The future of LiveCode

[stgoldberg at aol.com]

I have quietly followed the LiveCode discussions for many years and wanted to share a perspective from a long-time user outside the traditional programming community.

 

Although I am not a professional programmer, I am a physician and medical educator and served as president of MedMaster Publishing for over 40 years (currently Editor-in-Chief). During that time, I found LiveCode (and before it, HyperCard in 1988 and later Revolution) invaluable in developing a number of medical education applications - many of which remain freely available on our website, www.medmaster.net. MedMaster books and applications created with Revolution and LiveCode have been used by countless medical students over the years.

 

What originally drew me to HyperCard - and later LiveCode - was its extraordinary ability to allow non-programmers to build serious, useful applications without the syntactic burden of traditional programming languages. That accessibility was its genius.

 

Over time, however, LiveCode has grown substantially. While this growth brings power and flexibility, it has also introduced a very large vocabulary and conceptual overhead. From the perspective of a non-programmer, the language can now feel more difficult to approach than some mainstream programming environments. In this sense, it risks drifting away from HyperCard’s original mission: empowering educators, researchers, and other non-programmers to create software.

 

I would very much like to see LiveCode thrive, and based on my experience in publishing and education, I’d like to offer a few suggestions for consideration:

1. A “LiveCode Lite” track for non-programmers.
This would target educators, scientists, and other professionals who want to build practical applications without mastering the full language. A smaller, carefully curated subset of commands - focused on the most commonly needed functionality - would significantly lower the barrier to entry. I attempted this approach in my book LiveCode Lite: Computer Programming Made Ridiculously Simple.

2. Extend the Lite approach to mobile development.
One limitation of my book is its focus on macOS and Windows. An extension that clearly explains mobile development for iPhone and Android - emphasizing what is shared with desktop development and what is different in the language - would greatly increase its relevance today.

3. Clear, step-by-step guidance for deployment.
For non-programmers, getting an application onto an iPhone or Android device is often more intimidating than writing the code itself. Clear, linear instructions would be invaluable.

4. Consider a one-time purchase option.
A basic, non-subscription license might attract a larger audience of educators and hobbyists who are hesitant to commit to ongoing fees.

 

I recently turned 83 and no longer have the technical capacity to extend LiveCode Lite in the direction I envision. However, if anyone in the community is interested in pursuing or collaborating on such an effort, I would be happy to contribute conceptually or editorially.

 

Finally, I still believe that a coherently structured book - meant to be read from beginning to end - can be more approachable for many learners than a collection of interlinked tutorials, which can sometimes feel fragmented or overwhelming.

 
Thank you for reading, and for your continued work on LiveCode.
Stephen Goldberg