tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-67295296884029683162024-03-19T11:05:44.928-07:00Gymnastics SoftwareLatest news from Gymnastics Software: what are we working on, what new features are requested, what bugs have been found, ...Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720413462864861190noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6729529688402968316.post-73216667455103552972012-08-04T02:25:00.002-07:002012-08-04T02:25:57.433-07:00FIG is evaluating Gymnastics Software Symbol Fonts<p>Thursday before the Olympic Games began, I received a message that the WTC is considering using our WAG Symbols font in the new Code of Points. Unfortunately there was too little time to make it in the final document because it had to be sent to the translators only two days later. However since then some members of the WTC are evaluating every symbol from Gymnastics Software that is in the current and the new code.</p>
<p>It might not be obvious to everybody, but symbols change from time to time. Because I have freed all available resources to get the changes finished as fast as possible, I expect by the end of the games all symbols will be up to date with current FIG standards. If I get the permission I will post the excel symbol sheets on my website.</p>
<p>Besides updating the fonts I am also working real hard (although with limited time) on an improved symbol keyboard. When finished, it will first be released as a plug-in for Microsoft Word 2010. What I have done is recreated the symbol sheets on the keyboard: one apparatus, one tab. This will make it much easier to find the element you need. The look will be exactly the same as the official symbol sheets (see picture). Clicking a symbol will insert the symbol into the Word document. Additionally, right-clicking the element will display a list of elements that are one way or the other related to it. For example, right-clicking backward salto tucked will show salto piked, salto stretched, salto stretched with step-out. Also available will be the elements that the original element devaluates to (right-click switch-leap shows split leap), etc...</p>
<p>What I did not expect was the incredible amount of work that is required to paint these symbol sheets in the application. Up until now I have finished vault, balance beam and half of bars and it took me already 30 hours (and over 4000 lines of code). I still must start deciding what elements relate to each-other. I wish I could spend more time on it. Especially now the new code is on its way.</p>
<p>The picture below is the code required to display one row of elements on the symbol sheet:
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgef0ostSAOaagNeJPPrCCDm5PRgFEPn3Gku5yfAYWupqAJQO1d-pw7zwkUbh0M4AfHOm4OfSbpqDJsXyWHA0V0ErJDLjcRm9Z0OjT_iv0sPaEFi7b2-6XBd4Rssq3hCatCrURZ2NmPuCYL/s1600/GS_Code_Example.png" imageanchor="1" style=""><img border="0" height="236" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgef0ostSAOaagNeJPPrCCDm5PRgFEPn3Gku5yfAYWupqAJQO1d-pw7zwkUbh0M4AfHOm4OfSbpqDJsXyWHA0V0ErJDLjcRm9Z0OjT_iv0sPaEFi7b2-6XBd4Rssq3hCatCrURZ2NmPuCYL/s400/GS_Code_Example.png" /></a>
</p>
<p>This picture gives you an idea of what I mean with the new keyboard:
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMinvYsMxrRb2hr8XGKyawcsmMjKzvl2JYqpghbW7DBEbaToDNXi_EuoVgbgp5E92xPIDmmwGd3o3xg8-TVoBwXXHZo64pctAOkYFqn9JVEnLYZusZD19vLqbtYA0DsCn2_gTJaRE0DC0M/s1600/Word_Plugin_Preview.png" imageanchor="1" style=""><img border="0" height="225" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMinvYsMxrRb2hr8XGKyawcsmMjKzvl2JYqpghbW7DBEbaToDNXi_EuoVgbgp5E92xPIDmmwGd3o3xg8-TVoBwXXHZo64pctAOkYFqn9JVEnLYZusZD19vLqbtYA0DsCn2_gTJaRE0DC0M/s400/Word_Plugin_Preview.png" /></a>
</p>
<p>Tom. </p>Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720413462864861190noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6729529688402968316.post-13202352031872341762012-05-06T02:08:00.000-07:002012-05-06T02:08:34.511-07:00New version GS Judge (2.0.5)<p>I have just released a new version of GS Judge on the <a ref="http://www.gymnastics-software.com">website</a>. Don't hesitate to email your remarks to info@gymnastics-software.com. Below the list of changes.</p>
<p>
<h3>Version 2.0.3 - May 5, 2012</h3><br />
<list>
<li>signed setup file and GS Judge.exe</li>
<li>bug fix in setup (cannot locate resource file Main.xaml)</li>
</list>
</p>
<p>
<h3>Version 2.0.4 - May 5, 2012</h3>
<list>
<li>BB bug fix: The take-off from both feet value and the landing type value were not read from the meta-database. These characteristics of elements are required to recognize a connection with rebound. Therefore CV with rebound was never rewarded. Thanks for reporting this Monique (BEL).</li>
<li>FX bug fix: when an element or its value was devaluated, the value was no longer drawn at the correct position. Thanks for reporting this Marleen (BEL).</li>
<li>Disabled Create Vault button functionality: was not finished and was not supposed to be released yet.</li>
<li>Slightly bigger font size for D-, E- and Final score text blocks. The same for Gymnast number, name and country.</li>
</list>
</p>
<p>
<h3>Version 2.0.5 - May 6, 2012</h3>
<list>
<li>Signed all dll's in the project</li>
</list>
</p>Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720413462864861190noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6729529688402968316.post-20504623764477384672012-05-04T23:23:00.001-07:002012-05-04T23:29:32.674-07:00European Championships<p>I will be attending the European Championships in Brussels. Not as spectator but as representative for Gymnastics Software. I will have a table near the accreditation desk. I will not be on site from morning till evening, but I will announce here on this blog when I plan to be there.
