Programming LiveCode with LiveCode

[Richard Gaskin]

Jim Lambert wrote:

 > Larry wrote:
 >
 >> I am of the opinion that all of the platform/device specific
 >> approach to software is going the way of the dinosaur.
 >
 > That may be true with desktop software, but I respectfully disagree
 > when it comes to mobile.
 >
 > There’s ever-growing fragmentation on Android, sometimes the
 > developer must adapt to handset manufactures' & carriers'
 > idiosyncratic variations of the OS/UI, form factors and unique
 > features.

Sometimes perhaps, but how often?

Sure, journalists write all sorts of things to get page views (how many 
times do we see overblown stories of iOS malware only to find out it's 
only on jailbroken phones and only available through obscure third-party 
sites in China or Russia? <g>).

The latest of these was from Open Signal, complete with a jarringly 
colorful chart of the hardware diversity in the Android ecosystem:
<http://opensignal.com/reports/2014/android-fragmentation/>

But once we go beyond skimming the headline and glancing at the 
pictures, we find this in the report - something most of the lay press 
missed when they cited it:

    ...fragmentation benefits Android much more than it hurts it.
    Android is now the dominant mobile operating system and this
    is because of fragmentation, not in spite of it.

One man's "fragmentation" is another man's "diversity".

Among end-users, the only people I've ever heard complain about Android 
fragmentation own iPhones.

I've never heard any Android user lament, "Man, I wish I could get the 
cool app all my friends are using, but it just isn't available for my 
phone."

Larry's point is well supported by a review of the Top Apps lists at 
both stores - here's the Free and Paid lists for each:

<http://www.apple.com/itunes/charts/free-apps/>
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/collection/topselling_free>
<http://www.apple.com/itunes/charts/paid-apps/>
<https://play.google.com/store/apps/collection/topselling_paid>

With relatively few exceptions, they're almost the same lists.

I think it's a safe bet to suggest that a solid majority of devs making 
money in mobile are doing it on both platforms.


 > Then there are Apple's new and tempting backend solutions, like
 > CloudKit, which provide a seamless experience for both users and
 > developers.
 > But they are clearly iOS only solutions. Leading to developer lock in.

CloudKit is indeed nice, but so are the new Google Drive APIs:
<http://appdevelopermagazine.com/1910/2014/9/17/Updated-Google-Play-SDK-Provides-App-Developers-with-Enhancements-to-Analytics,-Drive-and-Fit/>

With Open Language, we'll be able to wrap those even more easily than 
the majority of successful devs who implement both in their apps using C.


 > IMO, the LiveCode is very nicely evolving to deal with this
 > continuing differentiation of devices and OS ecosystems.

Fully agreed there.  As hardware and OS capabilities for both platforms 
continue to diversify, all we need to do is just what we've always done: 
  pick the lowest common OS version our app actually needs, and unless 
we absolutely need something specific to a given phone model or OS 
version we'll get more than 90% of each platform.

The only point where I differ from Larry is in his faith in the browser 
as a platform.  While it's technically quite feasible at least 
potentially (Firefox OS demonstrates this in spades), it's not in an OS 
vendor's interests to ship with a browser powerful enough to liberate 
developers from relying on vendor-specific APIs.

There are many categories of apps that can be well suited in a browser, 
bit it's rare to find one that performs as well or is a capable as its 
native counterpart.

Then again, maybe Larry's just ahead of his time:
<http://www.sencha.com/blog/the-making-of-fastbook-an-html5-love-story>

-- 
  Richard Gaskin
  Fourth World Systems
  Software Design and Development for the Desktop, Mobile, and the Web
  ____________________________________________________________________
  Ambassador at FourthWorld.com                http://www.FourthWorld.com