externalPackages

[JB]

I see your point.

Changing the subject a little bit you mentioned
LiveCode is going to improve things so you can
actually do more external type code from within
LiveCode.  Are they going to be using Apples new
programming language Swift at all?

John Balgenorth


On Aug 13, 2014, at 2:10 PM, Richard Gaskin <ambassador at fourthworld.com> wrote:

> JB wrote:
> 
>> I am surprised that as long as LiveCode has been
>> around there are not more externals available.  If
>> you have developed externals for LiveCode why
>> not sell them like was done for HyperCard?
> 
> I don't need 'em.  As I wrote earlier:
> 
>  ...aside from the database externals included with LC I
>  rarely use any at all.  Most of the things I'd written
>  externals for in SC are included in LiveCode itself.
> 
> For example, here's a list of externals I used to sell in a collection for SuperCard called scX, with their built-in LiveCode equivalents:
> 
> - AskColor
>  LiveCode: answer color
> 
> - CalendarField
>  LiveCode: we have no one-liner for making an ASCII
>  calendar layout, but it can be obtained in a one-line
>  call to the shell on OS X and Linux, and with LC's
>  weekdayNames and other features takes only a few minutes
>  to write - but who needs an ASCII calendar?  I originally
>  wrote that because I needed one for an app and doing it in
>  script was slow - that's very rarely a problem in LC.
> 
> - Camera
>  LiveCode: export snapshot
> 
> - ClipToPICTRes
>  LiveCode:  LC supports many resource fork operations,
>  but since that fork is marked for deprecation there's
>  little point in using them, and being Mac-specific they
>  offer nothing for the other 90% of the computing world.
> 
> - CmdPeriod
>  LiveCode: commandKeyDown
> 
> - DragThisWindow
>  LiveCode: mouseMove
> 
> - DrawIcon
>  LiveCode: see note on resource fork above.
> 
> - GetFolder
>  LiveCode: answer folder (much more flexible in LC)
> 
> - GetIndString
>  LiveCode: see note on resource fork above.
> 
> - GetVersion
>  LiveCode: see note on resource fork above, thought it's
>  worth noting that I now store version info in custom
>  properties, which can be used for the sorts of things
>  we used to use the old Mac res fork for, but are much
>  more flexible, more robust, and available on all platforms.
> 
> - GrowThisWindow
>  LiveCode: mouseMove
> 
> - InjectPPAT
>  LiveCode: backgroundPattern property
> 
> - IntersectRect
>  LiveCode: within
> 
> - LineMatch
>  LiveCode: lineOffset
> 
> - ListFonts
>  LiveCode: the fontnames
> 
> - ListRes
>  LiveCode: getResources
> 
> - MonitorRects
>  LiveCode: the working screenRects
> 
> - MoveFile
>  LiveCode: rename file
> 
> - NewFolder
>  LiveCode: create folder
> 
> - PixelColor
>  LiveCode: screenMouseLoc with mouseColor
> 
> - PopList
>  LiveCode: popup
> 
> - RestartMac
>  LiveCode:  one-line call to shell
> 
> - SetColorCursor
>  LiveCode: all cursors can be color
> 
> - ShowProgress
>  LiveCode: built-in progress object
> 
> - ShutDownMac
>  LiveCode: one-line call to shell
> 
> - SnapDragon
>  LiveCode: built-in grid property
> 
> - xFileType
>  LiveCode: the detailed files
> 
> - xPrefs
>  LiveCode: specialFolderPath
> 
> Even the externals others wrote that I published for SC are easily done in native LiveCode, from arrays to lists to statistical functions, text-to-speech, and much more - easier to work with right in the scripting language, and unlike externals can be used on multiple platforms.
> 
> 
> > Just a thought since I have not seen anyone marketing externals
> > for LiveCode.
> 
> Check out the LiveCode Market Place:
> <https://livecode.com/store/marketplace/>
> 
> There are several dozen add-on packages there, and many more throughout the community.
> 
> It's just that with LiveCode's very broad capabilities, relatively few add-ons are externals per so, with many add-ons being libraries, custom controls, and other forms.
> 
> -- 
> Richard Gaskin
> Fourth World Systems
> Software Design and Development for the Desktop, Mobile, and the Web
> ____________________________________________________________________
> Ambassador at FourthWorld.com                http://www.FourthWorld.com
> 
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