LiveCode 5.5 Features

[AtoZ]

I'm interested in using some of the new features in LiveCode 5.5 (specifically, the styledText features for fields). However, I find the LiveCode 5.5 Notes are rather terse and lacking in examples. Does anyone know of any examples posted anywhere of coding using these features?

[bn]

Hi AtoZ,

Benjamin Beaumont of RunRev posted a stack that explains/shows the new field/Text features quite nicely.

I post it here since I don't think he would mind.

LiveCode55DP1field.livecode.zip

(25.95 KiB) Downloaded 413 times

Kind regards

Bernd

[AtoZ]

Thanks Bernd (and Benjamin!). I've just looked at the stack briefly, but it appears to be exactly the sort of thing I was looking for. Very helpful.

[NigelS]

Just what I was looking for. The example app is most useful.

[micmac]

Hi AtoZ,

Benjamin Beaumont of RunRev posted a stack that explains/shows the new field/Text features quite nicely.

I post it here since I don't think he would mind.

LiveCode55DP1field.livecode.zip

Kind regards

Bernd

Hi

Where exactly did he post it?

Thanks
Mic

[bn]

Hi Mic,

it was a link on the developer list for the develper preview of 5.5.

Since 5.5 is now in the open and it is such a useful stack I feel I did not breach the non-disclosure agreement.

Actually I was baffled that RunRev did not include that stack or a similar one with the release of 5.5.

So the link is not publicly accessible.

Kind regards

Bernd

PS. I still like your solution to the 3-d graphic very much.

[micmac]

Hi Mic,

it was a link on the developer list for the develper preview of 5.5.

Since 5.5 is now in the open and it is such a useful stack I feel I did not breach the non-disclosure agreement.

Actually I was baffled that RunRev did not include that stack or a similar one with the release of 5.5.

So the link is not publicly accessible.

Kind regards

Bernd

PS. I still like your solution to the 3-d graphic very much.

Thanks Bernd

Sehr schön to hear from you again.

Michael

[Klaus]

Hi Michael,

...Sehr schön to hear from you again...

what is that then for an english???




Best

Klaus

[AtoZ]

The following warning appears on page 10 of the LC 5.5 Release Notes:

"Warning: File Format changes to LiveCode 5.5 mean stacks created in LC 5.5 DP2 and above
could have data loss if opened in older versions (field style related data)."

This seems quiet unfortunate to me. Ideally the new features should simply be ignored by older versions of LC without any data loss.

Given that there IS potential data loss, I have several questions:

1. Shouldn't 5.5 have been developed to automatically check the version of LC being used to open the stack, and stop the stack from opening before there is any data loss (along with an on screen message regarding this)?

2. Lacking that obvious solution, I assume that scripters could write their own code to do the same. Rather than making every 5.5 scripter spend time and effort writing and debugging such code (which for some us less skilled might even be impossible), could one of the LC coding experts post a routine for us to use?

3. Do we have any idea of how widely the 5.5 upgrade has been adopted by the LC community? (Since it was free, I would expect it to be fairly large, but I would also expect that a fair number have not upgraded if they saw no need for the new features.)

I look forward to resolving these questions quickly, since I have several stacks in progress where I was planning on using the new 5.5 features. Thanks in advance for any help with this.

[shaosean]

I think you may have read that wrong.. Basically do not open a 5.5 stack in 5.0 or 4.5 or 4.0 as this will cause the corrupt stack..

[mwieder]

Indeed. Not only that, but 5.5 format stacks won't even open in earlier LC versions, so there's no problem on that account.

[bn]

Hi AtoZ,

1. Shouldn't 5.5 have been developed to automatically check the version of LC being used to open the stack, and stop the stack from opening before there is any data loss (along with an on screen message regarding this)?

Stacks developed with Livecode 5.5 (release version) and saved in 5.5 format (the default format) can not be opened in Livecode versions prior to LC 5.5. (Error message about corruption)

You can decide to save your stack in legacy format and those stacks can be opened in LC prior to 5.5 and before. But then of course you lose your 5.5 features like the new field formatting. On top of that your code that uses the new 5.5 features will throw errors because LiveCode versions < 5.5 will not know what to do with your code. (the stack from Ben Beaumont is an example: it was saved in 2.7 format but uses the new 5.5 syntax. You can open it in < 5.5 but it will not work.)

If you open stacks created in versions < 5.5 and you want to preserve the file format you have to check in preferences "Files and Memory" -> "preserve stack file versions on stacks saved in legacy format" before saving the stack.

3. Do we have any idea of how widely the 5.5 upgrade has been adopted by the LC community? (Since it was free, I would expect it to be fairly large, but I would also expect that a fair number have not upgraded if they saw no need for the new features.)

5.5 is not a free update, only to those on special subscription and within 3 months of purchase of LiveCode. So the adoption rate might be slower than if it were a free update.

Kind regards

Bernd

[AtoZ]

I'm sorry if I misinterped the warning. As it was written, it says (or at least strongly implies) that you CAN open 5.5 stacks in older versions. I would have understood it better if it had said something like "If you save a 5.5 stack in legacy format, and open it in an older version of LiveCode you may suffer data loss."

Frankly, I'm amazed that this has not generated more dismay and protest among LiveCode users. For me the upgrade to 5.5 was free (since I had recently purchased LiveCode), but if I had known about this before upgrading, I would have thought long and hard about cutting myself off from all the users of older versions of LiveCode.

[shaosean]

You can open the 5.5 format in the older versions, and that is what will cause the data corruption.. Saving as the legacy format will not save any of the new features, but there will be no data corruption when opening in older versions of Rev/LC

[bn]

Hi,

I tested with 5.5 and saved a simple stack with no code and just one field. Then tried to open that stack in 5.0.2. It refused to open the stack.

Frankly, I'm amazed that this has not generated more dismay and protest among LiveCode users. For me the upgrade to 5.5 was free (since I had recently purchased LiveCode), but if I had known about this before upgrading, I would have thought long and hard about cutting myself off from all the users of older versions of LiveCode

If you don't use any of the 5.5 features and you save in legacy format you don't cut yourself off of the users < 5.5.

What I do is to have the older versions of Livecode still on my computer to test things in older versions. This is perfectly legal and at times convenient. Just watch out for your preference files. If you open both versions at the same time preferences might get corrupted. That is not a big deal but you will have to reconfigure the preferences and you might lose the recent list. AND don't forget to check "preserve stack file versions on stacks saved in legacy format" because this also applies to the preferences stack. If you open both versions at the same time this setting can get lost.

And, as inconvenient as it may be, if RunRev wants to add features which necessitate a new file format then be it. The new features are well worth the change in file format in my opinion.

Kind regards

Bernd