</p><br /><br />
What will I be doing?<br />
<list>
<li>Collect as many as possible exercises from coaches and judges.</li>
<li>I will save these exercises with GS Judge and check with the coach/judge whether the difficulty value is correct.</li>
<li>Later on, I will create a nice report with the exercises. That is for each team I received exercises from.</li>
<li>As soon as I have finished GS Analytics (new), I will be able to generate nice statistics about the competition, more or less like the report FIG generates after each WC or OC.</li>
<li>If you want me to assist you with installing GS sofware on your PC, ask me, I will be glad to help you out.</li>
<li>If I have a spare moment, I will be programming for Gymnastics Software.</li>
</list>
<br />
<p>For teams that hand over their exercises: we will not publish them, nor distribute them before the end of the competition. When you hand over your exercises, I will ask your permission to share them with the gymnastics community after the Europeans have finished. If you don't allow it, we won't do it.</p>
<br />
Today, Saturday May 5, I hope to arrive in the afternoon. I will stay until late tonight.<br />Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720413462864861190noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6729529688402968316.post-22566193717676597512012-03-24T12:30:00.000-07:002012-03-24T12:30:53.565-07:00Now you can trust me!Two weeks ago I had a meeting with Marleen and I wanted her to install a software upgrade on her home computer. Man, what a horrible experience was that! It seemed like Internet explorer and all kind of virus scanners had unleashed war against all malicious software that originates from the internet. Not a bad thing, except that I almost felt like a criminal when I saw all those big red warnings appearing on screen telling the user that the software is probably unsafe and that you must be really stupid if you ever wanted to run this software. Because I trust myself, I clicked my way through all those warnings but I realized that this was going to be a big issue if I wanted my software to be downloaded and used. So I went looking for a solution.<br /><br />
The solution comes from a digital signature that I must add to all software that I want you to download from the internet. The signature tells you that the software was published by <b>Amberes IT Consultants bvba</b>, which is the legal name of my company (it is not 'Gymnastics Software', I wouldn't be able to pay my bills from that). The signature comes in the form of a certificate and I had to buy it from a <i><a href="http://www.globalsign.com/">certification authority</a></i> who did a background check on my company before they agreed to sell me a certificate. Now every time I put new software on my website, I add the digital signature to it, so that your web browser and antivirus software can verify that the software really comes from me, and was not hacked.<br /><br />
Knowing that the software was written by me, is one thing. Knowing that the software will not harm your computer is another thing. After all, every hacker can get himself a certificate (would not be smart, because the certification authority would know where he lives). Therefore, Microsoft introduced in Internet Explorer 9 a technology called 'reputation'. Every certificate (or digital signature) that is used to sign software on the internet, receives a 'reputation' score. This reputation score is incremented when more people start downloading software that was signed with it, and also when virus scanners report that the software contains no virusses or other threats. This means that from now on when you download new software from my website, you will be notified that the publisher is known as 'Amberes IT Consultants bvba', but that the software is not commonly downloaded and potentially harmfull. This warning will eventually disappear in the future when more and more people start downloading the software and virus scanners report back to Microsoft that software signed by 'Amberes IT Consultants bvba' never contains viruses.<br /><br />To show you the different user experience between signed and unsigned software downloads, I placed screen captures from Internet Explorer 9 for unsigned downloads and signed downloads (the first picture is always the unsigned software):<br />
<br />First you have to tell whether you want to save or run the file. The browser has not downloaded anything yet, so it doesn't known if the file is safe or not: no difference in warnings between the two files. (www.gymnastics-software.com is hosted on my companies web site www.amberes-it-consultants.com)
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkqJe0CEvLaJBa0qnZvIX4NRpSNxiklVIJ3DOsQCN4HE5o08JlKu5G0wqCPeiLuZizCRJrGMf8P6vZjrSAJIRs469Q_zIlZSPtNEWPJvWrVxCmg7z1XDY5Q-WFFlrCK5QuCCZiCVRiW7Xx/s1600/Unsigned+IE+Download.jpg" imageanchor="1" style=""><img border="0" height="42" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkqJe0CEvLaJBa0qnZvIX4NRpSNxiklVIJ3DOsQCN4HE5o08JlKu5G0wqCPeiLuZizCRJrGMf8P6vZjrSAJIRs469Q_zIlZSPtNEWPJvWrVxCmg7z1XDY5Q-WFFlrCK5QuCCZiCVRiW7Xx/s400/Unsigned+IE+Download.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlKeVdkUNDMNaZR2cBdsr3jbQm_RDyY71mV1mdS3lRJq0FjWygBwBtvoRMnw29kpZ4T83lH8y_gM3JP9tWOdwS5o3UVKqaJGWUKQettZqVF-j07vlaV8bTcvM1OrRFHPdN_pd4bfMBNlwz/s1600/Signed+IE+Download.jpg" imageanchor="1" style=""><img border="0" height="42" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlKeVdkUNDMNaZR2cBdsr3jbQm_RDyY71mV1mdS3lRJq0FjWygBwBtvoRMnw29kpZ4T83lH8y_gM3JP9tWOdwS5o3UVKqaJGWUKQettZqVF-j07vlaV8bTcvM1OrRFHPdN_pd4bfMBNlwz/s400/Signed+IE+Download.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />In both cases I clicked [Run]. After downloading the file, you can notice the first difference. The message is the same: the file has a low reputation score, so be cautious. The difference between signed and unsigned files is in the color of the warning window: red versus orange.