Cant make my final decision. Please advise.

[sritcp]

cylent:

I am not a tech person like you. I have started learning LC recently and I only know about 5% of it (honest).
Yet I am already writing small but fully functional apps.

The script that runs when a stack is opened is openStack (and there is preOpenStack if you need it).
In "the label of me", me refers to the object that is the owner of the script that is running -- makes intuitive sense to me.
The terms "stack" and "cards" are legacy from HyperCard of which LC is a descendant.

Eyeballing the user guide for about half an hour will tell you all of the above and more.

I think a little humility will go a long way.

Regards,
Sri.

[doc]

Hey cylent,
...no fanboy here I assure you, but it matters none what language you want to start learning (I've tried almost everything over the years), you will find that with just a short learning curve, LiveCode will allow you to reach a place where you can do real, productive work, much faster than pretty much anything else you might decide to try. For example, text parsing is often a very large part of programming, and if you've ever tried parsing with *any* other language, you would quickly understand just how difficult it can be be... LiveCode is hands down the very best language I've ever tried when it come to manipulating text of any kind, moreso than *anything* else I have ever tried. Nothing else comes remotely close in that area.

<snip> I would love it if someone were to point me to a simple step by step beginners tutorial on the code...

Although they date back a few years, the "scripting conferences" are (IMHO) by far the simplest way of getting started with LiveCode:
http://www.runrev.com/developers/lesson ... nferences/

The scripting conferences btw, were very professionally done by several members of the community in such a format that they very thoroughly walk you through each of the various aspects of programming in LiveCode (still Revolution or RunRev back then, with "Transcript" being the name of the actual scripting language itself).

Mobile wasn't an option at all at that time, so the primary focus is on how the language applies to desktop applications primarily. However, it still covers the majority of everything you will need for core programming tasks today, whether desktop or mobile. Just good stuff!

Try them all (recommended) or start with whatever area you have interest in and it will begin to make sense pretty quickly.

Best regards,
Doc

Edit: fat fingered spelling mistakes

[gpb01]

Hi cylent,
if you like books, of course taking into account the differences introduced in the years (... about 12), this two are very good :

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Complete-Hy ... 515&sr=8-2 (Vol 1)

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Complete-Hy ... 515&sr=8-5 (Vol 2)

I repeat ... 12 years are really a lot, but the concepts are still the same and, in these books, you will find really a lot of the actual RunRev LiveCode.

Guglielmo

[jacque]

Cylent --

We have all been there, trust me. The frustration is maddening. It's all strange and nothing makes sense, but as others say, it's that way with any language. It took me three days to write my first line of code in another language, and I was cursing the whole time. I know LiveCode in my sleep and feel pretty proficient, but I was reduced to tears and shrieking as soon as I tried something else. So yeah, you feel like a toddler and pretty damn stupid and it makes you furious.

Those scripting conference stacks are good, they were designed to help newcomers who had no prior experience. I'd take them in order if I were you; each one builds on what the previous ones have taught. The first one explains the concepts of stacks and cards, and other objects, and you really do need to know about that. The other thing you'll be doing for a while is looking up every single reference to every single term. It's a pain, but that part doesn't last long. One day it will all click in.

And we'll help you. This is a remarkable community, and we've all slogged through what you're doing right now. We get it.

The label of me: "label" is a property of objects. They can have both names and optional labels, and those can be different. That lets you name an object with a short word to use in scripts and a longer descriptive term that is displayed on screen. Handy. Me is the object whose script is currently running. So "the label of me" refers to the display text of the object running the script. NumberPressed is not a LiveCode term so it must be a variable name. Without some context I can't tell you what its value is, but if you have a script snippet to post we can probably explain it. The bit you did post doesn't make much sense to me either, so don't feel bad.

The latest version of the user manual is in the Help menu. Use that one, it is updated and current. All the Help references are good, and the stuff within the program itself is kept up to date.

The dictionary: has lots of features but probably the only one you'll need for now is the search box. When you see a term you don't know, type it in there and look it up. All the other dictionary features simply display the terms in different ways. One useful way is the list at the left. If you are curious what properties or commands apply to various objects, you can click on one of them and see. For example, if you want to know what properties all buttons have, click on Button and a list will appear. Everything in that list will apply to button objects. All objects have many things in common, but each type has unique properties too and these lists help you find them. So, for example, if you want to know what a player object can do, you can browse that list and see lots of options.

There are so many features in LiveCode it will appear overwhelming. You don't need to absorb it all at once. After you have a few basic concepts down, give yourself a small project and jump in. Read these forums, ask questions, and I'm betting in a few weeks you'll be cruising right along.

[jacque]

I almost forgot, did anyone post Devin's class tutorial yet? Devin Asay teaches LiveCode at Brigham Young University and has put his class tutorials online. They're very good, in fact, you may want to start there:

http://livecode.byu.edu/indexgeneric.php