Engelbart and Kay --was: Back to the Future with Hypercard

[Bill Marriott]

I recall when HyperCard was new and it was an exciting time for certain. The 
video certainly brings back fond memories.

Randall Lee Reetz wrote...
> I keep thinking we are way over due building for today what
> hypercard was twenty years ago.  I dont thing color and
> multi-platform quite measure up to the challange.

What about

- Easy and powerful Internet functionality
- Ability to command a variety of multimedia
- Object-oriented graphics
- XML support
- Arrays
- Encryption
- Greatly enhanced speed of execution
- Flexible groups
- Regular expressions
- Inline graphics in fields
- Database/SQL support
- Additional chunk expressions
- Alpha mode blending and window shapes
- Custom properties and property profiles
- Multi-statement message box
- Built-in objects like progress bars, tab controls and sliders
- Tables
- High-quality visual effects
- Unicode support
- Easy-to-use Geometry Manager
- Ability to run as CGI on web servers
- Referenced controls
- Enhanced debugging

Just to name a few innovations in Revolution off the top of my head. That's 
quite an evolution of the original dream! There's probably a lot more that I 
take for granted just because I haven't worked seriously with HyperCard in 
some time. Give credit where it's due!

Does Revolution have the same, "your six-year-old can write a stack" elan 
the HyperCard did? Probably not, but I think that is due to a variety of 
factors:

- The included stacks in HyperCard like clip art and stack ideas. This kind 
of content could surely be created in Revolution, but there doesn't seem to 
be much of a demand for it.

- The vastly more complicated computing environments of today's operating 
systems. HyperCard could more easily exploit the full power of the Apple 
Macintosh of the day, because the domain was much smaller. (And there *was* 
color back then; HyperCard just punted on it.)

- The market need for a more professional rapid development tool based on 
xTalk. (As opposed to an alternative to BASIC for learning how to program 
computers.)

- Education refocusing on Office- and application-based learning, when back 
then there was still an interest in exposing high school students to 
programming.

- Dramatically enhanced external illustration programs that obviate the need 
for things like the lasso and spray can tools. (HyperCard was popular in 
part because it was a greatly enhanced successor to MacPaint.)

- Ubiquity of HyperCard on Macintosh. The only thing that comes close to 
that today is HTML and the Web. (Which of course, HyperCard inspired.)

- Desire for Revolution to be as similar to, and compatible with, HyperCard 
as possible. For example, I almost never use cards anymore. I find myself 
using a different paradigm when creating my solutions. I'm much more likely 
to use multiple windows and substacks (oops, another huge item for the list 
above). It may well be the case that further departing from the HyperCard 
metaphor will be necessary for the next great leap forward. After all, 
HyperCard itself was a break with previous metaphors.

And a final note... I don't think the multi-platform capability is anything 
to sneeze at. It's a non-trivial undertaking and ensures that almost 
everyone can enjoy the benefits of Revolution and the amazing xTalk 
language, instead of just those who use Macs.

- Bill, RunRev marketing guy