Patrick, someone wrote this on the FB Livecode Group...... just thought I'd drop it in here.
"I am struggling to get from the basic stuff to a higher level. It seems that every book I find either talks about the very basics or its content goes clear over my head. Any advices?" On Wed, Sep 18, 2019 at 2:39 PM Graham Samuel via use-livecode < use-livecode@lists.runrev.com> wrote: > Wise words from Jacque as always! Yes, who is the book intended for? If > people who have programmed already, then we have to ask, have they used > scripting languages? Are they old enough to remember Hypercard, etc? If > not, it’s all a bit of a tabula rasa, isn’t it? > > To answer on my own account (just my two battered Eurocents): > > I have always been attracted to the concept of “natural-language-like” > which to me of course means “English-like”. I started with Hypercard, then > SuperCard, then LiveCode in all its manifestations. In each case what > attracted me was in part the “stack” model, which at least is easy to > understand, and in the particular case of LC I was (and am) exceedingly > keen on the multi-platform ideas at the heart of LC - but perhaps even > more, I was and am attracted by the simplicity of the “look” of the > language, which leads to both compactness and readability. When it came to > actual coding, for several years I used to guess what the code would be and > then find from the dictionary that my guess was slightly, but not > drastically, wrong! That’s because natural languages are very rich and > provide a huge variety of ways to say the same thing. I found these > necessary corrections easy and very rapid to do, so I was content. Any book > would have to decide where to start from, and then lead the reader to this > type of insight, I think, so the reader would not be afraid to use the very > large scope of the LC language. Such a book would also have to include an > honest appraisal of what LC isn’t so good for, as perhaps others have > hinted. > > I have produced viable software products with LC, but what has happened to > me subsequently has been rather dispiriting, in two ways: > > 1. LC has decided to make itself more powerful by adding only > semi-compatible features, particularly LCB and the whole Widget idea. It is > a struggle to get to understand and actually use all this, and a book which > would help with that, using lots of examples and step-by-step instructions, > would be enormously helpful. > > 2. Everybody and her brother are being continually bogged down by > deployment issues - code signing, notarization, installer logic, submission > to stores, using payment services, working with frameworks which don’t > really recognise LC, you name it - it’s a freaking nightmare. Just getting > the program to do its thing is now perhaps less than 50 percent of the > effort to provide an actual deliverable. Any book that helps with that > (step-by-step etc) would be miraculously useful, but sadly it would need to > be updated several times per year. > > Obviously the above is just scratching the surface, but I hope it helps a > little. > > Graham > > > On 18 Sep 2019, at 00:29, J. Landman Gay via use-livecode < > use-livecode@lists.runrev.com> wrote: > > > > I think the first question should be: what assumptions will the book > make? Will you assume familiarity with LC syntax and structure and plan to > expand on various subcategories (server, pi, multi-media, etc?) Or is it > aimed at beginners who have never programmed? Or maybe it's for experienced > developers who know other languages but want to learn what's different in > LC? > > > > That would narrow down the choices for the material you plan to present. > Who's the audience? > > > > On 9/17/19 2:40 PM, Patrick Roza via use-livecode wrote: > >> First, let me say many of you gave some great input. So let me follow > with > >> this. > >> I see an interest in: > >> Raspberry PI > >> LiveCode server > >> Did not see anything on widgets or plugins? > >> So here is are some questions for the group. > >> 1. When you were learning LiveCode what was the hardest to learn and > why? > >> 2. What do you think is the main advantage of LiveCode over other > >> programming languages? > >> 3. Do you think LiveCode is better than Python and why? > >> I am just curious and want everybody to give me great input to develop a > >> great book. > >> Thanks Patrick > >> _______________________________________________ > >> use-livecode mailing list > >> use-livecode@lists.runrev.com > >> Please visit this url to subscribe, unsubscribe and manage your > subscription preferences: > >> http://lists.runrev.com/mailman/listinfo/use-livecode > > > > > > -- > > Jacqueline Landman Gay | jac...@hyperactivesw.com > > HyperActive Software | http://www.hyperactivesw.com > > > > _______________________________________________ > > use-livecode mailing list > > use-livecode@lists.runrev.com > > Please visit this url to subscribe, unsubscribe and manage your > subscription preferences: > > http://lists.runrev.com/mailman/listinfo/use-livecode > > > _______________________________________________ > use-livecode mailing list > use-livecode@lists.runrev.com > Please visit this url to subscribe, unsubscribe and manage your > subscription preferences: > http://lists.runrev.com/mailman/listinfo/use-livecode > -- Tom Glod Founder & Developer MakeShyft R.D.A (www.makeshyft.com) Office:226-706-9339 Mobile:226-706-9793 _______________________________________________ use-livecode mailing list use-livecode@lists.runrev.com Please visit this url to subscribe, unsubscribe and manage your subscription preferences: http://lists.runrev.com/mailman/listinfo/use-livecode
