Dumb Newbie Questions -- 1 of N

[Scott Rossi]

Recently, Kay C Lan wrote:

>> Scott Rossi wrote:
>>
>>  You can think of custom properties as global variables that are tied to
>> objects, instead of variables that float around in space.
>> 
> 
> With all due respect gentlemen, why is that for something so simple and
> already understood, an analogy is used that is only tangentially related.

In my example, I used a global analogy because 1) setting/modifying custom
properties do not inherently make any visible changes in an object, unlike
textColor or other built-in object properties; and 2) many, many years ago,
I was in a similar situation as Judy, not able to grasp the what/why of
custom properties, and this analogy is one that would have helped me out at
that time.

The same was true for me with the concept of groups/backgrounds.  Coming to
MetaCard from SuperCard, I could not for the life of me understand why
something called a "background" could appear *in front* of another object.
It made no sense to me.  Only after getting more entrenched in the
environment did I start  to understand the how and why of groups, and it was
many months later that Richard Gaskin provided a description that made sense
to me: a background is just a group that may (or may not) be shared across
multiple cards.

(Why something called a "group" can contain only a single object is another
conundrum that I won't get into now.)

It's not a question of what should be "so simple", it's a question of what
helps someone grasp a concept.

Regards,

Scott Rossi
Creative Director
Tactile Media, Multimedia & Design