On 2015-10-20 21:49, Richmond wrote:
This is a very important question to which the answer really does need to be "Yes".
I think you are confusing the underlying ability to import and render SVG (which will be used by the components which are created to sit atop it - which the current development is a step towards), and how that might be integrated into other parts of the engine and exposed to the user in various ways.
What I do know is that as there is a menu item to either import or reference images that would seem the logical place for SVG images to be handled.
Indeed. The current patch is just the lower-level bit which (a) allows various bits (well, widgets and potentially other parts of the engine) to parse and render SVG and (b) a widget which displays an SVG file.
It would make perfect sense for the IDE to have an 'import svg' menu item or some such.
A longish time ago LiveCode (then called Revolution) allowed one to import EPS vector images via the menu system: why SVG images need to be handled in a completely different way vis-a-vis the GUI entirely escapes me.
I'm sorry - but this has simply never ever been the case. EPS support only ever existed in UNIX builds of the engine for UNIX platforms which used Display PostScript.
The ability to import, export, manipulate and, possibly, manufacture SVG images in LiveCode is not a "little" development, it is very important.
Indeed - it is important - although how important will depend entirely on what you are using LiveCode for.
SVG, at the end of the day, is just text. LiveCode is good at processing text, so certainly export of SVG is something which can be done quite happily, and well (and indeed quite sensibly) in script. Indeed, there is even an SVG importer which has been around for a long time (although it is slightly limited by some restrictions on the LiveCode graphic object) also written in script.
Now, I'm not saying that having builtin import and rendering of SVG is a great thing - because it is - however, it is by no means a panacea that will solve all problems - it will, however, solve specific problems for specific domains (some of which are, I suspect, ones that you face).
Similarly, an 'export snapshot ... as svg' command would also be useful to solve specific problems for specific domains but, again, isn't going to do so for everyone.
Vector graphics are part of what we could call "the standard set", and indeed have been for rather longer than perhaps most people are aware, and RunRev's decision to drop EPS image import seemed odd and wrong at the time it happened: importing SVG images would serve to rectify what I, for one, feel was a backward move.
Again - EPS support was never dropped. It never existed on Windows, Mac or Linux in the first place.
More strength to your SVG elbow!
Just to go back to my point above about problem solving and applicable domain. For you (and many others), I can see why simple SVG import support is so important. There are a number of tools in the 'producing graphics' domain which generate SVG, and there are a large number of SVG files out there which have graphics which are highly suitable for the uses you are putting LiveCode to.
However it is important to remember that not everyone uses LiveCode to the same ends - there will probably be as many people on this list who would see SVG as a much lower priority than <insert feature which would help their particular problem domain and endeavours with LiveCode>.
Serving such a broad user base with a 'high-level' tool such as ours is not an easy task as, ultimately, it takes time and human effort to add any feature that people might want/need. This is a huge part of the reason for 'why LCB and Widgets' - by making it MUCH easier to extend the engine in ways that are indistinguishable (or getting that way, anyway) from anything else in the engine we can get to a situation where many more people (beyond just 'us' behind the LiveCode Ltd. veil) can help others solve their LiveCode related problems.
Warmest Regards, Mark. -- Mark Waddingham ~ m...@livecode.com ~ http://www.livecode.com/ LiveCode: Everyone can create apps _______________________________________________ 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
