Dependence on Programming Experts

[Lynn Fredricks]

> * Because the syntax is used in other popular programming languages?
> 
> News flash to Lynn Fredricks:  the way for Runtime Revolution 
> to differentiate itself from competitors and attract 
> developers from other platforms is to adopt the syntax of its 
> most successful 
> competitors.   NOT!

Aha, I am named in this thread!

Hi Rob,

Im going to (soon) write something more at length about this on the forums
but, there is a challenge in differentiating yourself from competitors -
that could also result in exacerbating barriers to entry. A GREAT example of
this is Director. Not so long ago (in Director years), Director added
Javascript support. This was the Macromedia answer to the barrier to
learning Lingo. Im not saying you can expect Javascript to show itself in
Revolution. But this is one way a large market leader modified their
strategy to lower the barrier of entry to bring on new developers.
Developers who loved Lingo didn't have to change what they do.

Backwards compatibility is in almost any case a plus. Lowering barriers to
entry are a necessity no matter what you are selling. Without making any
sort of specific commitment by saying so, it makes sense to me that adding
features that lower barriers but do not impact backward compatibility is a
good thing and worth pursuing.

Best regards,


Lynn Fredricks
Worldwide Business Operations
Runtime Revolution, Ltd