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcCpKhGITc7P-2HVfjW0vw-eGEaAeTxKUtNLVVUdVmakTAYphyzoXPmv0rXSe7S3QqjuW_efj6AihcwVZCFmr6SQDdjboCJu1DoCiVowfZV9IAwaLBKNwXc57ubP55ij6tfYRzH-qKyI_R/s1600/Unsigned+IE+Warning.jpg" imageanchor="1" style=""><img border="0" height="42" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcCpKhGITc7P-2HVfjW0vw-eGEaAeTxKUtNLVVUdVmakTAYphyzoXPmv0rXSe7S3QqjuW_efj6AihcwVZCFmr6SQDdjboCJu1DoCiVowfZV9IAwaLBKNwXc57ubP55ij6tfYRzH-qKyI_R/s400/Unsigned+IE+Warning.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVwujXzmlq_6s5HlYOGXDUvyVTIDtrUATNqGTjPBo-qYitMUB0QamKVx-Em201-RtKa0rR9p-FmX6YEnTJadLg946simWZUYGRiNsbhdr48k9u8aK04_eLdUNJnlbtUBWMuT3yqL-Dqf09/s1600/Signed+IE+Warning.jpg" imageanchor="1" style=""><img border="0" height="42" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVwujXzmlq_6s5HlYOGXDUvyVTIDtrUATNqGTjPBo-qYitMUB0QamKVx-Em201-RtKa0rR9p-FmX6YEnTJadLg946simWZUYGRiNsbhdr48k9u8aK04_eLdUNJnlbtUBWMuT3yqL-Dqf09/s400/Signed+IE+Warning.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />On my pc runs Norton Antivirus, and it immediately scans the file. Again there is a difference between the outcomes of the scans:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGzAWnnk7C-spRGaEiD8oPrUyjulIE0kOEvQLNYw2nPgEBkUcfyrGSAUkBwHeEO8MaVOaAK5C2cwexsQt8qf6ds8R1WGLtEMrvaTmzY8EcmuzrXgheNibaKBwDmJ6kmYdlCfTIuq5ZJMix/s1600/Unsigned+Norton+Warning.jpg" imageanchor="1" style=""><img border="0" height="140" width="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGzAWnnk7C-spRGaEiD8oPrUyjulIE0kOEvQLNYw2nPgEBkUcfyrGSAUkBwHeEO8MaVOaAK5C2cwexsQt8qf6ds8R1WGLtEMrvaTmzY8EcmuzrXgheNibaKBwDmJ6kmYdlCfTIuq5ZJMix/s400/Unsigned+Norton+Warning.jpg" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbANmYPn3MkEmeD2dBy4qOlZkF3TDnHoGRfkatWSXaymVbNcyPANcbYlnTWLHRkeHcB_adUxt87UCiDOqYtiX1eoAcOXDkOLkrX2NpvtL0qPDzHHSVkNiRyG8ttkOsAVpirun1t2Q-KlFL/s1600/Signed+Norton+Save.jpg" imageanchor="1" style=""><img border="0" height="141" width="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbANmYPn3MkEmeD2dBy4qOlZkF3TDnHoGRfkatWSXaymVbNcyPANcbYlnTWLHRkeHcB_adUxt87UCiDOqYtiX1eoAcOXDkOLkrX2NpvtL0qPDzHHSVkNiRyG8ttkOsAVpirun1t2Q-KlFL/s400/Signed+Norton+Save.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />To install the software, we must click [Actions]. That brings us in both situations to the same dialog box. I must admit, in neither case you are encouraged to run the software. At least you get to see the name of the publisher in the signed download: 'Amberes IT Consultants bvba'
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhomW5yPPUD4U3SLRAhATxqXuu7auavdlo7pnBs-iD5jb1gHG5MVrY5CFWl8JzQhO3sG9EzJgdZ-3069Df5fyurl3Sx7L9GzMJVX-GkZUosWykaqlsJBVbFbzo5-bIUDoaJtNwRqqI6Ztpj/s1600/Signed+extra+options.jpg" imageanchor="1" style=""><img border="0" height="305" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhomW5yPPUD4U3SLRAhATxqXuu7auavdlo7pnBs-iD5jb1gHG5MVrY5CFWl8JzQhO3sG9EzJgdZ-3069Df5fyurl3Sx7L9GzMJVX-GkZUosWykaqlsJBVbFbzo5-bIUDoaJtNwRqqI6Ztpj/s400/Signed+extra+options.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />We must click [Extra Options] before we can launch the software, and again little difference here:
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<br />If I click [Run Anyway], internet explorer launches the software. The signed software actually starts installing. The unsigned software still must pass the virus scanner and a terrifying window appears trying to convince you not to run the software.
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<br /><br />A long blog post to tell you that from now on, our software will be signed, and hopefully in the near future the reputation score will be high enough so that internet explorer will immediately recognizes our software as safe.<br /><br />
Tom<br />Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720413462864861190noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6729529688402968316.post-47693797441920663182012-03-24T01:39:00.000-07:002012-03-24T01:39:59.262-07:00Moving on ...So I ended up with a computer crash during the WC in Tokyo and it took me a while to get the thing fixed. I must say that I lost all sympathy for Dell after having received the most miserable support ever. No more Dell for me.<br /><br />
In the mean time I took a 7-day Windows Server administration course that should allow me to manage my own little IT infrastructure better.<br /><br />
And now with the European Championships approaching (held in Brussels, that's where I work), I was asked to pick up the pace with the development of gymnastics software products. More info to follow soon.<br /><br />
Tom.Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720413462864861190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6729529688402968316.post-90145481024929566342011-10-11T23:07:00.000-07:002011-10-11T23:07:02.189-07:00Computer crashWorking on the train has its advantages, but it takes its toll on the laptop. Last sunday it broke down. Just at the moment when I needed to release the next version for Tokyo. I've ordered replacement parts but who knows when they will arrive. Until then I am kinda stuck.
<br /> <br />
I hope to be back in business soon.
<br /><br />
Tom.Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720413462864861190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6729529688402968316.post-78363735188464768842011-10-09T07:27:00.000-07:002011-10-09T07:27:57.245-07:00Software for Macintosh users?Marleen who is currently demonstrating the GS Judge application at worlds in Tokyo, has received several times the question whether the software is also available for Apple computers. When I look at the statistics of our website (see picture below), it is quit obvious that my target audience likes the Macintosh.<br /><br />
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<br/>
The short answer is: no there is no Macintosh version and there are no such plans as I speak.<br /><br />
Does this means all Macintosh users are left in the cold? Not completely, but they will have to rely on emulation software for Windows. I suppose that most Macintosh users use this approach when they want to run software that was developed for Windows only.
