As many times earlier I would like to collect information about Newton to make some kind of programmer's guide for it, because it would be very useful for me as well. I would appreciate the help of any of you.
Let's start from the beginning. What we have?
1. Demos shipping with Newton - these help a lot and show most of Newton's features, but they're maybe not the easiest way to learn Newton.
2. API function database on Wiki - nice, however it is incomplete and again, hard to figure out what to do if you are a newcomer.
3. Tutorials on Wiki - these are pretty good even for newbies, however, it is based on a precooked graphics scene manager that maybe not the best way for those who already have their graphics solution.
What I would like to make is a programmer's guide, which guides through Newton, starting from the beginning. Let's say the following topics would be covered in it:
Chapter 1 - what object types and objects are in Newton? (e.g. bodies, materials, joints, collisions, special collision types like compound collision, tree collision etc.)
Chapter 2 - hello world of newton (simple walkthrough how to make a simple rigid body dynamics demo)
Chapter 3 - using collisions (what exactly is for each and every collision type)
Chapter 4 - using rigid bodies (what stuffs can they do)
Chapter 5 - manipulating materials (how to configure the behaviors we would like to achieve)
Chapter 6 - using joints (types of joints, what are they good for and how to configure them)
Chapter 7 - using callbacks (an advanced view of callbacks and using them to integrate newton into an existing project)
Chapter 8 - advanced collisions (like compound collisions, etc.)
Chapter 9 - advanced joints (like rag doll joint, vehicle joint, etc.)
Chapter 10 - character controller (all about Newton's character controller and ways how to make your own, etc.)
Chapter ... - more advanced stuff
Appendix A - categoric list of newton api functions
Appendix ... - other useful stuff
I would greatly appreciate all of your help and be sure, I would like to make the resulting documentation public domain, so I think it would be useful for many people.
As I see, for such a detailed discussion, maybe forums are of too high "latency", so I you want to help me, please PM me for example and send me your MSN messenger ID, or whatever, to speed up the communication.
I know that almost none of you know me so you might think that I'm another jerk who thinks he can change the world
, but please take me seriously, I have the competence for making such a guide, just I don't know Newton that well, that's why I need your help.Thanks in advance and hope finally there will be some step forward in this topic!
You are welcome to help create new pages, just do it in a non-destructive way 