DreamCard Review-PCPLUS

Lynch, Jonathan BNZ2 at CDC.GOV
Wed Dec 22 12:50:51 EST 2004


I went from using Visual Basic for Applications to using RunRev
specifically because VBA is torture. Used in MS Word, it cannot do half
what RunRev can do, and RunRev is like 1000 times more intuitive.

The person who wrote this article obviously did not spend any real time
working with RunRev, or he would have a better clue.  My guess is, he
already knows VB pretty well, and so had a hard time adjusting to the
difference.

I, on the other hand, only knew a little bit of VB, and switched before
learning VB intimately. My learning curve on RunRev has been much
shorter than it was when trying to learn VB.

Also, I'd wager a week's wages that if you took an experienced RunRev
developer and an experienced VB developer and gave them the same
instructions for creating a nifty stand-alone program - the RunRev guy
would get it done in 1/3 the time.

-----Original Message-----
From: use-revolution-bounces at lists.runrev.com
[mailto:use-revolution-bounces at lists.runrev.com] On Behalf Of Frank D.
Engel, Jr.
Sent: Wednesday, December 22, 2004 11:33 AM
To: How to use Revolution
Subject: Re: DreamCard Review-PCPLUS

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

It's a Windows magazine, probably written by Windows fans.  What do 
they know?

;-)

Seriously, they are both correct, and lacking.  Rev is by far an easier 
environment to work with than Visual Studio, and personally I hate 
Microsoft stuff.  OTOH, the documentation is quite lacking from the 
perspective of learning how to use Rev (the tutorials in RevOnline are 
a nice start, but still lacking).  Additionally, there are some flaws 
in the interface design of the IDE which can be quite confusing for new 
users.

Rev is *very* nice after you know where to look for things, but 
HyperCard it is not.

On Dec 22, 2004, at 8:30 AM, webmailman wrote:

> Dreamcard2.5 slammed hard by PCPLUS!
> Rating: 4 of 10
>
> Time to wake up and smell the coffee, Revolutionaries!
>
>
> In issue 224 (Christmas 2004), Paul Hudson gives readers his insights 
> into Dreamcard 2.5. Here are a few excerpts:
>
> "An integrated development environment designed to allow 
> non-programmers to become programmers. Bizarrely designed to make even

> the simplests operations difficult beyond belief, VisualBasic.NET is 
> faster and a great deal easier to use."
>
> [Tranlsation: Non-intuitive interface is a severe handicap. VB.NET is 
> easier for beginners.]
>
>
> "If you're a non-programmer and want to stay a non-programmer, for 
> goodness sake use PowerPoint, Access, Visual Basic for Applications, 
> or some other tool you already have. If you want to become a 
> programmer, this is perhaps the finest example of how not to do 
> it--stick with Visual Studio."
>
> [Translation: For typical office and home users, use your existing MS 
> tools; they're more than adequate for most of your needs. If you want 
> to test the waters of becomming a programmer, don't waste time with 
> DreamCard; go directly to Visual Studio.]
>
>
> "The GUI looks easier than it is--full marks go to the menu bars for 
> total confusion."
>
> [Translation: What were they thinking when they came up with the 
> ridiculous tool bar system?]
>
>
> "As with other graphical IDEs, you can drag and drop components 
> directly onto your window and manipulate them visually--at this point 
> you're thinking that sounds something like VB.NET.  Sadly, that vision

> is cruelly shattered when you try to make your GUI do something. 
> Adding functionality throws you into the deep-end, grasping wildly for

> some sort of documentation to help you out. Documentation there is, 
> but it doesn't help you."
>
> [Translation: There is ducomentaion, but the design sux so bad as to 
> be next to useless.]
>
>
> "The 'programs' you make now that you're a programmer get run through 
> DreamCard Player, which is a great way to burst the bubble of 
> professionalism in just three easy steps."
>
> [If you want your presentations to look profesional, better stick with

> tried-and-true tools that you probably already know, like PowerPoint.]
>
>
> Looks like some re-think is in order...
>
>
>
>     http://www.xasamail.com/
> _______________________________________________
> use-revolution mailing list
> use-revolution at lists.runrev.com
> http://lists.runrev.com/mailman/listinfo/use-revolution
>
>
- -----------------------------------------------------------
Frank D. Engel, Jr.  <fde101 at fjrhome.net>

$ ln -s /usr/share/kjvbible /usr/manual
$ true | cat /usr/manual | grep "John 3:16"
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten 
Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have 
everlasting life.
$
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ODoUWF+E2GH6gmlStK0zwR8=
=Dbdp
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