<br /><br/>
The reason why there is no Macintosh version is that I have no experience at all either with using a Macintosh or with programming against a Macintosh. Last week I consulted a fellow software developer at work who is a Macintosh user, and asked him what the effort would be to build GS Judge for Mac. It could not be done he said, because I am using Microsoft .NET framework version 4.0 that is not fully ported to Macintosh (yet?). The <a href="http://www.mono-project.com">mono project</a> was started just to port this framework to Macintosh and Linux. But <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mono_(software)#Current_status_and_roadmap">wikipedia</a> has this to say about mono:<br /><br />
<i>Mono's aim is to achieve full support for the features in .NET 4.0 except WPF (which the Mono team do not plan to support due to the amount of work it would need), Entity Framework and WF, limited WCF.</i><br /><br />
Unfortunately, GS Judge is a full-blown WPF application and apparently mono does not plan to support it ever. WPF is a graphical engine that makes it possible to display the WAG exercises with many graphical features (such as zooming the exercise and highlighting individual symbols).<br /><br />
If you are still reading: this all means that there is no easy way to convert existing code from Windows to Macintosh. If we decide to take on the challenge, we must start with buying Macintosh hardware and software, and hire a developer. That is going to cost a lot of money. Which I don't have. Now. Maybe later. I hope.
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Tom.Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720413462864861190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6729529688402968316.post-66968837720481991042011-10-08T11:22:00.000-07:002011-10-08T11:22:24.145-07:00Hurray, the Belgian team qualified 16thBeing a Belgian, I am glad to see that our team qualifies 16th and therefore will go to London for the Olympic Trials! Well done team!<br /><br />
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Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720413462864861190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6729529688402968316.post-50164018959539081412011-10-04T14:45:00.000-07:002011-10-04T14:45:31.350-07:00Documentation: Mini-languageBecause knowing the mini-language is important if you want to use the full potential of the GS Judge application, I created a document that explains all special codes.<br /><br />
<a href="http://www.gymnastics-software.com/downloads/The%20mini-language.pdf">The mini-language.pdf</a><br /><br />
A complete user manual is not for next week, but given the increasing number of features, it is about time that I start working on it. A problem is my English. Is there any native English speaker among the readers of this blog that volunteers proof reading the user manual?Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720413462864861190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6729529688402968316.post-28392266018077623002011-10-03T21:25:00.000-07:002011-10-03T21:25:51.852-07:00Tokyo to Antwerp: Where is the MS-Word AddIn?It is 4 o'clock in the morning when I receive an sms: hey Tom, judges with a clean pc don't have the MS-Word AddIn after installing the new software.<br /><br />
That is true, I knew it. Those who already have installed the MS-Word AddIn last year, still have it. The reason why it is currently not available, is because the code of it (I mean the code of the programming language, not the code of points of course) is broken. <br /><br />
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<br /><br />As you all know, software is changing constantly. The gymnastics software from last year (WC 2010, Rotterdam) uses a Microsoft framework version 3.5. The new software uses the same framework but version 4.0 (In the setup.exe from GS Judge this framework is included, hence the size of 50 MByte). All parts of the application did get converted to this new framework without problem, except the MS Word AddIn. I must rebuild and test it from the ground up. So I guess that is what I will do the remaining of this week.<br /><br />
Stay tuned.Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720413462864861190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6729529688402968316.post-67939004865046087202011-10-02T14:14:00.000-07:002011-10-02T14:14:46.274-07:00New version releasedThe new version is online and can be downloaded for free:<br /><br />
<a href="http://www.gymnastics-software.com/downloads/GS_Judge_v2.0.0.0_20111002.zip">GS Judge version 2.0.0.0</a>
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Please uninstall the previous version of GS Judge (or WAG Judge) if you installed the version from the WC 2010.
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The new application includes: Uneven Bars, Balance Beam and Floor Exercise.
Vault is still under construction.
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Check it out. Verify if it calculates the exercises of your gymnasts correctly. If it does, let me known! If it doesn't, let me know too.
