Re: [Pythoncard-users] the future direction of PythonCard

[Neil H. <ne...@sc...>]

   Kevin:

> Is anyone using the current prototype? We've had a reasonable number of
> downloads, but the list is very quiet.

   I'm not currently using PythonCard. Much of my UI code is still done in
low level C++ but that is just because of my context. If I wanted to do
something at a high level, either as a mock-up or for-real I'd use browser
based technologies.

> Based on the current samples, is the current framework too complex or too
> limiting or just right?

   The framework appears OK to me but ultimately, its not the framework that
I'd expect to be the appealing feature but the development environment built
on top.

> What elements need to be added to the current framework before you would
use
> PythonCard for your own work?

   It is unlikely PythonCard could have been used for any of the work I have
done recently or expect to do in the near future. Client needs often
constrain technology choices. For the open source projects that I mostly
control, Scintilla and SciTE, PythonCard does not appear to fit any need in
a sensible way.

   SciTE (a text editor) could be written as a PythonCard application but it
is already written in C++ so there is not much point. I have been thinking
about building a demonstration web oriented development environment but that
would be housed inside a web browser.

   A finished and high quality PythonCard would, for me, be useful in
prototyping applications that are shown to clients and then reimplemented in
C++ or Java. One enquiry that could have been demoed with PythonCard but
didn't get anywhere near that far was to build a diagram editor for software
design.

> Is the most important thing having an environment like HyperCard?

   That is a very important aspect but another important aspect will be
deployability. For big budget work, even complex deployment can be viable.
For the sort of rapidly developed small tools that PythonCard could be used
for, deployment should be very simple.

> Project Roles [...]
> Both Neil and Robin
> answer questions, but otherwise are not currently involved in PythonCard
> code.

   That is about as much as I can offer now. I can also do some small pieces
of code to demonstrate techniques but can't really sign up for anything
significant.

> What do you want PythonCard to be?

   Cross-platform HyperCard with Python.

   Neil