Templates: various questions not worth their own thread

[ownedbycats]

Thanks. Inlist worked.

Would inlist also work for pulling from formats?

(Also, would stickying this thread make sense? There's already quite a few stickies already though.)

[chaley]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

Thanks. Inlist worked.

Would inlist also work for pulling from formats?

(Also, would stickying this thread make sense? There's already quite a few stickies already though.)

By "formats" do you mean the result of approximate_formats()? If so, then yes. It would also work with the formats_... functions but probably would require further processing.

I don't see any reason to sticky this thread. As you say there are enough of them.

[chaley]

Originally Posted by dunhill

Hello people could you help me with a template. I want to concatenate the publisher's series with the serial number. What should I put on the note sheet?
Already very grateful

What is the serial number? Your image shows the series, the series index, and a number 3. Where does the 3 come from?

EDIT: never mind, I see it now. You want something like

program:
	if $series then
		if $#series then
			strcat($series, ' [', $series_index, '/', $#series_index, ']')
		else
			strcat($series, ' [', $series_index, ']')
		fi
	fi

where my custom series lookup name #series is replaced by the lookup name of your custom series column. Also, I might have the order of the numbers reversed.

EDIT 2: This also works, should you prefer Single Function Mode templates.

{series}{series_index:| [|}{#series_index:|/|]}{#series_index:test(,])}

[dunhill]

Originally Posted by chaley

What is the serial number? Your image shows the series, the series index, and a number 3. Where does the 3 come from?

EDIT: never mind, I see it now. You want something like

program:
	if $series then
		if $#series then
			strcat($series, ' [', $series_index, '/', $#series_index, ']')
		else
			strcat($series, ' [', $series_index, ']')
		fi
	fi

where my custom series lookup name #series is replaced by the lookup name of your custom series column. Also, I might have the order of the numbers reversed.

EDIT 2: This also works, should you prefer Single Function Mode templates.

{series}{series_index:| [|}{#series_index:|/|]}{#series_index:test(,])}

Thanks Chaley it works !!!!

[ownedbycats]

New question:

program:
	if
			$#lastread
		&& 
			$$#percentread >=# 1
		&&
			$$#percentread <=# 99

	then
		'Currently Reading'
	fi

Is there a "number is between 1-99" I can use instead?

EDIT: Additionally:

program:

	if
		$#currentlyreading
		then
			if 
				$#fanficcat && '/' in $#chapters 
			then
				f = re($#chapters, '(.*)/.*', '\1');
				s = re($#chapters, '.*/(.*)', '\1');

			if 
				(s - f) ==# 1 
			then
				'add_book.png' 
			fi	
	
		else		
			'bookmark-48.png'
		fi	

	elif
		$#readinglist
	then
		'list.png'

	elif
		$$#percentread == 'None'
	then
		'whiteminus.png'

	elif
		$$#percentread ==# 100
	then
		'ok.png'

	elif
		$$#percentread ==# 0
	then
		'list_remove.png'

	fi

For some reason, if I have a book with a #chaptercount of e.g. 50/100, it returns blank where I expected bookmark_48.

99/100 returns add_book as expected, and any books without a slash return their expected results.

Any idea what went wrong?

[chaley]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

New question:

program:
	if
			$#lastread
		&& 
			$$#percentread >=# 1
		&&
			$$#percentread <=# 99

	then
		'Currently Reading'
	fi

Is there a "number is between 1-99" I can use instead?

No. There isn't any range testing operator.

EDIT: Additionally:
[snip]
For some reason, if I have a book with a #chaptercount of e.g. 50/100, it returns blank where I expected bookmark_48.

99/100 returns add_book as expected, and any books without a slash return their expected results.

Any idea what went wrong?

Here is your template reformatted so I can more easily see if/then/else matching.

program:
	if $#currentlyreading then
		if $#fanficcat && '/' in $#chapters then
			f = re($#chapters, '(.*)/.*', '\1');
			s = re($#chapters, '.*/(.*)', '\1');
			if (s - f) ==# 1 then
				'add_book.png' 
			fi	
		else		
			'bookmark-48.png'
		fi	
	elif $#readinglist then
		'list.png'
	elif $$#percentread == 'None' then
		'whiteminus.png'
	elif $$#percentread ==# 100 then
		'ok.png'
	elif $$#percentread ==# 0 then
		'list_remove.png'
	fi

With this code you can get 'bookmark-48.png' only if there is no slash in chapters. I think you want this instead:

program:
	if $#currentlyreading then
		if $#fanficcat && '/' in $#chapters then
			f = re($#chapters, '(.*)/.*', '\1');
			s = re($#chapters, '.*/(.*)', '\1');
			if (s - f) ==# 1 then
				'add_book.png' 
			else		
				'bookmark-48.png'
			fi	
		fi	
	elif $#readinglist then
		'list.png'
	elif $$#percentread == 'None' then
		'whiteminus.png'
	elif $$#percentread ==# 100 then
		'ok.png'
	elif $$#percentread ==# 0 then
		'list_remove.png'
	fi

The 'else' block that produces 'bookmark-48.png' is moved to attach to 'if (s - f) ==# 1 then' instead of 'if (s - f) ==# 1 then'.

