Learning LiveCode

[J. Landman Gay]

On 12/27/12 2:24 AM, Nigel Soden wrote:
> Why could they not
> stay with standard computer technology terms. You gonna have to learn
> them sometime.

I snipped most of it, but first off, I really enjoyed your post. Not 
because you are suffering but because it was so well written and 
explained exactly the problem that most people have if they are arriving 
here from experience with lower-level languages. You are not alone. I 
think experienced programmers have it the hardest because they need to 
unlearn most of what they know, or at least, re-learn it differently.

LiveCode doesn't use many standard technology terms because a lot of 
what you are used to isn't needed. We don't have to worry about managing 
memory or anything like that. The terms "stack" and "card" are 
historical but do explain pretty well the concepts of how the objects in 
the window are arranged and their relationship to each other. If you can 
tell us what terms you think are missing, we can tell you either why 
they don't exist, or what the equivalent is in LiveCode. Once you get 
the hang of it, it will seem quite natural.

One way to learn is to look at the User Examples (there's a button in 
the toolbar to get there) and choose a few stacks to study. There are 
hundreds to choose from.

Another thing you can do is work through these (pretty old but still 
useful) tutorials, which were designed to teach new users from ground 
zero: 
<http://www.runrev.com/developers/lessons-and-tutorials/tutorials/online-scripting-conferences/>

Those will walk you through all the important concepts and terms, 
provide examples, and steer you in the right direction. The first few 
stacks assume no knowledge whatsoever, and take you through things you 
must know. Later in the series you can probably skip around; if you 
don't care about a topic you can come back to it later.

Finally, ask here. We are an enthusiastic bunch who love to help, and 
you'll get answers to any question immediately. Abuse us!

In 4-6 weeks you'll know what you're doing, I'm sure of it.

-- 
Jacqueline Landman Gay         |     jacque at hyperactivesw.com
HyperActive Software           |     http://www.hyperactivesw.com