Quote:
|
Originally Posted by austin5string Hey Capt,
First off, great work on this project. I have a couple questions/suggestions.
1) I know ZERO about programming, so this may be pointless, but is it possible to compile the .exe so that it includes the necessary libraries? Seems like that would be a good solution, so long as it didn't result in the .exe being TOO huge. Certainly better to download a 5-7 meg executable than an 80 meg library installer.
2) Also, what I really need and what I've tried creating in Excel (and come somewhat close) is something that works within the restrictions of my existing chips. Running a breakdown that tells me I need 220 of a certain color doesn't help when I have a 200/200/100/100/50 breakdown of chips. It would be nice to put in your existing chip set and have the breakdown calculate within those parameters. Dr Neau's does a good job of it also, but it would be nice to have a standalone app for it.
Thanks again!
~John |
John,
1) Believe me, I feel your pain. That requirement for the big library installer was a nasty surprise to me. I spent several hours trying to do what you suggest (compiling into a single executable that would also be smaller, since it would only include the components of the library that are actually being used). So far, obviously, I've no success doing that. I'll keep working on it but can't promise that I'll be able to do it, at least in the shortterm. (I may be a victim of an object-oriented library here....)
2) That's definitely a mode I'd like to support. So far, the calculator is geared towards the person planning the purchase of new chips. You can work it in the "want to use the chips I have" way, but it's a trial-and-error process. (That's the same way most spreadsheets work, too.) The problem is that there's no general solution to that scenario. For example, if you have a set of 100 chips and want to host a tourney for 10,000 people, what's the answer? The answer is "you can't do it". So to be useful, the program would have to be smart enough to make good suggestions, like maybe advising you to change your buyin amount, or reduce the number of players, or buy more chips, or ....
But there are some things that could be done:
Right now, the program takes as input the colors and denoms of your chipset (but not the number of chips available). It actually doesn't do anything with the colors. It will complain, though, if you don't have a small enough denom available for the small blind, or in some circumstances it will complain if it thinks you need a bigger denom.
In my spreadsheet, I have separate columns for "have chips" and "need chips". Then you tweak your allotments for the game until you fit the chips you have. You can do that same thing with the calculator (except I haven't yet put in a table to hold the "chips on hand" data, so I'll add that).
Then, the algorithms can be tweaked to try to better fit the chips on hand. For example, there are cases where you may have a few bigger denoms available than what the calculator would otherwise recommend. Those big chips could be used to reduce the number of intermediate-sized chips you'd need for a game.
This amounts to an elaboration of the "how many chips to use" option, where the "try to use existing chipset" option could steer the breakdown calculation.
I'll work on that.
Keep those cards and letters coming!
Linear Mode
