MC IDE

[Alain Farmer]

Hello Richard, Monte, and y'all,

> What in FreeGUI has earned your recommendation
> to devote time to working on it?
> I haven't played with it much since last year,
> so I may well be missing something.

For a die-hard HyperCard user forced to endure MC/RR's
complexity, FreeGUI is the best interface for the
MC-engine. In *most* regards, FreeGUI is identical to
HC, including : menubar, dialogs, background behavior,
the message box' behavior, etc. In fact, it is so
close to HyperCard's GUI because our original aim was
to 'clone' HyperCard as-is.

But even in the early stages, we began integrating
some key MC features that we wanted our 'HyperCard' to
have: native colorization, custom properties, a richer
set of properties, and several other gems. So our aim
became to take advantage of as much of MC as we deemed
appropriate and in a simpler more HC-like manner that
preserves the simplicity and elegance of HC while
masking the complex aspects that HC users don't want
to bother with.

There was a plan to port FreeGUI to Rev and, as I have
pointed many times, Rev users are legitimately allowed
to help develop FreeGUI with Rev, but other priorities
have inexorably taken precedence over this port to
Rev. It is not a BIG deal to do so, since MC & Rev
both use the same engine, but these GUIs are somewhat
dissimilar when it comes to the specifics. Ex: the
metacard menubar is in the "mctools.mc" stack ; I'm
betting that Rev has a different setup.

I have not been able to port FreeGUI to Rev, but
anyone in our group (btw 75+ members) is welcome to do
so. I am presently focusing my efforts on the
development of the XML-based file-format of FreeCard.
This work will merge with FreeGUI when I'm done
scripting the mass-export of all of the components of
FreeGUI to our XML file-format. FreeCard will be able
to parse, process, store its info, properties etc...
via its Java underpinings, because the interpreter of
our xTalk scriptingLanguage (FreeScript) won't be
completed yet. A friend of mine which is a Java
expert, specialized in compiler/interpreter design,
will be joining our team soon. The formal syntax (+
spec) of our FS scriptingLanguage is already done,
albeit we are likely to make some changes before going
to press.

So, as you can, FreeGUI development has "languished"
but there is still a lot going on to make FreeCard a
reality that everyone is going to *flip* over!  :))

FreeCard will be able to import stacks from HC, SC, MC
and Rev. There will be a script to port everything
over without requiring any user intervention. The FC
team is familiar with the specificities of each one of
the GUIs and differences in their scriptingLanguage,
in order to make the port as effortless as possible.

Runtime will be glad to hear that the FC-engine will
be open-source and .. here's the kicker.. FC could
support Rev's GUI as well as the MC-engine does now,
which means that they could choose the engine they
wish at any time, without jeopardizing their business.
If FreeCard becomes better, then use it without any
strings attached. Might sound premature at this point,
but.. you never know! ;-)

Runtime/Kevin will also be glad to hear that FreeGUI
will never be a clone of Rev. Bolstered by an engine
which will provide us with a rich diverse set of new
features, FreeGUI is going to be 'exquisitely unique',
radically different from Rev.

Diversity is GOOD!  :))

> What in FreeGUI has earned your recommendation
> to devote time to working on it?

I have worked a LOT on it. Hundreds of hours. One work
experience fellow which I trained and managed. I have
also contributed a lot of help to my fellow xCard fans
on several lists. I hope (but I don't expect) that
this has earned me some consideration from my fellow
xCarders which, in turn, might be inclined to
'reciprocate'. The goal and the means are clearly
'noble' as well as in the best interest of many xCard
fans. And.. it is *possble*, albeit many sympathetic
lurkers may not be as confidant about this as I am.
That's life! Meanwhile I do what *I* can to make it
happen. It's the best anyone can ever do.

> I haven't played with it much since last year,
> so I may well be missing something.

Thanks for the 'nod', Richard. At least there is still
some doubt in your mind as to the relevance & progress
of FreeGUI/FreeCard. As I pointed out in this letter,
FreeGUI hasn't progressed much lately, but it works!,
with MetaCard, and it could work with Rev if someone
endeavours to make it so. All my 'free' time is being
invested in FreeCard, at the moment, with results that
will bear fruit in the near future. :))

Stay tuned folks, 

Alain F

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