LiveCode Forums.

Full official Linux support is extremely limited, but LiveCode runs well in many unsupported distros. Sadly, not as well in a few others.

Here's a brief synopsis of my experience with LiveCode in openSUSE 64bit using LiveCode versions 8.0.2 and 8.1-RC2. All versions of openSUSE are running KDE Plasma 5. These are all default KDE installations from DVDs and no additional libraries need to be installed with the exception of 'gsku' for elevated privileges.

openSUSE 13.2: The IDE opens and runs well, no apparent anomalies. Interactive tour completes and compiles to a fully functioning standalone.

openSUSE Leap 42.1: This is the current "static" version of openSUSE. I have been unable to get LiveCode to work at all in this version. The strangest thing I've discovered in attempting to get it to work is that changing the font used for GTK apps has a significant impact on how unstable LiveCode is in this version of Leap. I have found one other distro (Manjaro) that suffers this same sensitivity, although in that distro LiveCode runs apparently perfectly when a favorable font selection is found.

openSUSE Leap 42.2-BETA: Things may be looking up! Leap 42.2 is scheduled for release in November 2016 and the first BETA runs LiveCode without a hitch! Interactive tour completes and compiles to a fully functioning standalone.

openSUSE Tumbleweed: openSUSE's rolling release. The only issue I have found is that the Start Center flashes and closes on launch. It can be reopened and seems to function correctly after that. Interactive tour completes and compiles to a fully functioning standalone.

For someone who may want to distribute LiveCode applications to Linux users, it may be important to note that while the IDE does not work in Leap 42.1, some standalones do. Exactly why the IDE fails is a mystery. The IDE is itself is a very complicated LiveCode app and while its performance suggests that your app could fail or be unreliable, it doesn't prove it will fail.

That's a very interesting detail. I wonder if the issue may be the initialization of the browser widget. If you make a standalone that includes that does it run well?

I assume you're referring to the Start Center. The dictionary works and standalones using the browser widget work as expected. The start center is selected to open on startup. Switching to "classic start center" produces the same behavior.

Hmmm....I wonder if running it with strace may help pin down the crashing moment?

Just a quick update to say openSUSE Leap 42.2 Beta 2 is out and seems to play nicely with LiveCode 8.1, so it's still looking hopeful that LiveCode will function well with the next version of Leap when it's released in November 2016.

! That's great news! Thanks for the update.