From Livecode to Xojo; Center Window

I keep getting Livecode users telling me that Xojo can not do most of what Livecode can do. I here to show them, Yes it can and just how simple it is.

This weeks look at something real simple in centering a window to the main screen. With Livecode this requires a pretty simple script and in Xojo this can be done by a simple block of code or the properties window.

Here a short video showing how simple it really is.


 

From Livecode to Xojo buttons and such

Another look at moving from Livecode to Xojo ( two different cross platform development tools) or the other way around. This time around we look at a very basic UI elements, buttons and tab panels. One tool looks like a million bucks while the other just looks not so good.


Below image is the default button set and tab panel styles of Livecode 7.0 (with cocoa support on mac)

Below image is the default button set and tab panel styles of Xojo 2014v2 (with cocoa support on mac)

The two photos clearly show one set of controls that looks like a million bucks and another one that looks not so good. Why is this important? If you have a product aka app that does something awesome but looks bad with buggy UI no one going to want to buy it. Looks are important to so many people who are willing to pay money for something. Second one of the photo shows old outdated and even buggy controls. That will bring into question your actual app and how sound it is and if It actual works. One set of UI shows pride in ownership the other does not.

But to give it a chance beyond just photos I did a video of both Livecode and Xojo and look at the UI elements of buttons and tab panels. It may help a little choose between the two tools for your next project.

enjoy.

Preview files with using Quick Look

One of the coolest thing I like about using Xojo is we can add functionality easily to a app deployed to a certain system. Such as adding a view to preview any file on Mac OSX with quick look within a window. This added functionality can be added using declares, macOSLib or Plugins.(Monkey bread complete plugin as one example of a plugin.)

I spent over a decade using a tool called Livecode that had no real way to add any additional functionality within views of a window. This made for very non professional looking apps that had outdated user experience and needs hacks to do anything cool. The problem with hacks, is they are not a safe way to make a app. A poor user experience also leads to less sales. 

With Xojo this is possible and without any special hack. This is one of the main reasons why I use Xojo over the now outdated Livecode that still stuck back in 2005 for most of what it does out of the box.

I will walk over how to add a quick look view within a window and also add a panel view in this video tutorial. Additional bonus items that also can be used on any platform includes; adding and removing a file list to and from a list box. And how to use classes to assign supers.

enjoy

Livecode expired, Xojo becomes top tool.

My Livecode License has expired and for the first time in a decade I not renewing it.

Have I just out grown Livecode? Well that is part of the reason. The other part of the reason is kind of sad. I say sad because Runrev the company be hide Livecode was once a very honest and trustworthy company. However since 2013 this changed rate around the time the made millions on Kickstarter to make a open source version of Livecode.

The Open Source version does not allow apps to be deployed to the Mac or iOS app stores. 70% of our business today is within those stores. That makes using this open source version not possible. So we have to pay for a commercial version. And to pay for a commercial version we need certain things fixed that have been broken for years. I supported there kickstarter effort and while they did release a open source version. None of the issues we needed fixed since 2012 where fixed since. Almost 2 full years.(there are even other bugs as old as 5 years still unfixed)

In the fall of 2013 I received over 30 emails from runrev that several bug reports of mine (with show stopping bugs) have been removed from the bug database. No reason was given. After review with the most recent build they where not fixed either. Then they came out and said they never removed any bug reports, even if I still have all 30 email from them saying they did. Making software for me is a profession, not a silly game. They send us emails saying xyz then,  say they never did such. Well I keep emails, and have proof of it.

I not sure what going on with Runrev anymore. Runrev once was a very helpful company that delivered a decent but somewhat outdated product. At least we knew where we stood using Livecode. Runrev before 2013 had the best customer support I ever seen by any company and was the major reason why I kept using there product.

With no certain future in sight. No way to talk with anyone from the company without them becoming very hostile to a fair report of issues (specially issues that will not pass app review for the app store) There not much one can do. There really only one thing to do, stop using Livecode. 

Well I started using Real Studio/ Xojo in 2011 for a one off product for a corporate client, and since have moved about 90% of my work to it. Enter Xojo,while it may not support all the same platforms as Livecode, what Xojo does do is just awesome. I can trust Xojo as a company way more than Runrev today because there honest with us. If Xojo can not delivery something, they tell you. If a company is honest, willing to listen to all customers and deliveries as they say like Xojo does 99.8% then why wouldn’t we use there tool over a company that does none of those things anymore.

