As dumb as this may sound, I am not doing this for money. Hell, I can't even give away what I know in all honesty. I am doing this as part of self preservation.

The XML thing isn't for portability. The reason I am doing this is because:

1. I have the API ready to go, and if the game changes, a user can update the changes with ease without breaking it.

2. Start giving a user SQL Express in a package, forget it.

I thought about the web based thing, but the issue at hand is, I have no means of Hosting it. So...I figured just put a simple Windows application out. If the game changes, say...there is a new promotional item. A user can put that information in, it goes to an XML file, and everything else happens.

I did the same thing for a small place based out of Tampa that had a device in which they had to re-code all of their AT commands for 3 different protocols, and add new tabs every time they did a firmware change. It was a maintenance nightmare.

With what I did, a user could open the thing with notepad, or the engineers and type in the new AT command, ship it...poof. Everything else is rendered dynamically. If a user wanted to create a custom tabbed page, they could do that too. No coding required.

That's where Orly's got a problem with his spreadsheet (which is awesome). He has it write protected, so you can't readily add new things on. The game changes, here's an update. With what I propose, if the game changes, enter in whatever came out in a very user friendly format, the end.

There is only one reason I would use SQL for something like this. Assume I wanted to track when I bought a particular property so I know how to manipulate the profitibility and short sell technique I learned. It would be nice if there was a date and time as to what you bought, when, how much, and what you've made from it. It would also give a lot more accurate idea as to net worth.

Honestly, making money writing software hasn't worked for me. Nobody wants to do it right. They chastise me for putting a passion into what I do, and it's more about keeping up appearances with some manager so they look good to some clueless client or some other executive if not both. It interferes with business, and how things are engineered, and I get the brunt of it.

I value what's left of my sanity more than that for one. Secondly, there is a right way and a wrong way to make a dollar. Sometimes appeasing someone for a paycheck isn't really in their best interests, and when you try to be honest about that, you get fired for doing the right thing.

I'm just doing this to keep myself going. Like I said; I exist. I do some other "technical writing" elsewhere, and I'm running out of samples to study, test, and write about. So...it's something to do, and maybe somehow, somewhere, someday...someone might say come back to Orlando or come to Miami, do it right, the end.

Bah....you can tell I've had too much medication.

-joe