Editing 1479: Troubleshooting

{{comic
| number    = 1479
| date      = January 28, 2015
| title     = Troubleshooting
| image     = troubleshooting.png
| titletext = "Oh, you're using their Chrome APP, not their Chrome EXTENSION. They're very similar but one handles window creation differently." is a thing I hope I can stop saying soon.
}}

==Explanation==
This comic revolves around the complexity of modern software and its sometimes low quality. Many problems that users experience are not obvious or straightforward, and methods for correcting the root cause of the problem requires invoking unrelated actions that happen to cause a desired side-effect. Knowing the non-obvious cause, the desired side effect, and how to trigger the unrelated feature that causes it requires memorization of lots of "stupid computer knowledge" rather than general principles and logical investigation of the software.

One particular example of an illogical fix to a software problem is depicted in the comic. Here, [[Cueball]] is trying to help [[Hairy]] resolve the problem of a program that is not responding to any mouse clicks. Cueball surmises that this is not due to abnormal behavior of the software (such as {{w|Hang (computing)|freezing}}), but rather because either the user or the software itself has opened a {{w|Modal dialog|modal dialog window}} outside of the main screen area, where it can not be seen. Modal dialog windows block access to the rest of the application, by seizing the sole focus of the user input. They are valid {{w|GUI}} tools and are used when the software needs the user's input before it can proceed further. However, opening such a window and placing it outside of the visible screen area ("off-screen") will make the window both inaccessible and invisible to the user, precluding them from closing it and re-gaining access to the software.

One non-obvious way to repair such a problem is to switch the screen resolution; this in itself does not fix the problem, but the resolution switch also forces the operating system to redraw all windows on the desktop, and some operating systems will also validate the coordinates of all windows and adjust these coordinates so that the windows do not end up in off-screen area. In this scenario, it is used as a side-effect to fix the problem, because operating systems rarely provide other, more obvious ways to bring off-screen windows back to the visible area.

By saying "Why is that even possible?", Hairy is quite correct in pointing out that the best way to address this problem at its root would be for the operating system developers to prevent the creation of windows off-screen, preemptively avoiding a whole class of window management problems before they can occur. For example, such mechanisms could validate coordinates during window creation, thus making sure that the dialog window would always be accessible and visible. Such a mechanism exists on OS X, but not on Windows, which the majority of desktop computers are running at the time of this comic's release.

In general, one can sort the possible solutions to the problem being discussed in the following order of preference, from best to worst:
*(Best): Have OS programmers implement automatic coordinate adjustment during window creation
*Have OS programmers provide easily accessible and visible control to invoke coordinate adjustment for all windows
*Have OS programmers provide a shortcut to invoke coordinate adjustment for all windows
*(Worst, depicted in comic): Have users rely on side-effect of properly implemented screen resolution change mechanism to fix the problem counter-intuitively.

The title text refers to the fact that two different and unrelated software packages can have confusingly similar names, even if the usage and features of those two packages can vary wildly, and knowing the implications of using one instead of the other is a case of "stupid computer knowledge". Knowing the difference between a '''Chrome app''', a cell phone app-style application, delivered from the Chrome web store, designed to be run in the Chrome browser, and a '''Chrome extension''', a browser extension installed into the Chrome browser, delivered from the Chrome web store, designed to modify the behavior of the browser itself, is a subtle distinction that may not be immediately apparent to users who might just have the name of the software they are looking for. {{w|Google Hangouts}} is an example of a product that exists as both a Chrome app and a Chrome extension, whose windows are more similar to each other than to normal Chrome browser windows; and confusingly, it's possible to be signed into one account with the app and another with the extension, especially when your employer or school uses Apps for Business/Education.

In many cases, Randall (or Cueball, his avatar) loves to help people using his specific knowledge (see [[208: Regular Expressions]]). But when the trick is "stupid", he would prefer the programmers to fix the problem definitively so he never has to rely on this trick anymore.

==Transcript==
:[Hairy sitting at a desk with laptop, with Cueball standing behind him.]
:Hairy: Wait, why can't I click anywhere?
:Cueball: I don't... Ugh, It opened a dialog box offscreen.
:Hairy: Why is that even ''possible?''
:Cueball: It really shouldn't be. But you can fix it by changing your screen resolution to trigger a window cleanup.
:Hairy: ''Seriously?''
:Cueball: I know, I know...

:To be honest, I can't ''wait'' for the day when all my stupid computer knowledge becomes obsolete.

{{comic discussion}}
[[Category:Comics featuring Cueball]]
[[Category:Comics featuring Hairy]]
[[Category:Computers]]