AutoIt Cheat Sheet

[SOLVE-SMART 150]

Hi folks 👋 ,

I was thinking about how I decide to learn a new programming language. I mean, apart of professional requirements, there are some criteria for how I (and also some of my colleagues) choose a new technology or programming language. To get a good overview about how the language is written, how the syntax looks like and fits this my interests and expectations, I use cheat sheets for the specific programming language, a technology or methodology.

Also for experienced programmers who want to switch a language or as an addition, it could be helpful to understand some basics, syntax etc.

• Is there any cheat sheet for AutoIt? I didn't find any.
• Do we need it as a community or at least would it be helpful?
• Would there be some of you supporting the idea of creating one?
• Do some of you know about templates that could be used (out of the box)?

In case you are not familiar with the topic¹ and you do not know what I am talking about, please simple do a google search for "cheat sheet programming languages".

💡 There are hundreds of them, but non of these are for the AutoIt language². To spread this wonderful language to more people in the world, to support the accessibility, it should be a "must have" (among other things).

I plan to build one => in best case as a community project with several of yours.
Who wants to join?

Best regards
Sven

¹ A cheat sheet is a quick look-up reference chart or set of simple, brief instructions for accomplishing a specific task.
² It does not matter whether it's a PDF or a image in the forum which is well linked and present (next to the help) or a website.

 

📅 Update 2023-02-21:

AutoIt (en) Cheat Sheet

• 🔗 AutoIt (en) Cheat Sheet as website on cheatography (a website which is made to create and publish cheat sheets by the help of templates)
• 🔗 AutoIt (en) Cheat Sheet as PDF (generated by cheatography)
  • 🔗 Alternative Link to the PDF

Edited February 27 by SOLVE-SMART

[SOLVE-SMART 150]

Can this thread please be moved to "AutoIt Projects and Collaboration"? I guess this would be a better place, am I right @Jos or @Melba23 ?
Sorry for that mistake, Moderators/Admins.

Best regards
Sven

[JLogan3o13 1,769]

There is already an official Wiki, why would you not just direct new people here rather than adding confusion by having to maintain two sources?

[SOLVE-SMART 150]

Hi @JLogan3o13,

a cheat sheet would not replace the wiki in any case and also should not lead to maintain several sources, I totally agree 👍 . Rather it would contain basics, syntax, variables etc. as an addition to sources like the wiki or the UDFs in the forum.

The scope should be very small and it should contain only content which does not change ever (or at least almost never). It could be a very quick reference overview or just as a short summary. Nothing more.

Maybe my linked examples were more confusing than helpful 😥 ? Do you see a benefit now or are you still sceptical (which would be fine - maybe my thoughts just don't match to other folks criteria)?

Best regards
Sven

[water 2,720]

I don't remember anyone on the forum asking for an AutoIt cheat sheet.
Seems users are happy with the information they get from the various sources provided here.
The forum lists 30 threads related to cheat sheets - regarding JS, RegExp ...

I think that the benefit of a cheat sheet is small compared to the effort.

Just my 0,02 €

[noellarkin 28]

@SOLVE-SMART I think it's a great idea! Especially for complete beginners, I used cheatsheets myself when first playing around with HTTP requests, Python etc. IMO having a lot of actionable one-line commands on one page makes it really accessible for people who aren't coders, trying out AutoIt for the first time.

[argumentum 960]

...in each language we look for aid/help/cheat-sheet. Something to help in the current language. Having a collection of other languages in this forum is unlikely and quite disrespectful. I doubt other forums would allow it as is impertinent/unrelated to the reason for the forum.
Is not a great idea but I have to admit that the OP is driven with good intentions. And I support those that have a quest, that in this case is a collection of cheat-sheets but again, not a very good idea. Each coder looking for implementing something in a language, will need to search in places where that language is the theme. So this is useless in my view.
I'm told that unless I contribute, shut up. But I'm posting this to save you the trouble and effort of building something that has no practical use.
Other than that, thanks for sharing.

oops, an AutoIt cheatsheet, ok.
I never used one, nor would I know how to use one to create code from by just looking at it.
But I guess that only one who benefit from it in other languages would know how to write a useful one for AutoIt.

