Devlopment platform

[MadDogDean]

Hello all,

I'm new to LiveCode (had it a while just haven't had, ehm, MADE the time to get into it yet). But working on it...

My question is, what platform people are using for developing in LiveCode and why? Obviously with the heritage of the Hypercard on Mac, OSX makes sense, but just wondering if you see a difference coding on Windows or Mac. I'll be getting a Mac to develop on in the near future, but with 20+ years on a PC it's a hard addiction to break!

Cheers,
MadDogDean

[Traxgeek]

Hi Dean,

If it's any help I made the switch to Mac (Mac mini = minimal additional outlay).

Like you, breaking the PC 'addiction' was (and continues to be) hard - especially after so long (I started with MSDos)... but life is getting easier each and every day...

My 'choice' was made for me though as I primarily want(ed) to create for PC and Mac and then Android and iOS.

If I had decided to stay with PC and / or Android as my 'targets' than a PC would have been / still be just fine 'n' dandy as my development platform but... Apple... grrr... Dev for an Apple product needs (legally at least) an Apple platform to develop / test on... hence the Mac.

To be completely frank, having made the move and accepting life is not as 'simple' as it was on my PC (having the 20+ years experience with it), I am pleased and would recommend your doing so too if you are planning on an Apple platform being the recipient of your endeavours (and have the cash...) ! Now, what I really miss (apart form the 20+ years of built-in experience) is some of the everyday apps I was using like PaintShop (having to learn SeaHorse / Gimp for image production and manipulation continues to be a real source of irritation for me... Nevermind !

HTH

Regards.

[Klaus]

Hi Dean,

well, for iOS development a Mac is mandatory!

For everything else you can develop wherever you want, but I found that
testing the final app on the TARGET platform is also mandatory to get
optimal results. Read: Windows <-> Mac <-> Linux!


Best

Klaus

[FourthWorld]

I use all three, depending on what I'm doing and where I'm doing it. Overall for me it breaks down as about 40% Mac, 40% Linux (Ubuntu), and 20% Win.

[jacque]

Now, what I really miss (apart form the 20+ years of built-in experience) is some of the everyday apps I was using like PaintShop (having to learn SeaHorse / Gimp for image production and manipulation continues to be a real source of irritation for me... Nevermind !

Take a look at Graphic Converter, which some people call the "poor man's Photoshop". It's free as long as you are willing to put up with a ten-second delay on launch (at least, that's how the trial used to work; there were no time cut-offs, the delay was the sole impetus to purchase.) I've paid for it and have used it for years. It's primary function is to convert image formats, but it contains a whole suite of editing and creation tools and can be used to create new images. There is almost nothing it can't do, and while there's a learning curve, it's pretty intuitive and much easier than Gimp.

http://www.lemkesoft.de/en/products/graphicconverter/

[MadDogDean]

Hello all,

Thanks everyone for the input. I sort of knew that I'd need to develop on both, but figured if I pushed my head deeper in the sand..... At least adding Ubuntu to the mix won't cost anything extra.

Traxgeek, nice to see I'm not the only one here that remembers MSDOS 3.3. Good suggestion on the Mac mini - I thought about this as I'm not needing to do too much on Mac yet, at least it's a reasonable start. I have read though that it's possible to run Win 7/8 natively on a Macbook. Something else to think about

Thanks,
MadDogDean

[Traxgeek]

Hi Dean,

Correct on all counts. I actually Bootcamp'ed my MacMini for the first 6+ months (after purchasing and giving up after a while on Parallels) so kinda weaned myself off the PC gradually... worked for me... Recently (about 3 months ago) I removed the Bootcamp partition completely but (to my shame ) keep a Dell Laptop (Win XP) in my drawer ready for PaintShop and Animator (just soooo much quicker) !

Hi Jacque - excellent idea. I found the hardest part of the switch was knowing WHAT software to trial and then 'suffering' the immediate learning curve just to realise that really, the software I'd thought would be just great is either too complex for my needs or misses a certain feature... Nevermind... I'll go try your idea of 'GraphicConverter' - thanks for the link !

Best of luck Dean.

[dhurtt]

I chose Livecode primarily for iOS development, with Android as a second. Given that I am coding on a Mac, the ability for the code to run there and Windows is just an additional benefit. For testing on Mac, Windows, and Linux, I (will) use VMware Fusion so that I don't need multiple computer (I don't intend to write anything that addresses hardware directly). I already own an iPad and iPhone, so I have that covered, and when I get to the point, will let the business buy an Android tablet. :^)

Regards,

Dale

[FourthWorld]

The commercial VMs are pretty good, but a while back Mark Wieder suggested I try VirtualBox, and I've been a convert ever since:
https://www.virtualbox.org/

In my experience it requires less memory, restores sessions in a fraction of the time Parallels does, and provides functionality similar enough that I've never regretted the switch.