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Old 08-03-2019, 02:00 AM   #221
Dyl
Human being with feelings
 
Join Date: Oct 2018
Posts: 59
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lokasenna View Post
While technically true, I have to disagree as to its accuracy. When's the last time you saw a new theme that didn't use WALTER? At this point, it seems clear to me that pretty much everyone on here uses "WALTER" to mean "the language you write a theme in".




WALTER is a programming language. Hacking existing software has always been one of the most common ways for people to learn how to program. It's expected, and it's generally considered not only reasonable but laudable to do so.

In lieu of a ground-up tutorial for Reaper theming, which I agree seems like a questionable use of one's time, skimming through the SDK to learn some syntax and then hacking an existing theme is going to get someone a useful result much faster.
Ha, ha, I've no intention of creating a ground up tutorial for theming. I've also never understood how anyone learns anything from looking at the most complicated stuff first.
My problem is not so focused on WALTER per se (I haven't got past putting a static solo button on the TCP yet). I found I couldn't complete the tasks in the Themer's guide without attending to some basic housekeeping. Once I got past the hurdle of looking at inpenetrable/complex code in Default 4's rtconfig.txt, the difficuties of unpacking a theme, repacking and saving a new theme I figured I could draw together some useful ideas that currently don't show up in the forums/guides or are scattered to the four corners. That's what I'm focusing on. No point in learning/hacking WALTER if you can't open and save a theme right?
On the forums I found some good descriptions of how to unpack a theme but I couldn't find anything so clear on repacking/saving your own theme. No point in delving too deep into WALTER if I can't save my work.
Some of the stuff in my basic guide is written elsewhere but I don't see much on coping with the snags that occur and frankly some of the stuff assumes a level of skill/knowledge that is too advanced. As a novice this is a pretty big step up from tweaking a theme from the layouts or actions window within Reaper. I think there is merit in an idiot (me) drawing up a guide to a process that will get some people up to speed who maybe wouldn't otherwise. I'm hopeful that I can post it soon, just getting someone else to read through and test it.
Don't expect too much though, it's just my process to get ready for some WALTERing.
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