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Have fun!Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720413462864861190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6729529688402968316.post-62895012004890218392011-09-27T14:14:00.000-07:002011-09-27T14:14:19.873-07:00Ooops... a netbookTonight was the big night: I had a meeting with Marleen who will go to Tokyo to judge for the Belgian team. She will also meet with the WAG commitee to give a demonstration of the software. So I finished the setup applications and was ready to install it on her pc. <br /><br />
And there it was ... a mini, mini pc.<br />
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<br />I thought: that screen will probably not be big enough for the GS Judge application. And right I was. So I did some modifications to the startup size of the applications, but it was clear that I needed additional functionality to deal with PC's with small screens. And fast. So this is what is on my feature list for the next days to come:<br />
<br />
<list>
<li>Screen parts can be resized as wished</li>
<li>Windows size, position and state will be stored when the application is closed and restored the next time it is started</li>
<li>The exercise canvas will be scalable so that large exercises can be scaled to fit the window</li>
<li>Scroll bars will be added to enable vertical and horizontal scrolling</li>
</list><br /><br />
By the end of the week I will put it all online. Come check it out.Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720413462864861190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6729529688402968316.post-862114486847615232011-09-24T07:33:00.000-07:002011-09-24T07:33:42.086-07:00Demo video of a balance beam exerciseI created a new video that shows how to create a balance beam exercise in GS Judge:<br /><a href="http://www.gymnastics-software.com/video/GS_Judge_BB_Exercise.html">Demo of Balance Beam</a>
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Or on Youtube:<br />
<a href="http://youtu.be/pMdDxDp_lk8">Demo of Balance Beam</a>
Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720413462864861190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6729529688402968316.post-90811410362979302042011-09-23T06:03:00.000-07:002011-09-23T06:03:47.862-07:00New mini-language extensionThe mini-language had two possibilities to indicate that an element is devaluated:<br /><br />
<list>
<li>Typing a minus "-" character after the symbol indicates that the DV value must be one lower than the original DV (D becomes C, C becomes B, B becomes A)</li>
<li>Typing a less-than "<" character after the symbol indicates that the lower element from the code must be awarded (Double pirouette on floor becomes pirouette)</li>
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These two situations cover all devaluation scenarios.<br />
So I thought.<br />
Until I encountered this on the judge score slip:<br /><br/>
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It is clear what happened here (I checked with a video on Youtube): the gymnast intended to do a double pirouette with one leg above horizontal, so that is what is written down by the judge. However the double pirouette was not double, so it is devaluated to single pirouette with one leg high (D becomes B). But the leg was not the entire turn held high enough and then it gets devaluated to a normal, single pirouette (B becomes A) (now this sets me thinking: at least 360 of the pirouette was with one leg high enough, so shouldn't a DV=B be awarded?). <br />
Anyways, there is no way with the "-" or "<" syntax of the mini-language to devaluate a double pirouette with leg high to a normal pirouette. So I extended the mini-language with a rather universal solution: after typing the actual performed element, the intended element is added between brackets. The GS Judge application then displays and counts the performed element, but also shows the intended element - whatever it was - with a red circle around it to indicate it was not rewarded.<br /><br />
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All this will become available in next weeks release.Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720413462864861190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6729529688402968316.post-84118738037924660992011-09-23T01:05:00.000-07:002011-09-23T01:05:39.972-07:00What is meta-data?When I am coaching, I find pleasure in explaining the biomechanics behind an element. I find the same pleasure in talking about the mechanics that drive the GS software. This time I want to talk about meta-data.<br /><br />
What is meta-data? Meta-data is an IT term and in short it refers to data about data. When you enter a symbol into the GS Judge application, that is data. The DV that appears above the symbol, is the meta-data. Every symbol on every apparatus requires a lot of meta-data. For example on balance beam, we need to know for every symbol:<br /><br />
<list>
<li>Difficulty value (A-G)</li>
<li>Is scale (yes/no)</li>
<li>Is mount (yes/no/maybe)</li>
<li>Is dismount (yes/no)</li>
<li>Acro or dance</li>
<li>Split direction (cross split, side split, upward, diagonal)</li>
<li>Is salto (yes/no)</li>
<li>Is turn (yes/no)</li>
<li>Is roll (yes/no)</li>
<li>Is handstand (yes/no)</li>
<li>Is hold</li>
<li>Lower element</li>
<li>Has flight</li>
<li>Supporting hand count (0,1, 2)</li>
<li>Take off from both feet (yes/no)</li>
<li>Element direction (forward, backward, sideward)</li>
<li>LA rotation (180, 360, ...)</li>
<li>BA rotation (360, 720)</li>
<li>Landing type (on 1 foot, 2 feet, straddle sit, ...)</li>
<li>Can repeat for CV (yes, no, once, ...)</li>
</list><br /><br />
Having one of these values wrong for a symbol, can have a serious impact on the calculation of an exercise. Today I encountered such a problem. The acro line below was not recognized as a series with two different saltos. The reason was that the meta-data of the whip salto was incomplete: it lacked the BA rotation value and therefore was not recognized by the program as being a salto. The end result was one CR missing, which was a mistake of 0.5 points.<br />
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When the new version will be released next week, I expect that more meta-data bugs will surface. If you detect one, don't hesitate to report it so we can improve the product.
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Regards,
TomTomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720413462864861190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6729529688402968316.post-86311887522130410952011-09-21T07:26:00.000-07:002011-09-21T07:26:11.909-07:00Train delays help speed up developmentDeveloping the software for gymnastics is a hobby (my real job is developing enterprise applications for an Italian energy supplier). Most of the development is done on my way to and from work. As I travel by train - 1,5 hour in the morning and 1,5 hour in the evening - I am able to make a steady progress. But with the WC approaching, I need more time than I have. Then it helps when the train has an increased travel time of 1 hour, which happened yesterday :-)Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720413462864861190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6729529688402968316.post-8730473910930579902011-09-08T15:05:00.000-07:002011-09-08T15:05:45.094-07:00Always read the small letters!In this case, it is actually: read the word between brackets. Last week Donatella Sacchi - WTC member - was testing the GS Judge software, and almost always the results were correct except for this one case. See if you can spot it!
I give you two floor exercises. What is the difference in difficulty value?
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You notice that both exercises are identical except for the dismount, which is in both cases a simple A salto. Would you tell that the DV of the second exercise is 0.5 higher than the DV of the first exercise?
The reason is in the definition of an acro line: An acro line may consist of a min. of one flight element without hand support and take off 2 feet (rebound). And there you have it - the word between brackets: rebound. A forward salto requires an approach run and therefore the salto starts from a rebound take-off. That means that the forward salto is an acro line on itself and being the last acro line means that the dismount is this A-element. So no CR!
In the other exercise, the final salto is a salto backward. You cannot take an approach run and then do a salto backward. So you do it from a standstill: no rebound, no acro line. The dismount is the salto with the highest DV in the last acro line, which in this case becomes the forward double twist (D). That means a CR of 0.5.
