Updates to LiveCode’s platform support policy

by Peter Brett on July 21, 2016 No comments

Over the last couple of years, it’s been very exciting to see people developing and deploying LiveCode apps on a amazingly wide variety of platforms and operating systems, from Pentium 3 servers running CentOS 5 to retina iMacs running the OS X El Capitan.

Today, we’re updating our policy for platform support to clarify and streamline it.  We’re doing this to:

  • help LiveCode app developers make good “system requirements” recommendations to their users
  • explain which platforms we use to test LiveCode features before making each release
  • make it feasible to provide a very high quality LiveCode Support service by clarifying which platforms are covered by the service

What's a platform?

A platform is a combination of computer hardware and a particular version of a particular operating system environment. For example, “OS X 10.10 x86” is the Yosemite version of OS X running on an Intel-compatible 32-bit processor.

LiveCode supports 5 operating systems at the moment: Windows, Android, Linux, OS X and iOS.  These all have differing vendor support, versioning systems, third-party ecosystems, and uptake by the LiveCode developer and user community.  This means there’s no “one size fits all” support policy that can simply cover them all, so we’ve tailored our new platform support policy to suit each of them. I’ll go through them in turn.

Windows is still the most widely-deployed operating system in the world, and there are more LiveCode developers and end-users using Windows than any other operating system.

LiveCode is supported on Windows when it is running on x86 (32 bit) and x86-64 (64 bit) hardware.

The oldest version of Windows that LiveCode currently supports is Windows XP, which is deployed on approximately 10% of Windows computers.  Microsoft have now dropped all support for both Windows XP and Windows Vista, which is making it increasingly difficult and costly to support LiveCode for those versions of Windows.

In LiveCode 8.2, we will end official support for versions of Windows that are not supported by Microsoft.  This will include ending support for Windows XP and Windows Vista.

Windows platform support information
LiveCode 8.1 LiveCode 8.2
Windows XP Yes No
Windows Vista Yes No
Windows 7 Yes Yes
Windows 8 Yes Yes
Windows 8.1 Yes Yes
Windows 10 Yes Yes

One of the biggest challenges when deciding how to support Linux users is the bewilderingly large variety of different Linux distributions.  Some always have the very latest versions of every program; some only update programs when they have to.  Some distributions are designed to run in a massive cluster in a datacentre, and some are designed for children’s laptops.

We decided to base our Linux support policy on specific versions of specific Linux distributions.  We looked at lots of factors when designing the policy, including the quality of support provided by the distributions, how widely used they are, and their release cycles.  We also looked at the rate of change in Linux development tools and libraries.

For the LiveCode IDE and standalones, we decided to provide official support for the Ubuntu and Fedora distributions.  This includes:

  • the latest release of Ubuntu, and versions of Ubuntu with Long Term Support that have been released in the last 4 years
  • the current and next-to-current releases of Fedora

Because Linux is so widely used for LiveCode Server deployments, we decided to provide official server-only support for Debian and CentOS, two distributions widely used on Linux servers. This includes versions of Debian stable and CentOS that receive official vendor support and were released in the last 4 years.

We will currently only provide official support for x86 (32 bit) and x86-64 (64 bit) Linux.

Linux platform support information
Desktop Server
Ubuntu 16.04 Yes Yes
Ubuntu 14.04 Yes Yes
Fedora 24 Yes Yes
Fedora 23 Yes Yes
Debian 8 (Jessie) No Yes
Debian 7 (Wheezy) No Yes
CentOS 7 No Yes

Android is the most widely-used mobile operating system in the world. Apps built with LiveCode currently run on all versions of Android from 2.3.3 (Gingerbread) onwards.  However, certain features may not be available, depending on the specific version of Android being used and the device on which it’s running.

Currently, we compile LiveCode in a way that lets it run on ARM v6 hardware or newer.

When we were considering which versions of Android should be officially supported, we looked at how widely used different versions of Android and device hardware were used.  Versions of Android older than 4.1 (Jelly Bean), and ARM v6 hardware, are now quite rare.  Dropping support for these older Android devices will allow us to make LiveCode considerably faster, by taking advantage of newer hardware features.

We will drop support for ARM v6 hardware and the oldest versions of Android in LiveCode 8.2.

