Polling the mouse

[Curry]

Scott Raney wrote:

> My real question is, given that you're confused about this, how many
> other people must be, and if a lot, does this behavior really need to
> be preserved?

Originally, I thought the answer to this should be "yes", but perhaps it
should be "no"--it depends on what the question means.

If preserving the behavior means keeping every little detail compatible with
HyperCard, then certainly not. It would be great if the polling accuracy
could actually be improved and better than HyperCard, and polling after the
long repeat loop in the example would return the correct value, even though
it doesn't in HyperCard and the current version of MC.

I think the behavior doesn't have to be preserved in every detail as it is
now, but the functions themselves should be retained and kept working as
well as now or better--with the only criteria for judgment being on how
accurately they return the true state of what is being polled; if it's
different than HyperCard but better than HyperCard, then let's go there!

So, there are my answers to both possible meanings I can see in the
question. (I know, the question was directed to someone else, but I hope you
don't mind me taking it up, since it's a good question.) I really hope that
the MC team considers the big picture and does the right thing in fully
retaining these functions while making any necessary adjustments. Now, I'm
going to try to think about something else for a while!

Thanks,

Curry Kenworthy