IDE oddities (was Re: Error Messages Are Evil)

Devin Asay devin_asay at byu.edu
Wed May 14 12:00:05 EDT 2014


On May 13, 2014, at 9:57 PM, Alejandro Tejada <capellan2000 at gmail.com> wrote:

> Richard Gaskin wrote
>> [snip]
>> These are basic tasks we should expect to be done efficiently and 
>> without error.  They require no celebration.  Don't even mention them 
>> unless something goes wrong.  Otherwise, as long as the computer is 
>> doing what we expect it to do, please just shut up and let me focus on 
>> my work.
>> 
>> Thanks for letting me rant....
> 
> You are not alone in this! :D
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYiiD-p2q80

Thanks for the link, Alejandro. This is a great overview of usability principles, even for those of us who do not use Blender. Well worth a watch for anyone who designs software.

Now here's a good exercise for us LiveCode users--can we identify a similar list of oddities in the LiveCode IDE interface that might tend to turn off new users and send them elsewhere? The imminent prospect of an open-sourced IDE makes this an ideal time to start identifying these problems so that we can make the environment as inviting as possible for new users.

I'm not proposing we discuss every one of these issues in detail; some of them we've already beaten to death on this list. :) But we ought to create a list that those who work on the new IDE interface can consider.

I'll start...

One of the most confusing things to new users is the requirement to lock size and location of images after you have resized them. If you don't they revert to their original size when you leave the card and return. Why not make this settable with a property?

Closely related: Why are lock size and lock location controlled by a single property?

Anyone else?

Regards,

Devin

Devin Asay
Learn to code with LiveCode University
http://university.livecode.com







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