On 2017-05-31 09:01, Dan Brown via use-livecode wrote:
I'll also add that for all the wonderful possibilities that LCB brings
there is a very real danger that countless hours will be spent using it
to
re-invent the wheel.
That is true of every language ever implemented ;)
However, one of the goals of LCB is to allow it to be used as the 'glue'
language allowing LiveCode Script to access 'things written in other
languages' with (eventually) as much syntactic fidelity as you get with
builtin-in engine functionality. Hopefully, reducing the need to
re-invent the wheel to the minimum required to make other-world
libraries look more LiveCode like.
i.e. One of its main goals is to rid ourselves of the need to 're-invent
the wheel'.
Take for instance the displaying of svg's. This is a solved problem in
the
browser and has been for a long time but in native livecode it's still
in
the infant stages of implementation (to put it mildly). The best
solutions
for user interface "widgets" are arguably being created in the form of
javascript libraries. To me it makes total sense to integrate with that
ecosystem and free up LCB / livecode developer hours for solving other
problems
True - but then if I want SVG icons in my app, and I don't need the
browser widget at all then I might balk at the 70-100Mb bloat I have to
add to Windows / Linux apps to get it. Furthermore, I might balk at the
start up time of my app on mobile devices, whilst I use the browser
widget to load all my SVGs and render them into PNGs at various sizes
(unless you instantiate a browser widget for every SVG icon you want to
use and want to put up with the restrictions that places on you, and the
overhead in terms of use).
Certainly we need to be careful about 're-inventing the wheel' but that
just means making good choices. In this case, the case for 'native' SVG
support in LiveCode is overwhelming - the more lightweight it is, the
faster it is, the more utility it has. (Also, the main problem here is
'SVG as a replacement for PNG icons' which is a much smaller problem to
solve than an editable SVG canvas - which is what you get if you go the
via-browser route).
In terms of JavaScript 'widgets' in general, then we already have a
reasonable strategy for using them now - you use a browser widget and
load it in there. For example, FileMaker has a BrowserView element and
there is a plugin 'React' which allows you to defined JavaScript
controls and have them rendered in the browser. Admittedly using such
things is a little trickier than we'd like at present - due to the lack
of synchronous 'do as javascript'.
Anyway, I agree that using existing libraries and code as much as
possible is probably the best way to expand LiveCode's capabilities -
hence LCB :)
Warmest Regards,
Mark.
--
Mark Waddingham ~ m...@livecode.com ~ http://www.livecode.com/
LiveCode: Everyone can create apps
_______________________________________________
use-livecode mailing list
use-livecode@lists.runrev.com
Please visit this url to subscribe, unsubscribe and manage your subscription
preferences:
http://lists.runrev.com/mailman/listinfo/use-livecode
