FieldTrip (WAS: fixed textheight affects scrolling?)

[Curry Kenworthy]

Stephen:

 > Girls! Time to take this spat off list, please.

Ah good, belittling a gender! That helps. Otherwise agreed; I don't want 
to see this either.

But as this was a very public attack on a very LC product, and strayed 
from the facts, that didn't leave me much choice. Public inaccuracies 
require public corrections.

Klaus:

 > One BETA was delivered!

As you say: delivered. But I believe it was two betas, not one.

The denigration of "beta" is a marketing school of thought, nothing more 
or less. I used to keep all of my products in beta for YEARS (since I 
belonged to another school of thought, with very high emphasis on 
quality) until being forced out of it by the former school of thought 
being officially adopted here.

 > Interesting, so it is LCs fault in the end.

Facts, not fault. Very different! Not everyone is interested in facts, 
but that doesn't erase them or make them less important/relevant.

FT was designed for LiveCode during the time of LC 5/6, if I recall 
correctly. It was also designed within the budget we funded. That 
product was coded and delivered. Klaus received what he paid for. He 
hasn't received an update yet; nor has he paid for one. That doesn't 
mean I don't WANT an update, and I certainly didn't want LC 7 to be 
incompatible with this or any other product. But of course the product 
was delivered as paid.

As I said:

 > LC 7 stopped working with some existing code, and not the other
 > way around. Technically 7 was supposed to work with the existing
 > code, and the team was working through BC issues,
 > but ah well. My flagship products were more fortunate
 > (with a lot of help from myself in testing and reporting issues)
 > but LC 7 was released before that could happen for FT.

So technically this should have been part of the LC 7 compatibility 
effort, that is undeniable fact, but LC 7 was released before it could 
happen. That didn't help. My products were originally budgeted for 
efficient building on a fairly firm foundation, not immediate and 
frequent rewrites.

The huge LC 7 and 8 changes, and the many LC bugs introduced during that 
period, required substantial changes and LC bug-hunting for many or most 
LC projects which contain substantial code. That was originally 
unplanned and unbudgeted, and is very much ongoing. As I've said before, 
I can't really complain; I've made a large part of my living for many 
years from LC 7-9 bugs and changes!

But it did hurt FT, since FT was unlucky enough to miss out on the 
official 7 compatibility efforts, and also could not benefit from my own 
first efforts. My first attention had to go to the flagship products. 
That doesn't make me happy either, but it is the reality. There simply 
was no other choice.

Whereas many other LC projects have simply fallen by the wayside since 
LC 7, I'm proud that FT is still very much on my list!

But again:

 > FT will be revived and updated; looking forward to it very much.
 > But that will be AFTER the other flagship addons are updated.
 > Not before. Harassment won't change that.
 > Nor will falsehoods or bad behavior.
 > (Hint: currently WordReport is first in line!)

Client projects ALWAYS come first, no matter what.
Then the flagship products. This is the priority I will follow.

Klaus:

 > I really start to feel sorry for you.

Regarding my own handicap, it's simply another fact that unfortunately 
has become somewhat relevant in this case. Nothing more or less.

FT was planned and budgeted for an efficient development process, not 
immediate and frequent rewrites.

I've always loved efficiency and the real benefits and cost savings it 
brings to software development. Always a hardcore fan. But since being 
diagnosed with a progressive neuromuscular disease, efficiency is my 
lifeline! I no longer have the option of doing things another way.

I'm proud to be one of the top LiveCode developers and consultants, 
achieving more than most despite my handicap! And I have some incredible 
strengths, so I'm not complaining. I could easily feel sorry for others. 
I have some "super powers" when it comes to code. I'm very powerful in 
that regard and I thank God for my many blessings, which incidentally 
include LiveCode itself, and my wonderful clients!

But when it comes to time and energy, I just don't have the option of 
being inefficient. Nor do I have "free time" in the sense that most 
people do. I can't just arbitrarily decide to work extra whenever I feel 
like it; my body will no longer let me. Work has to be planned and 
prioritized. And I get things done - achieving a lot of work for my 
clients each year, and also making progress toward updates on my 
flagship addons!

But unfortunately FT has had to wait, for a number of years, as Klaus 
has emphasized. Nevertheless it's coming, in its turn. If I have to 
write big emails to correct inaccurate statements, or deal with 
harassment, it truly does take significant time away from work and slow 
things down. I can't borrow from free time and unspent energy; every day 
my energy is very finite. If I spend the time talking, I can't spend it 
working. That is the choice involved. I love it when I get a chance to 
post here between work, but I have to limit it.

So hopefully this post helps to clear up facts about FieldTrip and also 
my plans. To save energy and further the cause of actual progress rather 
than rehashing facts and corrections, I will either refer back to this 
post or quote from it in future if needed.

Meanwhile WordReport is the current focus! WordReport already had a 
recent update to solve issues introduced by LiveCode 8, and the upcoming 
version will improve on that, plus address some issues introduced by 
Catalina. Very excited about it. :)

Best wishes,

Curry Kenworthy

Custom Software Development
"Better Methods, Better Results"
LiveCode Training and Consulting
http://livecodeconsulting.com/