Edited February 12 by argumentum
oops

[Earthshine 802]

There is no need for a cheat sheet. You have the help file. If only people would use it.

 

for what it’s worth in my experience, cheat sheets don’t cut it anyway 

 

Only way to learn something is to deep dive. You can help people most by not writing their code for them, and helping them learn.

Edited February 12 by Earthshine

[Lepes 4]

I'm a coder, I have already downloaded LUA and Python Cheat sheets and I agree with all of you:

- Cheat Sheet purpose is to have a look on the language: loop syntax (helps me a lot), datatypes, read a text/ini file and so on... very frequently asks on the forum. I appreciate that!
- I always start with Cheat sheets and then switch to the help file, once I know how to search some topic on the help file, I won't use anymore Cheat sheets... but remember: I downloaded Cheat Sheets!!

I really don't understand why we shouldn't have a wiki page with Cheat Sheet, downloadable as PDF with topics links to the main help file.
Just an example: I remember I opened cheat sheets to just click a link to the help file to find exactly what I was searching for, because I didn't find on the help file itself. It sound embarrasing but it is real life, you are stressed, in a hurry, both...whatever!!

I agree the best way to learn is to open help file and read from start to the end, bottom line. The problem is that whenever someone install AutoIt (or whatever new language) is because he found a snipped code that solve his problem, so he is on a hurry and he wants something that works. That's the glue that makes this new user sticks to AutoIt or just leave it.

Once this person solved his problem and he had more time, he will read help file from the beginning.

 

[water 2,720]

Users are not writing that we shouldn't have a cheat sheet, they are writing that they don't see the benefit of a cheat sheet.
So if someone wants to write a CS, feel free!

[AutoBert 223]

28 minutes ago, water said:

So if someone wants to write a CS, feel free!

but don't forget the '#' :

#cs


#ce

to begin a comment - block

Edited February 12 by AutoBert

[water 2,720]

I think that's a bit lame. We are not in the chat section

[SOLVE-SMART 150]

Oh boy, it's sometimes a bit (only a bit) exhausting here 🥴 .

First of all:
I honestly appreciate your opinions and statements, whether more sceptical/negative or more positive to this topic.
I asked for and I have to handle it. Thanks folks 👍 .

Nevertheless:
Let me try to answer on some of your statements.

 

(1) I will start with you @argumentum:

On 2/11/2023 at 1:58 PM, argumentum said:

Having a collection of other languages in this forum is unlikely and quite disrespectful. I doubt other forums would allow it as is impertinent/unrelated to the reason for the forum.

I hope you simple misunderstood¹ the intention about the example links to other Cheat Sheets. I don't want to be disrespectful in any way regarding AutoIt, absolutly not. It's the other way around, I tried to push the support of the language for new members. The links, you named it "collection of other languages", should only represent how such a Cheat Sheet usually looks like. Nothing more. For those who were not use Cheat Sheets so far (for example).

Although I don't see any disrespectfulness, I will remove the links and will just give a hint for a google search.

On 2/11/2023 at 1:58 PM, argumentum said:

Is not a great idea but I have to admit that the OP is driven with good intentions.

Exactly, thank you 😇 .

On 2/11/2023 at 1:58 PM, argumentum said:

I'm told that unless I contribute, shut up. But I'm posting this to save you the trouble and effort of building something that has no practical use.

I appreciate that @argumentum, thanks again.

 

(2) Let me continue with @Earthshine:

15 hours ago, Earthshine said:

There is no need for a cheat sheet. You have the help file. If only people would use it.

Thank you for your assessment 👍 .

