Effective Keyword
Me: “Hi LiveCode, I have a task for you:”
LiveCode: “I’ve got nothing for you.”
Me: “How unkind. Well, if you’re going to act like that:”
LiveCode: “Talk to me like that and I’m just going to keep returning empty.”
Me: “I accept your challenge – to the pros!”
Me: “Hi, nice fellow co-worker – how about this LiveCode problem, I’m stumped!”
Fellow LiveCoder:“Hmm, interesting… oh yes – you want the effective keyword.”
Me:“Yay! So LiveCode, do you want to play nice? Please could I have:”
LiveCode:“Well, today is the 30th Jan, item 2 is the day, so that would be 33rd January.”
Me:“Don’t be silly – that’s not a date.”
LiveCode:“Hehe, I know what you could do, but I’m not telling.”
Me:“You think I give in that easy?!”
LiveCode: “Bravo! 3 days from now is the 2nd February. Congratulations!”
Me:(Huge sigh of relief).
Filter Keyword
Me:“Hey LiveCode, I hear you like working with text. Can you help?”
LiveCode:“Sure, what do you need?”
Me:“Well…”
LiveCode:“Right you are, that would be:”
LiveCode:“That’s a bit of a long winded way of doing it though, aye?”
Me:“Any hints?”
LiveCode:“Well to me, that looks like you are ‘filtering’ those items – get it?!”
Me:“Hmm, you are a cryptic one, but I’ll give it a shot:”
LiveCode:“Oh, you are a cunning one!”
Me: (Confident nod of agreement).
waitDepth Function
Me:“Good morning LiveCode, I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind doing this potentially complicated task. It might take a while.”
LiveCode:“No, at all – that’s what I was born to do!”
Me:“Ideal! Right, off you go.”
2 minutes later…
Me:“LiveCode, what are you doing – you seem to be working, but I have no clue what – ”
LiveCode:“I might be ‘waiting’ for stuff to happen, but I won’t tell unless you ask nicely.”
Me:“Absolutely, if manners are what you seek – could you please tell me:”
LiveCode:“Sure, that would be 4, which is greater than one – so you know I’m doing something.”
Me:(Sigh of relief).
ItemDel
Me:“Me again, fancy doing some work on lists?”
LiveCode:“Lists?! I do like lists!”
Me:“Brilliant – how about this:”
LiveCode:“No problem – tResult is:”
‘this,is,another,list ‘
Me:“Woah, woah, woah – that isn’t right!”
LiveCode:“That’s what you asked for. I thought it was a bit silly, but I did it all the same. See, I’m not judgemental.”
Me:“Right – bug hunting time!”
Some time later…
Me:“Aha – I didn’t set the itemDel back! Silly me!”
LiveCode:“Yup. I guess this is what you wanted:”
‘this is another list ’
Me:(Sigh of relief and nod of agreement).
Optimisation
Me: “So, I have a lot of data for you to work on. Is that OK?”
LiveCode:“Sure – I feel in a fighting mood today.”
Me:“Rightio:”
LiveCode: “Ah, that might take some time – I think a cup of tea is in order.”
Me:“Fine by me.”
Many cups of tea later…
Me: “Hello, LiveCode – are you there?”
LiveCode:“Just a minute more… Done!”
Me:“Did you have a nap?”
LiveCode:“No, that task is just a bit tough for me – can you make it easier?”
Me:“Oh, okay sure I’ll try something slightly different. How about if I used ‘after’ instead of ‘before’?”
LiveCode:“Oh, I can do that in no time at all! Done!”
Me:(Elated sense of victory).
Shortcuts
Me:“Hey LiveCode – so I want to go to the script editor, but I prefer to use the keyboard – some tips would be nice.”
LiveCode:“I might have some tips, but is that any way to ask?”
Me:“Oh, I do apologise. Please could you advise me how to use the keyboard to get to the script editor?”
LiveCode:“I certainly can! Try pressing (ctrl/command + e) on any control you want to see the script of – you’ll pop right into the script editor!”
Me:“Oh, great – thanks.”
LiveCode:“No problem at all. You asked rather kindly, so here is a bonus tip for free: Press (ctrl/command + 9) or (ctrl/command + 0) to switch between run mode and edit mode. You seem to do that a lot – so I thought this might help you out.”
Me:You’re the best, LC.
Hopefully you’ll have just as much fun reading this as I had writing it and hopefully the tips I have sneaked in here will help you out. I’m always looking for neat LiveCode tips, so if you have any, I’d love to hear about them below in the comments. There are various places around the web for tips like these, but here are a few I have found particularly useful:
• 52 tips by RunRevPlanet
• LiveCode Lessons
• LiveCode Tips and Tricks
• BYU LiveCode Shortucts
3 comments
Join the conversationRichmond Mathewson - February 5, 2015
I don’t think you are crazy: a little off-centre perhaps, but if that is what it takes to work with Livecode it is well worth the odd looks you may attract if you do your programming in a shared space. I do mine in a private space, and I don’t talk to Livecode, I just burble fairly mindlessly . . .
Surely, the great thing about computer programming is that you can do it with one leg in the bath, a banana balanced on one’s head while singing the Vietnamese national anthem, and wearing a plastic dustbin liner – what matters is the end result: the computer program; all the rest is tangential 🙂
Heather - February 5, 2015
Can I have a photo of that?
Richmond Mathewson - February 8, 2015
Every man has his price . . .
A lifetime licence to all forms of Livecode on all platforms?