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Beginner's Guide to DekiScript

    THIS GUIDE IS A WORK IN PROGRESS. PLEASE HELP US MAKE IT BETTER!

    Feedback on this tutorial is greatly appreciated: please join the discussion on the forums!

    Table of Contents

    Intended Audience

    This guide is for the MindTouch user who wants to start experimenting with DekiScript, or for those who simply want to better understand some of its nuances.  Basic knowledge of programming concepts is highly recommended -- this guide will not teach them.

    This guide teaches DekiScript fundamentals, such as

    • entering a script on a page
    • avoiding common pitfalls
    • uncommon language features
    • how to get more help

    Prerequisites

    This will be easier if you know some or all of the following:

    1. HTML: understanding the basics of HTML is a virtual requirement.  You don't have to be an expert but you need to be comfortable with it.
    2. CSS: not as critical but very helpful.  Again, guru-level expertise is not necessary, just basic familiarity.
    3. XML: if you don't already know it you're going to learn some.
    4. XPATH: this is a staple of the XML processing in DekiScript.  It's pretty easy to learn if you don't already know it.
    5. Programming: since DekiScript is a programming language, any programming knowledge you bring to the table will be very helpful.  If you don't have this background, though, don't be discouraged: you should still be able to do some useful stuff with DekiScript, but it may be a bit more of a struggle.

    This guide applies to Mindtouch version 9.02 (Lyons) or later.  We highly recommend that you use at least version 9.02 for all your scripting.

    Guide Contents

    The Beginner's Guide is structured as a series of independent articles, each focusing on one particular important aspect of DekiScript programming.  You may read through them in order, or just use them for reference when necessary.  Collectively, the guide is a perpetual work-in-progress, so the contents should grow as time passes.  Here's what we have so far:

    Entering a Script on a Page

    Covered in here:

    1. How to get a DekiScript running on your page;
    2. copying and pasting code from various sources -- some tricky aspects of this;
    3. The save: and edit: constructs.

    Recommended prep: browse the DekiScript documentation, do a Hello World.

    Loops and Constructors Everything you need to know about the foreach loop and the closely related list and map constructors, all in one place.
    Working with XML Literals First introduced in 9.02 (Lyons), XML Literals are the magic elixir to cure our need to use HTML statement.  This article covers everything you need to know to take full advantage without getting tripped up.
    Miscellaneous Pitfalls This is a grab-bag of other traps and pitfalls you're likely to encounter.

    How to get additional help

    Where to go

    1. The Official documentation.  Here there's the ever-useful reference pages (you'll spend lots of time on the DekiScript functions and variables and Wiki functions and variables pages), and a bunch of tutorials and FAQ items that are written at various levels.  That's where this page lives.  Finally, don't forget this critical document: What's new in DekiScript for Lyons?
    2. The forums.  For DekiScript-specific issues, you're directed to the DekiScript and MindTouch Extensions forum, but there's usually some discussion in the General Technical Discussions forum as well.

    How to ask for help

    If you're having a problem, and can't find the answer via searching the wiki or the forums (always search first!), you might head over to the forums to ask for help.  Here are some tips to help get you to an answer as quickly and efficiently as possible:

    <guidelines for posting questions to forums go here; TBD>

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