15 hours ago, Earthshine said:

Only way to learn something is to deep dive. You can help people most by not writing their code for them, and helping them learn.

In general I agree with your statement. Nevertheless, I want to mention that the ways of teaching and the ways of learning are as individual as each individual (person) is. I have experienced several times that complete examples, even if they relieve the user of work, can be very valuable and stimulate learning and understanding. Because they leave a positive feeling and thus greater interest for more knowledge than a simple hint such as "read the help" / "try this" etc. Especially if you have team members that are not well experienced with code, they usually feel a bit of fear about upcoming coding tasks. Then it would not be good to simple say, read the documentation and came along with questions. Of course, the professional path of a person don't have to be related to a forum member, but I see at least a simularity.

To complete this: I asked for opinions and assessments regarding the value behind a Cheat Sheet for the AutoIt language, you gave me yours, thanks @Earthshine 👍 .

 

(3) Now you @water 🤝 :

On 2/11/2023 at 9:44 AM, water said:

I think that the benefit of a cheat sheet is small compared to the effort.

Just my 0,02 €

Fair enough and understandable out of your explanation above (which is not quoted here).
Thanks for your assessment too 👍 and please don't stop with your 2 cents statements. [...] ich habe nichts gegen ein Groschengrab [...] (insider) 🤣 .

 

(4) For those of you who are more in favor of Cheat Sheets (@noellarkin and @Lepes), thanks for sharing your thoughts and other use cases 👍 (which is important).

 

My conclusion, with the words of @water 😅 :
"Users are not writing that we shouldn't have a cheat sheet, they are writing that they don't see the benefit of a cheat sheet.".
I think so too. That's way I won't give it a try unless at least one other will contribute on it.

Best regards
Sven

¹ It was a misunderstanding. All good.

Edited February 12 by SOLVE-SMART

[argumentum 960]

16 minutes ago, SOLVE-SMART said:

I hope you simple misunderstood the intention about the example links

Well I did. And for that, please do pardon my grave misunderstanding. I edited just minutes ago but not in time for you to see it, as for what is obvious now, you were writing the above.
By now you've been scripting in AutoIt long enough to just do it. Have a go at it.
Ask for corrections and/or addendums, to make available a most awesome cheatsheet for AutoIt, as cheatsheets are valued by cheatsheet connoisseurs 

[SOLVE-SMART 150]

No problem at all @argumentum 🤝 . I hoped it was a misunderstanding 😅 .
Thanks anyways for your suggestion now.

Best regards
Sven

[SOLVE-SMART 150]

Update:
Contrary to my conclusion (at the end of this post) and to my first thoughts about it, I decided to create a cheat sheet 😅 .
Let's see what the future brings.

Best regards
Sven

Edited February 16 by SOLVE-SMART

[Nisteo 12]

On 2/11/2023 at 3:35 AM, SOLVE-SMART said:

Who wants to join?

 

[SOLVE-SMART 150]

Hi folks,

💡 I completed a "draft" version of my AutoIt (en) Cheat Sheet 😀 .

• The draft as website on cheatography => a website which is made to create and publish cheat sheets by the help of templates.
• The draft as PDF => generated by cheatography.

May I ask you folks now for a review and an assessment please 🤞 ?
In case it's fine, I will publish it.

• Don't get confused please, if you expected way more. This content represents basically what a common Cheat Sheet does, nothing more
• No additional sources (next to the help), because there is no special information, only static things of the language.

Best regards
Sven

Edited February 23 by SOLVE-SMART

[OJBakker 23]

Nice, I like it.

At first glance I have one addition with the function part, the handling of use of the keyword 'default'.

In the function add 

if $iDelay = default then $iDelay = 150

and additional example

_SendW­ith­Del­ay(­{EN­TER}, default)

 

[Nisteo 12]

@SOLVE-SMART

 

But in help file I found this:

 

Not ("string1" == "string2")

🤔