The RR programming model

[Dar Scott]

On Thursday, November 14, 2002, at 03:19 AM, Simon Forster wrote:

> I've vaguely flirted with Revolution and gone through a couple of 
> tutorials but I've never played with HyperCard or other stack based 
> systems - and I don't understand the programming model which they 
> follow. What is a stack? How do they fit in with more traditional 
> programming languages?

You have already answers from experts.  Here is an alternate view that 
might help.

In short, this view involves index cards.

Suppose you are fond of novels by Martian authors.  Over the years you 
have written a little report or reminder to yourself about each novel 
you read on a 6X4 index card.  You have accumulated a stack of cards.

Later you added a stack of 5X3 cards to your collection that contains 
author information.

At the back of your novel stack you have put a special card (light blue) 
that provides some general reminders on how to use the stack.  Most of 
what you do is natural.  You thumb through cards.  You look up novels.  
You look up the author of a particular novel.  You find novels by an 
author.

Over the years you have stuck on stickers and flags that mean something 
to you.  You have made notes such as "See _Twelve Sand Eyes_ by Au 
GBeeen Rarrououo" or "Do not confuse with _19,123 Toes_".  On the back 
you have written notes such as "When looking up this author use first 
name since this author is Ag and not Au as most literate Martians are" 
and "To calculate the respected age from the true chronological age for 
this author, do not count the years zhe was off planet."

You decide to add some notes on writing authors names in Martian 
script.  You consider adding a special card to the end of the author 
stack, but decide to simply write out the notes on 8X7 paper.  You fold 
these up and put these and the two stacks (each bound, say, by rubber 
bands) into the Martian navel shoe box.  Your daughter made a flip-card 
animation of a dancing Martian and you put that into the shoe box, too, 
and make a reference to it on the cards for _233 Leaning Dancers_, _Two 
Left Feet_ and _951 Right-Drifting Dancers_.

Now, with that in mind, make a powerful, general programming 
environment.  You now have Revolution.

Dar Scott