[ownedbycats]

That fixed books with slashes. However, now there's no icons for books that are #currentlyreading but don't have a slash:



Any idea what's going on?

[chaley]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

That fixed books with slashes. However, now there's no icons for books that are #currentlyreading but don't have a slash:
Any idea what's going on?

Yes. There is no 'else' on

if $#fanficcat && '/' in $#chapters then

so the template produces no output in that case. You need something like this:

		if $#fanficcat && '/' in $#chapters then
			f = re($#chapters, '(.*)/.*', '\1');
			s = re($#chapters, '.*/(.*)', '\1');
			if (s - f) ==# 1 then
				'add_book.png' 
			else		
				'bookmark-48.png'
			fi
		else		
			'exploding-book.png'
		fi

When coding a template you should verify the various code paths created by if/then/else to be sure that each path possibility results in what you want based on what you know about the data.

[ownedbycats]

I'm wondering now if a flowchart would help...

[chaley]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

I'm wondering now if a flowchart would help...

Sure. Use whatever tools help. My problem with flowcharts is ensuring that the chart represents the actual code. I have made the mistake of 'seeing what should be there instead of what is there' more times than I care to admit.

I often use breakpoints to trace the execution path. Set breaks on every line and run it with various books. This technique can also help determine why when you have a book that produces the wrong value.

[ownedbycats]

Originally Posted by chaley

No. There isn't any range testing operator.

Would adding a range operator test make sense? I'm not sure how much need there is for one, considering $$#percentread >=# 1 && $$#percentread <=# 99 does the job well enough.

EDIT: Also, not exactly template-related, but do I need to use "add icon" button to properly add the icon, or will just throwing the file into cc_icons folder work? Mostly because "add icon" isn't accessible via the stored template dialog and it really doesn't make much sense to add it there.

ANOTHER EDIT: Is there a better way to phrase this 'if #number is defined as 0' template? One of my templates was misbehaving a bit with an undefined #percentread...

program:
	if $$#number==# '0' && $$#number !='None' then 'True'
	fi

STILL ANOTHER: Is it intended that custom functions appear as normal text in the template tester?

[chaley]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

Would adding a range operator test make sense? I'm not sure how much need there is for one, considering $$#percentread >=# 1 && $$#percentread <=# 99 does the job well enough.

I think that range operators should be avoided. They introduce problems with specifying whether the range is inclusive or exclusive, on both ends. They also can be hard to read. A pair of relational value checks such as your example permits specifying what is wanted at the edges.

Of course you can get fancy in some cases. Example: this checks if a number is defined and is between 0 and 99 inclusive.

	if $#myint && floor($#myint / 100) == 0 then 'y' else 'n' fi

EDIT: Also, not exactly template-related, but do I need to use "add icon" button to properly add the icon, or will just throwing the file into cc_icons folder work? Mostly because "add icon" isn't accessible via the stored template dialog and it really doesn't make much sense to add it there.

Why do you want to add an icon when editing a stored template? There is nothing in that dialog that manipulates icons.

But to answer your question and assuming you are talking about icons used in rules: yes, icon display picks up whatever is in that folder. The add button does convert the image to 128x128, so it would be best if the added image was already that.

ANOTHER EDIT: Is there a better way to phrase this 'if #number is defined as 0' template? One of my templates was misbehaving a bit with an undefined #percentread...

program:
	if $$#number==# '0' && $$#number !='None' then 'True'
	fi

That works well. Another way you can use if #number isn't formatted is

	if $#myint && $#myint ==# 0 then 'y' else 'n' fi

STILL ANOTHER: Is it intended that custom functions appear as normal text in the template tester?

Yes. Calls to built-ins are shown differently, from calls to stored templates and custom functions.

[ownedbycats]

Originally Posted by chaley

Why do you want to add an icon when editing a stored template? There is nothing in that dialog that manipulates icons.

I have a few iconsets that are identical for both emblems and column icons. Instead of maintaining two copies of them, I make a stored template and call that instead. Likely not the intended use for stored templates, but it works.

[chaley]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

I have a few iconsets that are identical for both emblems and column icons. Instead of maintaining two copies of them, I make a stored template and call that instead. Likely not the intended use for stored templates, but it works.

If I understand you correctly this is exactly the intended use for stored templates -- keeping common code in one place instead of duplicating it.

You might make the process easier if when you create the rule that uses the stored template you pass the icon name(s) as parameters to the template. That way you would use the ability in the rules editor to add icons and get their names. The stored template would get the file names from the parameter list. With this technique you can have the code in one place but have different icons depending on the context.

[ownedbycats]

		if $rating ==# 0 && $#fanficstatus != '(In-Progress|Abandoned)' && $#vls !='Documentation & Manuals'  then
			'rating.png'

The In-Progress|Abandoned bit failed to work. How do I set "if it does not match this regex"?

Also, #vls should be an inlist. How do I set a "is not inlist"?