Xojo supports things I dreamed Livecode could have done a decade ago. Xojo is a more true and more easy to use programming language with dot syntax, real arrays, dictionaries, more controllable drawing code, access to everything on a platform with declares and plugins. It has a real IDE with a great code editor, and best of all a community full of many professional developers. Whom are professional in answer questions and talking about Xojo. There no hostile fanboys with Xojo like with other tools. 

Best of all Xojo makes our final products work and look professional. It fits rate into the platform It is deployed on. 

The biggest improvement moving from Livecode to Xojo is Native UI. The reason this is so much of a impact is we do not have to think twice about any control. The layout of the interface is fast, easy and works as if built with the default OS development tool. That save days if not weeks of work. It also allows us to focus on the code and workflow of the app. Where Livecode needs a custom UI and takes days if not weeks to make and look right. Plus it does not fit the platform what so ever as its not using anything native at all.

Pay to play; with Xojo you pay full price once, that one time is for a year of updates. If you do not renew you still can use what you paid for (with Livecode it just expires). When you renew the cost is only 1/2 of what you first paid for for another year of updates.

Since 2012 (the last time I could deploy a Livecode built app, because of these unfixed bugs) I spent $1500 and got nothing from it. Runrev still owes us two years of updates that we never got for the money we paid. I would only renew livecode if it was free. because I already paid for 2 years for a broken un-useable product. This makes my stomach drop because for a small business like mine $1,500.00 is a lot of money to get nothing in return. I actual upset about this so much that I really not willing to forget.

Xojo has made me basically forget about Livecode now. It has access to everything and that is wonderful. Xojo for iOS is near release. What I find the most amazing with Xojo is there staff is 1/4 the size of Livecode's and they actual delivery more stuff in a shorter timeframe. Isn't that just amazing? I think so.

I wish all the great Livecode users we meet and became friends with over the last decade, the best of luck using Livecode. It was once my first choice and I hope they actual fix stuff for you soon, like Xojo does for me today.

This blog has many old helpful tips for Livecode, I keep them here for a reference to help others. I will however no longer answer questions about Livecode as I now do not really consider myself a full time user anymore. Maybe I even move some old Livecode built libs I made to Github as I have made many of useful add ons for that tool, that I not going to use anymore.

Code Image Filters

Programming for graphics has to be the coolest thing about programming in my mind. For years I made an really cool image app called Image Blender, witch uses some really cool image filters, that I programmed.

However that app was not programed with Xojo when I first started it and updated it for the first 6 years since I first released it. When I considered convert the code base over to Xojo, I found RGBSurface and it did basic the same method as the previous programming language I used.

With Xojo there many 3rd party plugins & declares one can use. That can access pre-made imaging methods like Core Image on OSX. However with RGBSurface you can support cross-platform every platform Xojo supports from one code base. If your like me and have an need for Linux builds to have the same stuff Mac and Windows, then RGBSurface is the way to go. Here is an little video walking over how to do it with an few different image filters.


enjoy

From Livecode to Xojo Read & Write Text Files

Both Livecode and Xojo are cross platform development tools.

This week in our Livecode to Xojo series... Is how to read and write text files with both development tools. If your new to one or both tools this will show an similar way to do the same thing with both tools.

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If you find this video helpful please go to you tube and give it an like. Happy Coding :)

From Livecode to Xojo Switching Views

Both Livecode and Xojo are cross platform development tools. Both have strengths and weakness. However it no shock how much more I prefer Xojo over Livecode for desktop development, as the Xojo makes an far better and more modern final product on Mac and Linux than Livecode does. On Windows both do similarly well.

For mobile Livecode currently supports iOS and Android where Xojo will soon will do iOS, however not Android. Xojo also does the web where Livecode does the server. So again each tool has pluses and minus. 

I have used Livecode for over 8 years professionally and Xojo (and former product names) 6 years.

I also get many clients asking to convert Livecode code bases to Xojo and also Xojo code bases to Livecode so I figure I could do an few videos showing the different ways using both tools, to get one started using either or of the tools.

First in this new series is switching views. I will keep every video under 15 minutes long, even if that means editing the content down.

There many of way to switch views than what I present, but I walk over the basic ways for both tools.

Again Happy coding :)

Toolbar Toggles With Xojo

With Xojo (Real Studio) Making an Toolbar behave like an tabbed view controller does not work by default. Even with using the inspector settings. This is an walk over to how to get this to work. This will work perfectly on all platforms Mac, Windows and Linux. It does not need many steps but does require code.

I have added an screen record video (free, cause this info should really be free! ) That shows how to get this to work.



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Enjoy and Happy coding:)