Here is the score slip for both exercises:
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBhpA77LOJRAOX3tLMhWx_hU_WNK0M3Mh3t60ZWLetBmPGjzXb5Jg7n4EMBMqGl5Pp6dV6B6m29k6k_FtSMhCtu4PO9bBqWVGeqV5ifYq3ZiYHpMcya1wsPzf-xKimmKrQfbzJbCAw8E-b/s1600/FX+with+bw+salto+dismount+scoreslip.jpg" imageanchor="1" style=""><img border="0" height="149" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBhpA77LOJRAOX3tLMhWx_hU_WNK0M3Mh3t60ZWLetBmPGjzXb5Jg7n4EMBMqGl5Pp6dV6B6m29k6k_FtSMhCtu4PO9bBqWVGeqV5ifYq3ZiYHpMcya1wsPzf-xKimmKrQfbzJbCAw8E-b/s400/FX+with+bw+salto+dismount+scoreslip.jpg" /></a></div>
Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720413462864861190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6729529688402968316.post-8675546453415571712011-09-07T13:49:00.000-07:002011-09-07T15:25:48.192-07:00Can the software be used on a competition?Yesterday I received this question from an Italian judge and with his permission I answer the question on our blog.<br /><br />The question is not new and to be honest I would not recommend to calculate the D-score using WAG Judge.<br /><br />This is how we are used to judge:<br /><br />1) While the gymnast performs her exercise, the D-judge writes it down. More often than not the D-judge is also judging the E-score.<br />2) After the exercise every judge counts the deductions.<br />3) The D-judge then starts computing the D-score.<br /><br />How long does this take? After the gymnast ends her exercise it takes 2 or 3 minutes to get to the final score. The critical step is the computing of the D-score: many mistakes are made here.<br /><br />If you just want to replace step 3) with the WAG Judge application, you will have correct results but the time required to input all data (Gymnast name or number, the symbols, the execution value and saving the exercise to a file) will take more time than before. The reason is that the software as it is today, is not optimized for this task.<br /><br />The best way to use it today during a competition would be to have the exercises already saved on disk. This means that every gymnast must submit their exercises before the competion begins and some people are needed to put it into WAG Judge (or have the coaches use WAG Judge to submit their exercises). When the gymnast finished here exercise, the D-judge would compare the actual performed exercise with the submitted one. The amount of work is then reduced to just changing the symbols that were performed differently from the submitted ones.<br /><br />Optimizing the application would mean:<br />* have a database linked to the application so that all gymnasts in competition are already available together with submitted exercises.<br />* have input fields for all E-scores<br />* have the results stored in the same database that holds the gymnasts info and submitted exercises.<br /><br />Oh, and of course, having an IPad where you write the exercise down would also help. The problem there is that the amount of technology required to recognise a written gymnastics exercise along with all deductions and other things a judge writes down, is not available.<br /><br />Some people are convinced that submitting an exercise prior to competition can give reason for prejudging. Do you have an opinion about this statement?Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720413462864861190noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6729529688402968316.post-80170756498808466242011-09-04T07:03:00.000-07:002011-09-04T08:23:14.019-07:00Meeting with WTC member Donatella SacchiDuring the World Cup in Ghent I had the opportunity to talk with WTC member Donatella Sacchi. We talked about the current code and the new code, and how gymnastics software could be of any assistance to the development of the new code.
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<br />The result of the meeting was that I had a clear idea of what new peace of software would be of extreme value to the WTC. It is actually an existing tool that we use to test our software.
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<br />To test WAG Judge we have many copies of written exercises from major competitions and we verify if the results calculated by the WAG Judge software equals the score that was written on the score sheet (yes, we do get these from the WTC). This test is automated and after every change in the software, it takes only two seconds to re-evaluate all 250 (and growing every week) exercises.
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<br />Having these 250+ exercises organised in a database, enables the WTC to automate time consuming tasks such as counting the number of falls after a competition or counting how many times each element has been performed. We now have this information - and much more - in our databases and it is just a matter of defining what statistical information is required. The actual counting of elements/falls/connections/... is done by the computer and takes only seconds to complete.
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<br />One example where this kind of information is useful for the development of the new code, is the rule on beam that says that you receive one tenth more for a jump with full turn that is landed in side position. After reviewing all exercises performed under the current code, only one gymnast attempted such a jump. Therefore, this rule is a candidate to be removed from the new code.
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<br />Another area where our software can help, is by implementing the rules of the new code and let it run over all exercises from the current code. Than we can compare the differences in the final score, but also see what the effect is on the ranking in a competition. If for example a new rule is designed to favour execution over difficulty, it shows the effect of the rule on the ranking and whether the better execution ranks higher than before.
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<br />The gain is in the speed. In the past all this work had to be done by hand.
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<br />So what this means for us is that we concentrate on WAG Judge to get it ready for Tokyo, and then turn our attention to the new code which is expected to be finished early 2012, and help the WTC evaluating it.
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<br />If you are in Tokyo and want to get in touch with us, find Marleen Van Dooren, the judge for the Belgian WAG team.Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720413462864861190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6729529688402968316.post-7151957352961543462011-08-14T02:13:00.000-07:002011-08-14T02:26:10.440-07:00Major Upgrade AnnouncementThe software that can be downloaded from the website today only supports the calculation of a floor exercise. Balance beam and uneven bars have been developed and will be evaluated at the next World Cup in Belgium (<a href="http://www.challengercup2011.be/?lang=en">Challenger Cup, September 3-4</a>). If it produces correct results, the software will be released and distributed at the WC in Tokyo. After the WC, the new software will be placed on the website where everybody can download it.
