LiveCode is a vast superset of the former HyperCard, and I work with it everyday. It's extremely utilitarian, and it's not half bad when prototyping mobile apps.
I loved HC, and tried out LiveCode. The problem for me is the "vast" part.
I also loved Visual Basic when it was young, but it just kept getting more complex and bloated. I think Microsoft was trying to counter the stereotype of VB being for amateurs, by making it as comprehensive as their other development tools. (cf. recent HN thread about "professional tools"). LiveCode seems to suffer from that tendency.
When it got to the point where I could no longer make sense of VB, I went language shopping. For me, the new HyperCard is Python plus Tkinter plus Matplotlib. Heaven. Granted almost every program that I write is "some buttons, parameters, computation, and a graph." The only downside is that it doesn't port to Android.
HyperCard was ground breaking in its day for sure. I'm the CEO of LiveCode. We're an open source, modernized platform that lets you build apps for all popular platforms and devices. We still retain the best ideas from the original HyperCard. We have a vibrant active community with many successful apps developed. We also created one of the top100 Kickstarter campaigns of all time last year, to build a next generation version of the platform! Check us out at livecode.com.
LiveCode looks very attractive, but I have trouble comprehending your interpretation of the GPL.
At http://livecode.com/support/ask-a-question/at-what-point-do-... you say:
"The FAQ on the FSF website states that the GPL does not apply to code simply “executed with an interpreter”. LiveCode is far more than a simple language interpreter and each language call utilizes internal libraries within the platform. These libraries provide the platform’s entire functionality and rich feature set."
However, every interpreter works by making calls to "internal libraries within the platform" which "provide the platform's entire functionality and rich feature set." If an interpreter did not contain the code to do the things that the interpreted language can do, then it wouldn't do anything at all and it wouldn't be an interpreter.
While I find LiveCode attractive, this license weirdness makes me uncomfortable enough that I haven't explored it even for my Open Source projects. It's not often that I find license interpretations that make Richard Stallman look moderate.
I also loved Visual Basic when it was young, but it just kept getting more complex and bloated. I think Microsoft was trying to counter the stereotype of VB being for amateurs, by making it as comprehensive as their other development tools. (cf. recent HN thread about "professional tools"). LiveCode seems to suffer from that tendency.
When it got to the point where I could no longer make sense of VB, I went language shopping. For me, the new HyperCard is Python plus Tkinter plus Matplotlib. Heaven. Granted almost every program that I write is "some buttons, parameters, computation, and a graph." The only downside is that it doesn't port to Android.