Tenian's Parser - Version 4.1.1.1+ Beta
Hi all!
If you're in a rush, here's the skinny:
Release Notes
If you're not in a rush, here's extra info!
Tenian developed an application that allows you to parse DDI materials. He did this for himself but kindly released it to the public. However, he is currently on a DnD hiatus and has ceased development of the application. He does not want the application's source code to be released since it is his. But he has given me the source so that I may maintain it for bugs and feature requests, as time allows.
There are a few problems with this:
- I don't use the same development tools Tenian does. His are 1) old and 2) expensive (Visual Basic/Studio 2003) . Mine are 1) new and 2) free. (Visual Basic Express 2010) I don't have the funds to correct this, leading to the following bullet points:
- Visual Studio Express 2010 requires that end-users install the 4.0 version of the .NET framework. I could have sworn there was an option somewhere to change that, but whether its because it's Visual Basic (I'm much more familiar with C#) or because it's an imported project or my memory's just bad, I see no option to change the dependency to v2.0, the version Tenian developed on.
- I cannot use the installer than Tenian developed since it is specific to his software. I plan to eventually use Nullsoft's free, open source installer platform, but setting this up to match Tenian's setup is a daunting task. Until I get around to this, my releases will be beta releases only, with no installer, just a binary (.exe) file you will paste over the Parse4E.exe file from Tenian's latest stable 4.0.118 version. Sorry for the inconvenience, but its better than nothing! Finally, the changelog will be posted here on the forums until I get the installer up and running as well.
- Tenian's software is well over 10,000 lines of code (maybe 20k or 30k, I just scanned the files in about 10 seconds). He coded for himself, not for others. He understood his own code, and I do not. I try to understand the components I modify to the best of my ability. I also lack the experience Tenian has with knowing what type of errors to watch out for. I try to test the software I release, but to be frank, I'm confident that you will not receive the level of quality you expected from Tenian. Recall all the bugs in the early days of the software. I will fix bugs as quickly as they are found, but for that to happen, they must be reported. Preferably, in this thread. My apologies in advance for the bugs!
Download
The latest beta release can be found here:
https://www.eugenez.net/downloads/pa....3/Parse4E.exe
Please report any bugs you find.
Requirements
Documentation
Some people have developed some wiki documentation for the parser here.
Changelog
v.4.1.2.3
- DrZeuss identified and fixed the item filtering issue. Items should work again.
v.4.1.2.1
- Errant string <p class="publishedIn"> removed from scrape
v.4.1.1.1
- Fixed Item scraping from the Compendium
- Fixed Item HTML output
- Lowered inter-item pause significantly, scrapes should now be much faster