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<br />Here are some screen shots:
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<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibYlShBLyDM63tPl69Pubb-xdkFz2PK-EnPyVrwO6Mm9x6GzwDVoRs_jAaN87cwt4u8hicU7eTNfJmsdYJ3ebO9F67gf3ShONhyphenhyphenFIp7mZvy3utJWm8JRmDtUuVS5wUM1J5dRRHNzDguRcW/s1600/Application_20110814.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 256px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibYlShBLyDM63tPl69Pubb-xdkFz2PK-EnPyVrwO6Mm9x6GzwDVoRs_jAaN87cwt4u8hicU7eTNfJmsdYJ3ebO9F67gf3ShONhyphenhyphenFIp7mZvy3utJWm8JRmDtUuVS5wUM1J5dRRHNzDguRcW/s400/Application_20110814.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5640640461570715122" /></a>
<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCBQeSCscKnAk9Nltyt-5Pe2nUrdcPgViUTg_ryuOltsig0k4VeFjT6fOIUNLNZKnsbhNtZbDXnM-EjTycXegSRS1HnqWKpygWTFkGRgQdgXiKI4r4gjl-RCaMIBQWPpO2clf0k2o9Nl9u/s1600/UB_20110814.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 92px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCBQeSCscKnAk9Nltyt-5Pe2nUrdcPgViUTg_ryuOltsig0k4VeFjT6fOIUNLNZKnsbhNtZbDXnM-EjTycXegSRS1HnqWKpygWTFkGRgQdgXiKI4r4gjl-RCaMIBQWPpO2clf0k2o9Nl9u/s400/UB_20110814.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5640640462358099218" /></a>
<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwnTB6YWcprCzZDudI4F4icZg-lE3nIIquUy9SXF59n-Qo3o6127paJDoVsUm5-D7hgs7uUvKuPDGYPAjITTovQAeW6pO3EVxn6ndJxYiqutLK5P6kjlvuZ0AZQ5qJlRuLRxGAp9qgDhVL/s1600/BB_20110814.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 92px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwnTB6YWcprCzZDudI4F4icZg-lE3nIIquUy9SXF59n-Qo3o6127paJDoVsUm5-D7hgs7uUvKuPDGYPAjITTovQAeW6pO3EVxn6ndJxYiqutLK5P6kjlvuZ0AZQ5qJlRuLRxGAp9qgDhVL/s400/BB_20110814.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5640640459515414722" /></a>
<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYF6u0voZNf8paEziI5Ls7Nfi3ynFeXcCMjRZGXnei6nA1Y7vTqvuXcJG9ImDNkdb_N1sX-VqQVKXfh2ZjiQZStpds6I_IZFKTM6zVLAeqTyFU5CyYKUSMttydmL2-R7d6-qr0IyHtiwoI/s1600/FX_20110814.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 92px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYF6u0voZNf8paEziI5Ls7Nfi3ynFeXcCMjRZGXnei6nA1Y7vTqvuXcJG9ImDNkdb_N1sX-VqQVKXfh2ZjiQZStpds6I_IZFKTM6zVLAeqTyFU5CyYKUSMttydmL2-R7d6-qr0IyHtiwoI/s400/FX_20110814.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5640640457438672242" /></a>
<br />Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720413462864861190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6729529688402968316.post-2391146581662197462010-12-05T13:35:00.000-08:002010-12-05T13:39:33.637-08:00Software for download on websiteThe software that was distributed to all international judges at the World Championships in Rotterdam, is now available from the website <a href="http://www.gymnastics-software.com">http://www.gymnastics-software.com</a><br /><br />This is exactly the same software as on the CD. The bugs that have been fixed in the mean time, are not yet ready for release.Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720413462864861190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6729529688402968316.post-18908364520713065092010-12-05T09:44:00.000-08:002010-12-05T13:09:30.210-08:00What is a Font?In this article I will try to explain the meaning and function of a computer font. The reason for the article is that having the WAG Symbols font installed is a requirement for all GS software developed so far.<br /><br />In short, a font is a computer file that contains instructions for drawing characters on a computer screen. The font instructions are also used by a printer for printing characters. Instructing a computer how to draw a character (or a WAG symbol) goes like this: start at point (0,0) - then draw a straight line to point (230, 24) - then draw a curved line to point (345,21) - then draw another curved line back to the starting point (0,0). Some characters require very little instructions (for example the letters I,l,L) while other characters require 100 or more. The design of the symbol below contains hundreds of points because its shape is so irregular: it represents a handwritten symbol.<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm7vqRUys8sjWu6Ai5u6hNhFdPtTdo4qbbUPZcS7PcdSf18xhyphenhyphenOz1TkDUlNMJcCjV_kF8wUCDZ5c33sZkV1tZmPyKnLtUcjdcZcznf88i9PnMZJCyyP7047IHJwEmzXMvKlQ3ovLkiLXjG/s1600/Glyph+Handwriting.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 173px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm7vqRUys8sjWu6Ai5u6hNhFdPtTdo4qbbUPZcS7PcdSf18xhyphenhyphenOz1TkDUlNMJcCjV_kF8wUCDZ5c33sZkV1tZmPyKnLtUcjdcZcznf88i9PnMZJCyyP7047IHJwEmzXMvKlQ3ovLkiLXjG/s400/Glyph+Handwriting.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547270975151020882" /></a><br /><br />Because characters can be displayed or printed in various sizes, the points mentioned in the instructions are transformed to the required size of the shapes on screen or paper. When displayed on a computer screen, very few points are available. If you come close enough to your screen, you can see the individual points (pixels) available for drawing the characters. When you select a small font size in your text editor like for example 8 or 9 points (a default size is often 12 points), the font has a difficult time displaying the character so that it is still recognizable. That is why many fonts - except high quality or specialized fonts - look bad on a computer screen when a small font size is used. This is no different for the WAG Symbols font. Solving this problem can only be done by designing a new instruction set for every character, for every small font size (8, 9, 10 points). If you know that there are up to 2000 WAG symbols in a single font, you understand that we don't have the resources to design the same font 4 times or more. Anyway, a modern printer does not have this problem: a printer can use lets say 600 dots per inch to draw characters, much more than we can see with the naked eye. That is why symbols might look ugly on your screen, but yet look good when printed.<br /><br />So now you know what a font is, what is it used for? Well, when you type a text in your word processor and save it to a file, the file does not contain the drawing instructions for the shapes of the letters (*). Instead is stores characters as numbers and instructions for the word processor specifying what font to use, what size, color, etcetera. The numbers for the characters are internationally defined by the Unicode consortium. The letter A for example has number 65. For every character in every language a number is defined. Also for the WAG symbols numbers are defined, except that in this case the definition came from Gymnastics Software and not from the Unicode consortium. The Unicode consortium reserved a range of numbers for private use, and we used that range to map the WAG Symbols to Unicode numbers.