Note: Official support will be extended to new versions of Android when they are released for general availability.  Preview and beta releases are not officially supported.

Android version support information
LiveCode 8.1 LiveCode 8.2
Gingerbread (2.3.3–2.3.7) Yes No
Ice Cream Sandwich (4.0) Yes No
Jelly Bean (4.1–4.3) Yes Yes
KitKat (4.4) Yes Yes
Lollipop (5.0–5.1) Yes Yes
Marshmallow (6.0) Yes Yes
Android hardware support information
LiveCode 8.1 LiveCode 8.2
ARM v6 Yes No
ARM v7 Yes Yes
ARM v8 (ARM64) Yes Yes

Apple’s MacOS X operating system is very popular with LiveCode users thanks to LiveCode’s HyperTalk ancestry.  It’s also the only operating system that can be used to build iOS apps to run on Apple’s iPhone and iPad devices.

Apple currently provides security updates and other support for MacOS X 10.9 and later, and provides upgrades to newer versions of MacOS for all customers.

In LiveCode 8.2, we will end official support for versions of MacOS that are not officially supported by Apple.

Note: Official support will be extended to new versions of MacOS when Apple releases them for general availability.  Preview and beta releases are not officially supported.

MacOS platform support information
LiveCode 8.1 LiveCode 8.2
Snow Leopard (10.6) Yes No
Lion (10.7) Yes No
Mountain Lion (10.8) Yes No
Mavericks (10.9) Yes Yes
Yosemite (10.10) Yes Yes
El Capitan (10.11) Yes Yes

The iOS operating system is used on Apple’s iPad and iPhone mobile devices.  iOS app development is extremely popular among LiveCode developers.

The Apple App Store only accepts iOS apps if they are compiled with support for one of a few, most recent versions of iOS.  Currently, LiveCode has official support only for these versions of the iOS device operating system.  In the past, however, there has also been official support for much older versions of the iOS simulator (which is included with Apple’s Xcode development environment).

We will continue to officially support all versions of iOS that are supported by the App Store. However, in LiveCode 8.2 we will end official support for older versions of iOS simulator.

Note: Official support will be extended to new versions of iOS when Apple releases them for general availability.  Preview and beta releases are not officially supported.

iOS platform support information
LiveCode 8.1 LiveCode 8.2
iOS 6.1 Simulator No
iOS 7.1 Simulator No
iOS 8.2 Yes Yes
iOS 9.2 Yes Yes
iOS 9.3 Yes Yes

As you can see, LiveCode has official support for a very large variety of platforms!

But wait; there is more! There are several platforms where LiveCode isn’t officially supported, but can be made to run quite well, such as on the Xubuntu variant of Ubuntu Linux, or on ARMv6 Linux distributions running on tiny Raspberry Pi computers.

And what if changes are needed to make LiveCode work on your favourite platform? LiveCode is open source software, and the core dev team will always accept reasonable patches to make it easier to compile and use LiveCode on a wide variety of platforms.

In the future, we will try to ensure that we always clearly indicate what platforms you can get official support for, and we will soon be updating the support area of the website to make this information easier to find.  We’ll do our best to give as much notice as possible when a particular platform is reaching end-of-life.

If you have any questions about our platform support policy, please contact our support team.

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Peter BrettUpdates to LiveCode’s platform support policy

Video or Written Documents?

by Heather Laine on May 1, 2014 24 comments

How is it best to deliver help and instruction? I started musing on this question when I got feedback from a customer on just how much he hated video tutorials as a medium to learn programming. Really, I thought? How common is that? His argument was that it’s much faster to read text, pull out the relevant bits and absorb the information you are looking for, and sitting through a video takes longer. I wonder how true this is and in what context. 

Of course, working in support, I’m acutely aware that most people would rather put their hand in a fire than read the instructions. In a perfect world, software would just leap out of the screen, grab you round the throat and yell "Don’t do that to me! Do it this way instead!" Or putting it another way, the interface would be so self explanatory that no-one would need any kind of instructional materials at all. For a complex programming environment like LiveCode, that’s a pretty tall order. You are just going to have to learn the language, sometime, somehow. Read the dictionary, work through some lessons, join one of our summer courses or get some Academy tutorials. But which? Some people prefer to read a book in the bath (our dictionary will probably keep you clean for a year), others might prefer to follow along to a video. The academies are a nice mix, you get both. Every video has a written accompanying document you can copy and paste from. I’d love to be a fly on the wall to see how people actually use them. Do you watch the video? Do you just read the document? How much does the video contribute to your understanding of the document and vice versa? 

