that's been gnawing at the back of my mind for 15 or so years.

That said, I've made zero progress since the original post. Life has been throwing me curveballs of late.