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Regarding the documentation for python.
Fogity
Posts: 122 Member
@SimGuruModSquad As is the case now, we only have access to the optimised python bytecode of the game. That means that we have to decompile the code ourselves and using the function names and looking at the context in which they are used try to understand what input and output the different functions have. In the same vein it is very hard to identify the structure of different objects found throughout the code.
This was very different to The Sims 3 where we could easily see the structure of objects and get the input and output of a function just by looking at the header, so there wasn't any particular need for documentation.
This leads me to my real question: Could we get our hands on the documentation for the python code? If not, why?
I can see two ways we could get the documentation, either in the form of unoptimised (or uncompiled) python code or an api page just as the official python documentation is available.
My prediction is that it would really boost the productivity of script modders if the documentation was available.
This was very different to The Sims 3 where we could easily see the structure of objects and get the input and output of a function just by looking at the header, so there wasn't any particular need for documentation.
This leads me to my real question: Could we get our hands on the documentation for the python code? If not, why?
I can see two ways we could get the documentation, either in the form of unoptimised (or uncompiled) python code or an api page just as the official python documentation is available.
My prediction is that it would really boost the productivity of script modders if the documentation was available.
Played since The Sims 1 and now makes mods for The Sims 4:
Gender Less - Gender neutral pronouns and titles
Hidden Highlight - Removes the white outline
Unlocked CAS Parts - Unlocks hidden CAS items
Gender Less - Gender neutral pronouns and titles
Hidden Highlight - Removes the white outline
Unlocked CAS Parts - Unlocks hidden CAS items
2
Comments
I understand how this would be helpful, but unfortunately we won’t be able to help here. We try to be accommodating as possible to information requests, but releasing unoptimized or source python is not something we can do just like we would not release our C++ source. Generating API documentation also not possible as this documentation does not exist in a publishable way.
As always we are happy to answer specific questions.
-SGMS
I think the biggest issue I actually run into (although the documentation would be extremely helpful as Fogity points out) is that a lot of the optimized code gets mangled on decompiling from the bytecode, typically resulting in a pointless or even non-terminating while loop. Once you've run into it a few times it usually is pretty easy to recognize, but on occasion it can be quite frustrating to nearly impossible to figure out what's going on.