customized notes

I have a task in front of me to create a checklist program that basically asks the person a list of questions starting with "what type of project is this", continues on based on the type of project it is and writes the notes according to answers given.

I would like to know what might be my best direction to go for handling the questions. Would it be better to go with Lisp or go with VB? Which would handle inputing text better or does it matter?

 

Quick and easy using lisp (as long as you don't mind the questions appearing
on the command line as opposed to a dialog box):

(Setq ProjTyp (getstring "\nWhat type of project is this? "))

asks the person a list of questions starting with "what type of project is
this", continues on based on the type of project it is and writes the notes
according to answers given.

the questions. Would it be better to go with Lisp or go with VB? Which
would handle inputing text better or does it matter?

 

I'd suggest getkword instead of getstring for as many ansers as possible, to avoid using the input text literally. The user picks an option, and the routine returns a canned text string. This would eliminate typos and nonstandard terminology in the finished notes.

In all the methods my firm has developed for dealing with placing notation, we've learned that it's important for quality control to avoid having the user type at all, whenever possible.

It wouldn't be hard to turn the "questions" into a dcl dialog box, with check boxes, radio buttons, or pulldown lists representing all the options. But I'd suggest working out the logic on a command-line basis first, before worrying about a dialog interface.

 

Good point, and (for Mikedsjr's info) 'initget' can be set to allow/disallow
arbitrary user input:

Command: (initget 1 "Yes No")

nil

Command: (setq x (getkword "Are you sure? (Yes or No) "))

Are you sure? (Yes or No) Maybe

Invalid option keyword.

Are you sure? (Yes or No) yes

"Yes"

Note the 128 argument:

Command: (initget 128 "Yes No")

nil

Command: (setq x (getkword "Are you sure? (Yes or No) "))
Are you sure? (Yes or No) Maybe

"Maybe"

to avoid using the input text literally. The user picks an option, and the
routine returns a canned text string. This would eliminate typos and
nonstandard terminology in the finished notes.

notation, we've learned that it's important for quality control to avoid
having the user type at all, whenever possible.

check boxes, radio buttons, or pulldown lists representing all the options.
But I'd suggest working out the logic on a command-line basis first, before
worrying about a dialog interface.

 

Thanks for the suggestions. You are probably right that the best way to start is lisp. I could certainly make it into a dialog form after i get it working.