Script Limits in 2.8.0 [was Spreadsheet]

[Richard Gaskin]

David Bovill wrote:
>> >Given how few scientists also have Rev experience, is it necessary
>> >that the functions be written in Transcript? 
> 
> No - not necessary. For these sort of applications I think it is easy enough
> to allow people to script in any language they want by  organising a plugins
> folder with shell scripts - so you could use python, perl, SQL or whatever
> you have and are able to use. The thing is for novices it is easier to learn
> Transcript, and there is the speed advantage...

I dunno.  Lua and Python are pretty fast -- I like your suggestion 
there.  If one had an external to run those, they could leverage the 
great many existing libraries for those languages.

> The way I look at it is a slightly puzzled question to RunRevs strategy here
> - there would be no better way of getting a greater mind share for the
> RunRev IDE than alowing a bunch of tools to be created which demonstrate the
> simplicity and advantages of coding in Transcript over other scripting
> languages - this needs applications like this that give you the choice while
> providing an easy path to get into Rev scripting.

The current entry cost is as little as $49.  I'd guess that a bigger 
factor in adoption is that it's a proprietary sole-source system.  But I 
don't see that changing anytime soon.

Just for the record, I personally don't care whether the scriptLimits is 
10 lines, 15, 20, 25, or infinite.  If you can present a strong business 
case to RunRev for extending it to 25 I'd support that.

My interest in pursuing solutions that work within the existing 
framework is simply that it's what we have.  I'm assuming people have 
real needs and would like real solutions they could apply today.

We could postulate about possible different future implementations, and 
to the degree such efforts lead toward a business case presented to Rev 
it may be very helpful.

But in the meantime, I remain most interested in solving real-world 
problems with what's available right now.

If any of you need to provide a 4GL or 5GL for your users, lets explore 
that to see what can be done.

In my own apps I'm adding a 5GL of my own design, simpler and more 
focused on the task at hand than Transcript.  And for those who would 
want full Transcript capabilities, I'd be happy to sell a value-added 
package with RevMedia bundled with tools for our app, a simple win-win 
for all.

-- 
  Richard Gaskin
  Managing Editor, revJournal
  _______________________________________________________
  Rev tips, tutorials and more: http://www.revJournal.com