Where do we want LiveCode to go? (was "Re: Where LiveCode is Now")

[Richmond]

I would like LiveCode to be "up there" in the top 5 of languages
used in school world-wide for teaching within the next 10 years.

I would like private educational institutions to invest in LiveCode
and supply large-scale feedback to LiveCode Central as to any
educational enhancements they may feel will improve the IDE for teaching 
purposes.

For this to happen LiveCode has to be integrated into the curricula of 
standardised
examinations.

In England and Scotland educationalists are complaining about an 
alarming decrease
in high-school students enrolling in programming classes. I believe a 
lot of this is due
to an extremely steep start to the learning curve offered by the 
languages that are
currently "up there" and that LiveCode offers a far, far gentler entry 
point to
young learners.

Richmond.

On 4.10.19 20:47, Richard Gaskin via use-livecode wrote:
> The question was: Where is LiveCode now?
>
> It's in the 21st century, where proprietary software continues to 
> thrive in consumer segments, but nearly all infrastructure and dev 
> tools are Free and Open Source.
>
> Compare and contrast:
>
> -----
> Python in the third most popular language in the world.
>
> Python is a language engine only. It has no IDE of its own, relying on 
> third-party tools.  It has no packaging tools built in for mobile, and 
> third-party offerings are so scarce that there are fewer Python apps 
> in the mobile app stores than there are made with LiveCode.  Even 
> things we take for granted like having any user interface at all are 
> treated like an afterthought, achievable only with your research into 
> the various third-party options for such things, and your willingness 
> to learn and integrate those add-on frameworks.
>
> Python has many major players funding it:
> https://www.python.org/psf/sponsorship/sponsors/
>
> Python has a very active community, with few on payroll and most pull 
> requests coming from the community.
>
> -----
> LiveCode has made it into TIOBE's Top 100 languages list, but 
> currently in the lower 50.
>
> LiveCode has similar platform coverage, but with a rich IDE, built-in 
> mobile packaging, and GUI support that's not merely included but an 
> integral part of the language.
>
> While LC has thousands of subscribers for the proprietary editions, it 
> has no sponsors as big as Facebook, CapitalOne, AWS, or Google funding 
> it. Even among the many companies deriving significant value from LC, 
> some of the most successful businesses using LC for internal tools 
> often use the Community edition and make few if any donations.
>
> The LC community has only about half a dozen community members 
> submitting pull requests with any regularity (big THANK YOU to those 
> who do), despite half the project, the IDE, being written in the 
> scripting language everyone in the community knows and loves.
>
> -----
>
> In short, LiveCode delivers more, and does so with fewer resources.
>
> In too many ways to count, comparisons between languages will always 
> be unfair, and this oversimplified summary is no exception.  Details 
> about history, shifting markets over time, and more than a little 
> random luck play a role in adoption as much as anything else.
>
> So I mean no disrespect to our scripting cousins using Python when I 
> note how much LC delivers.
>
> But I do mean to illustrate how much LC Ltd accomplishes with the 
> resources at their disposal.
>
> Rather than rebut the wealth of Dunning-Kruger inspired kvetching that 
> has come to characterize a small corner of this community, or to 
> contribute any kvetching of my own, I believe it's more productive to 
> make choices about how we use our time which support productive outcomes.
>
> To reorient, rather than ask, "Where is LiveCode now?", we might ask:
>
> "Where would we like LiveCode to be?"
>
> And when we have the luxury to choose how we spend our time, maybe we 
> could choose to spend that time making what we want to have.
>
> I would like to propose this forked thread be used to brainstorm ideas 
> for how we can use time that might be spent on less productive 
> outcomes toward having what we want with LC.
>
> As good ideas emerge, I will do what I can in the role of Community 
> Laison to help steward such things along.
>
> But please, I forked this thread for a reason:  this is for 
> initiatives to move things forward, to have what we want.  Please use 
> other threads for other purposes.  I find across much of life that 
> when I spend too much time focused on things I don't want, it stifles 
> awareness of opportunities to have what I do want.
>
> Lets have what we want.
>
> "Make it so, Number One."
>
>