 Programmer_21 [12:36 AM]
Ah, thank you.
Is there a written portion of the survey?

Zack [12:38 AM]
There isn't a formal one, but if you have any specific thoughts that you'd like share, please do!


Programmer_21 [12:39 AM]
I'm going to be honest (brutally so)

Zack [12:39 AM]
Please do! I would also ask: if a system like this were to be incorporated into an actual product (say an IDE), other than the response speed, what features would you hope to see?

Programmer_21 [12:39 AM]
Please don't take it as a slight on the AI programming or whatever.
Well...I wouldn't use it.
The speed was by far the most frustrating part, to the point where I tried to work on other aspects (like part 4) while waiting for it to "parse"
But you know about that.
One of the big things that I like about the actual documentation are links. I can click through and see what each thing does.
Having it out in a text format doesn't allow that.
I work in Unity, and practically live in the Unity docs.
Case in point of what I'm used to/would be after: https://docs.unity3d.com/ScriptReference/GridBrushBase.html

Zack [12:45 AM]
Right, where there are links right there to all the relevant stuff

Programmer_21 [12:45 AM]
I don't know if Allegro has that.
If the AI suggests a function, I'd like to know any overloads to that function.
I spent a very long time just trying to figure out how to output numbers to the screen.
I will admit that I've been spoiled by Unity and C#, where string conversions are taken care of.
If Allegro has that ability, I couldn't find it.

Zack [12:49 AM]
Haha, for sure, it's a different beast. I've got a question, if you'll be brutally honest: Can you think of any features a conversational virtual assistant like Apiza could provide that would actually benefit your natural workflow - augmenting the normal documentation, rather than replacing it?

Programmer_21 [12:51 AM]
Hmm. I'm not sure, I've had to rely on not having one for so long that it's difficult to say.
I would say that an AI would come in handy when I don't actually know what I want or what to do.
Or rather, the only times that I could see myself using it would be times that I usually try to ask a person.
It's hard to come up with a reasonable example.

Zack [12:53 AM]
That's alright, the "times that I usually try to ask a person" are exactly what I was curious about

Programmer_21 [12:54 AM]
You'll find that I asked a lot for examples, as usually the official documentation just says what it does, not how to use it.
"I want to move this over to the side, but when it hits the edge this breaks, see?"
That's hard for an AI to process.
The other times are when the documentation is lacking or incomplete
"Who has actually used the Steam API? What does the second parameter in the Input function even DO?!"

Zack [12:56 AM]
Ahahaha

Programmer_21 [12:57 AM]
I'm serious, I didn't implement Steamworks into my game, Proxy - Ultimate Hacker (shameless plug) because I couldn't tell what things DID or how to use them.
The only way was to badger this one person and they eventually admitted that "you pretty much have to have done this to know what it does"
When they fell silent, I was left with questions and no answers.

Zack [12:58 AM]
That is a terrifyingly relatable scenario :slightly_smiling_face:
Thank you though, this was really fantastic feedback!

Programmer_21 [1:00 AM]
The only way that I would use this is if it could "read" code.
At one point I was very stuck on getting the keyboard inputs to work.
The example worked, but mine didn't. (edited) 
Turns out I needed to initialize the keyboard input.
So in AI terms...scan for certain terms and determine dependencies?
That's pretty much all of my issues. I hope it helped!