Standard Images

[James Spencer]

On Nov 21, 2004, at 1:15 PM, Judy Perry wrote:

> All the docs and learning materials are a huge improvement.  Perhaps 
> it is
> the sheer complexity of the language that makes one feel as if a
> mindreader's services are necessary.
>

I disagree; I regularly write applications with Cocoa using Objective C 
and Xcode.  I'm also fairly fluent in C++ and Java and have over the 
years used a lot of different environments and languages.  Cocoa and 
Xcode have been heavily criticized for their documentation but frankly, 
they put RR's to shame.  RR's scripting language and environment are 
complex but not inordinately so.  The problem is that while the 
documents as provided are pretty good REFERENCES if you know what key 
word to look for, there is no overview or conceptual documents.  It's 
as though Apple produced Cocoa with literally nothing but the class 
library documentation.  These kinds of conceptual documentation are 
critical considering the unusual nature of the RR environment.  The 
tutorials are in the right direction but they don't cover an awful lot 
of subjects.   Dan Shafer's books also might serve this purpose if they 
are ever published and if they are available at reasonable cost (i.e. 
they should come in electronic form with the license fee).

All of this, of course, is just one person's opinion.  Please note, I'm 
not complaining just to hear myself rant.  I think RR is a great 
product, I will continue to use it and I hope it has wild success.  I 
just think it would be more successful and certainly more useful  if it 
were a little easier to step into.  It is difficult to use even for 
experienced programmers and/or those coming to RR with a HyperCard 
background.  The documentation as it exists does not make it easier.

(BTW, as an aside I join in Stephen's complaint about the sheet that 
advises that there are no matches in searching for documentation; it is 
very irritating trying to get rid of it if you manage to quickly type 
several characters past the last match).

Spence

James P. Spencer
Rochester, MN

jspencer78 at charter.net

"Badges??  We don't need no stinkin badges!"