The future of LiveCode

[Mike Bonner]

If it were me, and I had a 190 page primer/introduction written, i'd flesh
it out and clean it up for public consumption and then publish it through
amazon for the kindle.  If nothing else it might help new people discover
LC, and best case it will put some money in your pocket.

Just a thought.
On Fri, Jul 20, 2012 at 7:19 AM, Björnke von Gierke <bvg at mac.com> wrote:

> No one is going to disagree with what you wrote :)
>
> One of the problems here is that LC is not a major programming language.
> To become one it'd need much better visibility, a ton of published books,
> several fan communities, learning courses offered in all big economy cities
> worldwide, etc. However, to gain publishing contracts and all that, LC
> would need to be a major programming language...
>
> As a community, we can offer stepping stones, and maybe we could device a
> plan that allows us as a community to offer learning materials that are at
> least decent. I know that RunRev does not have the resources to do more
> learning materials themselves, but they're willing to offer a helping hand
> to any community effort. But be warned: all previous attempt at such an
> endeavour have failed miserably before producing anything at all.
>
> the world is unjust
> Bjoernke
>
> On 20.07.2012, at 15:02, stgoldberg at aol.com wrote:
>
> > I have used LiveCode extensively to develop my company's  educational
> software.  It's a great program.  I think one of the reasons why LiveCode
> is not more widely adopted is the lack of an adequate user manual that
> would attract beginners.   I ask, would you recommend the present LiveCode
> user manual to a student who has no background in programming and is just
> starting?  I wouldn't; it's too advanced and incomplete at the same time,
> mixes complex with simple, has no Index, says virtually nothing about the
> all-important property inspectors, and focuses only spottily on the key
> scripting words.  An adequate manual should clearly present 150 or so of
> the basic scripting words, which was the extent of HyperCard's vocabulary
> and made HyperCard easier to learn.  The beginner in LiveCode is expected
> to rely on the LiveCode dictionary, which, while truly excellent, contains
> some 2000 scripting words, far too many for the beginner to deal with.  The
> problem has become more pronounced with
> > new advances in LiveCode's features.   This is why I wrote my own manual
> (190 pgs. plus figures) for my son.
> >
> >
> > All other major programming languages have a variety of manuals in the
> bookstores.  Where are they for LiveCode?  It is insufficient to just
> direct the user to scattered tutorials on the Internet or to seminars;
> there needs to be a book that the user can easily use while learning the
> programming from scratch.   Many people on this forum (including myself)
> have a background in HyperCard or MetaCard that has made it relatively easy
> to migrate to Revolution/LiveCode.  What happens when the old guard dies
> out?  Will beginners who have no such background replace them?  Or will
> beginners navigate to other programming languages for lack of an adequate
> LiveCode manual?
> >
> >
> > I have spent 25 years teaching medical students and programming in
> HyperCard and its successors. I'd love to develop for mobile apps, but I
> have not yet subscribed to LiveCode for this, because these features are
> not in the present user manual, and I am unaware of adequate, organized,
> step-by-step, printed documentation that puts it all together and I can
> keep in front of me on my desk as I work. (Perhaps Colin Holgate's
> forthcoming book, LiveCode Mobile Development Beginner's Guide, will make a
> difference.)    My publishing company, Medmaster, is based on educational
> principles designed to teach medical students learning complex subjects for
> the first time.  My sense is that sales of LiveCode in the schools and
> elsewhere would rise significantly with better documentation.
> >
> >
> > Stephen Goldberg, President
> > Medmaster Publishing Co., Inc.
> > Professor Emeritus, Univ. of Miami Miller School of Medicine
> > www.medmaster.net
> > stgoldberg at aol.com
> >
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>
> --
>
> Use an alternative Dictionary viewer:
> http://bjoernke.com/bvgdocu/
>
> Chat with other RunRev developers:
> http://bjoernke.com/chatrev/
>
>
>
>
>
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