I’m the kind of person that likes to learn specific things, when I need them. I am unlikely to sit down and read a book on Dreamweaver from cover to cover, but if I need to know how to do a specific thing like create a rotating gif, I’ll go and look it up. Usually not in the Dreamweaver help, which sucks, but by googling it, and grabbing a nice text tutorial. Yes, I realized in thinking about this, I would not look for a video. Videos annoy me. They mean I have to turn my music off to listen to them, and you can’t copy and paste from a video. I am the Queen of Copy and Paste!

My daughter, on the other hand, will never read anything if there is a video alternative. Reading seems to be something that does not come naturally to the younger generation. 

Relevant to these musings also is the question, is it better to have short self contained tutorials on specific things, or a longer more themed book, tutorial series or video course, going through a subject in depth? Our lessons are an example of the former, they are based around the theory of answering one specific question – how do I use Google Maps in LiveCode? How do I connect to an SQLite database? For me, this is a good way to learn. I’m not overwhelmed by a tome on the theory of storing and accessing data and including it in an app, I just do what I need to do, today. Over time, as I do more and more of these specific tasks, things fall into place and I reach that "aha" moment where it all starts to make sense and I can flexibly create new items from what I have learned and understood. But other people might be happier with a soup to nuts guide before they start on their own first app. 

So where do you guys fit? What comes naturally to a programmer? How and when did you reach your "aha" moment?

This is Lily’s take on this complex issue, after considerable thought:

clip_image002

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Heather LaineVideo or Written Documents?

A Day in the Frontline. How important is Customer Support?

by Neil Roger on March 11, 2014 No comments

When the time comes to buying a new product, I have always felt that great customer support is key when making your decision.

Imagine the situation of being lumped with a $500 dent in your wallet (or purse) just because you don’t know how to get started. It wouldn’t make you feel particularly great would it? This type of situation can also apply to users, who are more familiar with your product and are considering a purchase.

Knowing that they have access to a basic level of support, with the option of upgrading to a something more tailored, gives them the confidence and final push they need to help them part with their hard earned money.

So what makes good customer support?

Receiving an answer to your question is a good start but its the personal touch that makes customers really appreciate your service. There is nothing better than creating a rapport with a customer and getting to know them on a more personal level. When a customer responds with “its great to hear from you again Neil” it really does make make the job worthwhile. (Receiving thank you chocolates is also a bonus) although my wife would probably tell me I don’t need them.

Our users are at the heart of LiveCode and we would not be here without them. I personally strive to ensure that I am consistently providing the best customer service possible and will always respond to every query I receive, no matter how big or small it may be. Whether it be someone starting out looking for some advice, to a pro support user with an intensive stack related question, our support channels are always there to be used and we will do our best to help. I like to encourage users to feel comfortable and confident to approach me, which I think is key to a successful Customer Service experience.

There are various avenues available for receiving support with LiveCode, with your first point of contact generally being support@runrev.com. Depending on your request, we will try to point you in the right direction and help you as much as possible. If you require more involved support (e.g. intense stack/scripting) then we will mention the various support packages that we have which will allow us to assist you. No matter how many questions you need to ask we will support you all the way until you find the resolution you need.

Along with this direct support path, we also have our more community based support in the form forums which can be found here: http://forums.runrev.com

The other Support systems we provide are also fantastic resources filled with second to none content, the additional links to these can be found at the end of this blog so please feel free to have a good look.

We have a very active and outstanding community who are always willing to share their wealth of knowledge. The Forums, Stackoverflow and Lists are also actively managed by the RunRev staff, which is fantastic as it allows them to input their vast amounts of knowledge regularly, therefore allowing support to be available on a more regular and faster pace.

I hope this has given you some insight into support RunRev and if you by chance require some LiveCode related help in the future, please do not be afraid to ask. (we don’t bite).

Link information: Stackoverflow LiveCode Use List

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Neil RogerA Day in the Frontline. How important is Customer Support?

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