Jolt Award

Bob Sneidar bobs at twft.com
Thu Jan 19 19:06:05 EST 2012


I have likened LC to a constructor set before, something like Legos. To make special things, you need special bricks. (Your native widgets) You do not get to make the special thing you want unless you have the special bricks you need, or else can cheese some other bricks together in a kludge of some sort. And until they make the special brick for your special thing, that is the way it is. This is the tradeoff (IMHO) between development with a Livecode style of environment, and something like C++ or Java. If the special thing you need doesn't exists with Java or C++ you just make one. Those languages are more like a bunch of raw materials and a large garage with just about every crafting tool ever made. 

Now here's the thing. You could do the same thing with Livecode! If you don't have what you need, use C++ to create your special thing as an extension of Livecode! If you can. If you cannot, then that is why you are using Livecode, is it not? Because Livecode is the thing you CAN do? That is the boat I am in. That is the boat a great many of us are in. 

As an example, I find myself both extremely grateful for the Datagrid and at the same time somewhat put out. It isn't very like the thing I wanted when I biched so much about needing a table object, but it is a DAM sight better that having to kludge my own together using the other "bricks". In the final analysis, I find that I have to be content with what is provided, because after all, Legos... erm I mean Livecode is all I know. 

I have to make the assessment for each project whether or not Livecode has the bricks I want, or whether I can kludge something together, or whether I have to simply pass. To RunRev's credit, I RARELY think of something I simply cannot do, because there are no bricks to do it. And take heart: There are enough really talented developers among us that if what you want doesn't exist, bich about it enough like I do and someone will make one! :-) (Thank you Jerry, Trevor, Sarah and everyone else who's names I cannot remember because I am getting daft). I now have the bricks I need. 

Bob


On Jan 19, 2012, at 2:22 PM, Pete wrote:

> It goes a little beyond controls also.  I recently discovered that LC does
> not provide any way to add items to the OS X menubar Application menu
> (other than Preferences).  Not good.  I've entered an enhancement request
> at the QCC for that one.
> 
> Pete





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