LiveCode Forums.

"Unix system" is used for example in the entry for "textPattern", it is said to work with chunks of field's there. But "textPattern" doesn't work for chunks of field's on MacOS X and doesn't work on Xubuntu.

Couldn't find the definition of "Unix system" in the dictionary.
The platform doesn't always help, because MacOS X fits into both, "MacOS" and "BSD".

Are MacOS X or Xubuntu in dictionary not a "Unix system"?

"UNIX system" is an example of hundreds and hundreds of outdated things littered around throughout LiveCode and the Forums.

UNIX should, obviously, include MacOS and Xubuntu

But probably doesn't for the very simple reason that 'UNIX' really does mean UNIX, and as far as I know, one cannot
even deploy LiveCode standalones to computers running UNIX.

What would be LOVELY is something that takes into account all 'flavours' of Mac OS post 10.4,
all flavours of Linux and all windowing environments and desktop managers.

But we aren't going to get that foor the plain and simple reason that life is too short for the good folks at RunRev
to set up machines running EVERYTHING and test LIveCode on EVERYTHING.

What WOULD suffice would be documentation that took into account Mac OS X 4-10, the 4 major Linux branches (Debian, Red Hat, Slackware, IcannotRemember)
and the 4 or 5 dominant desktop managers (KDE, GNU, XFCE, MATE, and LetsHaveABitchyArgumentOverWhichOneIsGoingToBeNumberFive).

Richmond wrote:... one cannot even deploy LiveCode standalones to computers running UNIX ...

What do you "include" with the word "deploy"?
At least building standalones, not only for the current unix platform, is for me possible also with Xubuntu and Raspbian (not enumerating Mac-BSD here).

I fully support your proposal to specify "platform groups" and to document where LC made a cut (with their IDE and building standalones).

A few weeks I collected my experiences especially with LC 6 and MacOS 10.4.11/PPC, but then recognized that adding user addition to the dictionary is disabled. Thus I trashed my notes because I don't need it, I see what is running or not.

What we call "LiveCode" today was born as "MetaCard" in 1992, originally only for Unix systems. At that time nearly a dozen different Unix flavors were supported, including Irix, Solaris, and others. The engine was ported to Linux in the mid-90s, then to Windows, then to Mac, and around the turn of the century to OS X as well (and of course mobile support came later).

Along the way, Unix use among LiveCoder users has dropped to near-zero, reflecting a general trend in market share in which many formerly-Unix systems have been replaced with Linux. Given the cost of compiling for each Unix flavor relative to the number of people using LiveCode on any given one of them, RunRev dropped Unix support some years ago.

While OS X is a certified Unix, its GUI is custom and OS X-specific elements in Dictionary entries are distinguished by "OS X", separate from Unix-specific elements.

So at this point the Dictionary entries that make reference to Unix are legacy elements, which should be removed.

I've just submitted a request for that:
http://quality.runrev.com/show_bug.cgi?id=13896

Given the scope of the task, and the encouragingly positive response to a recent request on the use-livecode list for people to help refine Dictionary content, I believe this task may be well suited for this sort of crowd-sourcing.

To assist this effort it would be helpful if anyone here who comes across any erroneous info in the Dictionary to please submit a bug report against it. When you submit a report please cite the token, and where practical the relevant portion of the content needing revision. With such reports we can have greater visibility for the specific content changes that need to be made, better ensuring it isn't missed in the process.

"What do you "include" with the word "deploy"?"

By 'UNIX' I mean 'UNIX' not Linux.

While Linux resembles UNIX in many ways, it is not UNIX.

I was looking for a definition of "Unix".
Richard's answer fits (partly) in the attached picture from Wikipedia.
Is it a correct interpretation of your answer, that you would name on base of this picture three categories:
MacOS X, GNU/Linux and Unix (=others)?