Jean-Jacques Wagner <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> I see the list is very busy and active setting the
> basic organisation. I would like to put some idea
> forwards in regard of the conception of FreeCard,
> which as I understand will be very very close to HC.
Alain: Exactly.
> 1) Palette, Dialog and Alert (read PDA)
> PDA are windows placed on diffent system layers, but
> which are made of similar components as stack are
> made. The PDA-commands could be Hypertalk ones
> (which can be debugged)... I would propose to
> structure FreeCard such a way, that PDA are
> originally little stacks.
Alain: It is my understanding that all our windows,
dialogs, alerts, and so on, will indeed be editable
STACKS instead of un-editable external resources.
> Even PDA of FreeCard could correspond to tinny
> stack, which can be modified by the user, also I
> would strongly recommend a basic setup.
Alain: For the record, I would like to have as much of
FreeCard in stack-form as possible. Stack-based
tool(s) to create Xternals and/or a stack-based
FreeCard syntax editor (e.g. augment FC's parser with
new vocabulary or grammar). The non-stack-based
FC-core should/will be very small which of course is
marvelous in many ways. Small is beautiful, to coin an
ol' seventies idiom.
> I am talking here about an additional dimension of
> freedom using FreeCard.
Alain: Right on, brother! ;-)
> 2) Improve the stack used as plug-in (start using)
Alain: Nothing decided yet but several options have
been discussed on this list on occasion. Extend the
maximum number of allowed stacksInUse to more than 16.
This might not be as necessary as it has been in the
past because we no longer have any practical limit on
script-size. Forget about the 30K barrier. It's gone.
StacksInUse is still a good mechanism though, e.g. for
modularity purposes. Then there are Xternals. MetaCard
supports them on all platforms, so perhaps FC will
too. Then there are plug-ins which are the "in" way
these days, and plug-ins are faster than a lot of
other ways of adding to an app. But don't forget that
we are open source, and as such we might provide a
means of adding new functionalities directly in the
source code of the app. You can't beat that for
performance and seamless integration.
> it would be good to have the possibility to force
> the path hierarchy through a list of stack, which
> would be defined in the stack dialog window.
Alain: The hierarchy could be a property of the stack.
You could script something like this:
--> set the hierarchy of this stack to myListVar
> 3) Please introduce a stack container similar to the
> one for buttons and bg (shared bg field). The only
> stack container is the script. But script is
> not to stack data, but primarely scripts.
Alain: Sorry. I do not understand what you mean.
Please clarify.
> The list could be more exhaustive, as you know
> yourself.
Alain: I am holding back in a BIG way! But only such
time that FreeCard 1.0 is released. After that, the
gloves are off!
JJ: Well what can you say about a so aged good
product.
Alain: HyperCard is astounding in this regard. Almost
nothing has been done to maintain the lead it had, and
still has to some degree, yet it still rivals the
other xCards that have invested as-much or more than
Apple has. HC is the little train that could ... The
little pigs' stone & mortar house ... Oops there goes
another rubber-tree plant ...
Alain Farmer, FreeCard
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
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