<br /><br />So a text document contains the name of the font being used, and the numbers of the characters in the document. If you send your document to someone else, her computer opens the text document, reads the numbers in the document, load the font specified in the file and draws the text on your screen using the drawing instructions from the font.<br />If your computer does not have the specified font installed, it will pick another one that ís installed. If the font does not have instructions for the character, it will show the ‘missing glyph’ shape. Each font can define a shape that it will use when it is requested to draw a character it has no instructions for. Some missing glyph shapes are: <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEpkJ2ogmFouEQWfhMFwn0j257kmnghDzJkXJ7ITh9RR2NvRB_f-41i_Y5hKr-0vztPotb_9vZJnf1k08cMiHBKWXiFconhTS6IMGLy1nChVjNVdQjMeNH8muu-AMkKNNklqTPJcj6kvcz/s1600/Missing+glyphs.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 153px; height: 34px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEpkJ2ogmFouEQWfhMFwn0j257kmnghDzJkXJ7ITh9RR2NvRB_f-41i_Y5hKr-0vztPotb_9vZJnf1k08cMiHBKWXiFconhTS6IMGLy1nChVjNVdQjMeNH8muu-AMkKNNklqTPJcj6kvcz/s400/Missing+glyphs.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547305899492693234" /></a><br /><br />The missing glyph symbol for WAG Symbols is: <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1ahbiH6z96HzZzMH4791gYvX_1V31hlzdP_q3FZA28PaCu0PyVUXiLA7Ko8b8dnF0ALstAcW-_8FouCN0iwhCfmN-n_CIWaukjz1IxEajWiV8wzVq9oazO8nFHf9OM2S2ZFdFqi4scZWD/s1600/Missing+glyphs+WAG.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 54px; height: 30px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1ahbiH6z96HzZzMH4791gYvX_1V31hlzdP_q3FZA28PaCu0PyVUXiLA7Ko8b8dnF0ALstAcW-_8FouCN0iwhCfmN-n_CIWaukjz1IxEajWiV8wzVq9oazO8nFHf9OM2S2ZFdFqi4scZWD/s400/Missing+glyphs+WAG.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5547306662357722114" /></a><br /><br />So whenever you see that symbol, it means that the selected font does not have drawing instructions for that character.<br /><br />I know this is all technical stuff. But understanding some principals about font technology can help you understand why sometimes an application behaves the way it does. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask them.<br /><br />(*) Adobe Acrobat Reader (*.pdf files) stores drawing instructions instead of character numbers, so if you create a pdf file with WAG Symbols, the computer on which the file is read, does not require the WAG Symbols font.Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720413462864861190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6729529688402968316.post-60203441169686277622010-11-29T09:39:00.001-08:002010-11-29T09:51:01.767-08:00New website online but still under constructionI work with <a href="http://www.smart-com.be/en">SmartCom</a> for professional advice about communication, website, logo's, etcetera. Currently the final website is still in a pre-design phase (meaning that SmartCom is waiting for my input), but we decided to launch an under-construction website in the mean time. That website is now online: <a href="http://www.gymnastics-software.com">www.gymnastics-software.com</a><br /><br />Check out the cool picture on top showing my logo laying in parts ready to be assembled. I like it!Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720413462864861190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6729529688402968316.post-24330775823003741492010-11-17T13:35:00.000-08:002010-11-17T13:43:26.129-08:00Upgrading Development Environment and InfrastructureDeveloping cutting-edge software is what I want to do. That means staying up-to-date with the latest development tools and technologies. For those who want to know, these are the tools I work with:<br />
<list><br />
<li />Coding: <a href="http://www.microsoft.com/visualstudio/en-us">Microsoft Visual Studio 2010, C#<br />
</a><br />
<li />User interface: <a href="http://windowsclient.net/default.aspx">Window Presentation Foundation</a> (.NET 4.0)<br />
<li />Font development: <a href="http://www.fontlab.com/font-editor/fontlab-studio/">FontLab Studio 5</a><br />
<li />Laptop: <a href="http://www.itreviews.co.uk/hardware/h1249.htm">Dell XPS M1710</a><br />
<li />Server: <a href="http://www.dell.com/us/business/p/poweredge-r510/pd">Dell PowerEdge 510</a><br />
</list><br />
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Last week I upgraded from Visual Studio 2008 to Visual Studio 2010. One thing that is improved in this new version, is the quality of text rendering: good for us, because it means that WAG symbols will be displayed better. On the other hand, some features I used in older versions, are disbanded by Microsoft and no longer work in VS 2010: extra rework for me. And finally the software uses a new framework that will not exist on most computers, and therefore it must be installed with the GS applications: more mega bytes to download and installing the software will take longer.Tomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720413462864861190noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6729529688402968316.post-47049532838799392672010-11-07T01:13:00.000-07:002010-11-07T01:13:39.500-07:00New Product NamesCurrently four products are being developed:<br />
<ul><li>WAG Fonts</li>
<li>WAG Symbols Keyboard</li>
<li>WAG AddIn for Microsoft Office</li>
<li>WAG Judge</li>
</ul><br />
I am fine with the names "Fonts", "Symbols Keyboard", etc... but not with the "WAG" acronym. First of all "WAG" is hard to spell, sounds bad when spoken as a word, and lately the acronym receives much attention in the meaning "Wives and Girlfriends", not exactly something I want the software to be associated with.<br />
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So I decided to change the acronym from WAG to GS which stands for Gymnastics Software. So in the next release, the products will be named:<br />
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<ul><li>GS Fonts</li>
<li>GS Symbols Keyboard</li>
<li>GS AddIn for Microsoft Office</li>
<li>GS Judge</li>
</ul><br />
TomTomhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04720413462864861190noreply@blogger.com0