Tiger breaks hyperCard?

[Devin Asay]

On Sep 22, 2005, at 8:17 PM, Richard Gaskin wrote:

> Marty Billingsley wrote:

<snip>

>>
>> I'll jump in here, although my beef is more with the regular painting
>> tools than the color tools.  We really miss HC's text tool for  
>> "painting"
>> letters and words.  Why did RunRev eliminate that?
>>
>
> That perspective is based on a philosophical position that may not  
> reflect the inventor's intent.
>
> Rather than ask "Why did RunRev eliminate that?", it may better  
> reflect the engine's unique history by asking "Why didn't they add  
> that?"
>
> It may seem like just word-mincing, but there's a fundamental  
> difference that may help newcomers understand other differences  
> between Rev and HC (or any other xTalk implementation):
>
> RunRev was not originally invented to be a HyperCard clone per se.  
> While it incorporates much of the same language and object model,  
> it extends them in ways that add unique value to Rev, much like  
> every other xTalk has its own extensions to differentiate  
> themselves from HC.
>
> So to answer the question "Why didn't Rev implement a paint text  
> tool?", my guess would be that they already had fully anti-aliased,  
> resolution-independent text in fields.
>
> Under what sort of circumstances would there be a benefit to having  
> bitmapped text for which fields could not be used?

>
> If a strong enough case can be made that benefits enough users I'm  
> sure RunRev would consider it.

Here's one: A quick and easy way to display non-Latin characters in  
your stack without worrying about whether the end user has the right  
font installed, and without fretting over Unicode issues.

Another, similar one: Using a particular, weird font in a title or  
splash screen, and not having to worry about whether the end user has  
it or about cross-platform font metrics.

Granted, you can do this in Photoshop or other bitmap graphics  
editor, but it takes more time. A consideration when you're under a  
short deadline.

Devin

Devin Asay
Humanities Technology and Research Support Center
Brigham Young University