If you already have a LiveCode license you probably have a lot of questions right now. What is Xavvi to me? Why should I want it? Is LiveCode going away? What do I get in Xavvi that’s not in LiveCode and vice versa? What happened to LiveCode 10?
First, let me put your mind at rest. LiveCode is not going away. Far from it. LiveCode is absolutely required for building Xavvi, and Xavvi will have the LiveCode language at its heart. We have no plans at all to discontinue LiveCode. If you already have a license for LiveCode, its still good and you will continue to receive updates and new features.
LiveCode 10 is coming
We have been working hard on LiveCode 10, and you can expect to see a new release soon with lots of great new features. The Web deployment is becoming more and more polished, with a smaller engine, more features and less dependency on “do as javascript”. The Script Compiler will be a part of LiveCode 10.
Two Products
While Xavvi is built on top of LiveCode, it really is its own product. Its core principle is that it is first and foremost a no-code tool. The interface has been redesigned to make it entirely drag and drop, and the incorporation of AI will really be a game changer. The dream of “app building for everyone” is closer than it has ever been. For the first time ever you’ll be able to run and edit apps live directly in a browser window.
Head in the clouds
Xavvi is cloud based. it cannot live independently on your computer, it lives in the browser and requires access to the backend database and connectivity to the AI component. This does mean it has associated costs in terms of consumption of cloud data and AI calls. LiveCode on the other hand can run on a completely offline machine if you so desire. It does not have data costs built in – but it also requires you to set up and handle your own database connections, however you decide to do that.
Desktop vs Web
LiveCode builds desktop apps, as well as mobile apps and Web apps. Xavvi outputs Web apps, however it can also leverage a LiveCode installation to create desktop and mobile apps. This is available in the higher licensing tiers for Xavvi, or you can “bring your own” LiveCode license to an Individual level tier to extend building to the desktop and mobile.
Code vs No-code
LiveCode requires you to write code to do anything more than drag out an interface. You can create your UI using pre-built objects and the Property Inspector, but for your objects to do anything you need to add code. English language code true, but still you have to write it, get the syntax right, figure out which commands you need to use etc. Xavvi with the AI builder will do this for you. The objects you drag out with point and click will have code already attached to them. You add to that code with the point and click Actions editor, and you can then read, study, add to, learn from and (if necessary) correct the generated code to get the exact actions you desire. So yes, strictly speaking “no-code” isn’t true. There is code there, running Xavvi apps. But for the first run experience, and even for a reasonably complex app, it will be true from a users perspective. And then when the user outgrows “no-code” it will be genuinely user extensible.
Now, I get it. You love writing code. Coding is your life and you even dream in code sometimes. You can go right on using LiveCode and writing the code you love. But maybe, sometimes, you might take a sneak peek at Xavvi when LiveCode isn’t looking, and get some interesting new insights into new ways to write that great code. You might even take that next step and allow Xavvi to provide you with shortcuts to your next app.
Interoperability
Can you import a LiveCode project into Xavvi and vice versa and carry on editing seamlessly? The answer is yes – with caveats. There will be areas of Xavvi that do not have a LiveCode equivalent, for example the custom data connectors will not work in LiveCode (unless you get the extension pack, see below). There may be features that LiveCode has which do not run in Xavvi at least at first. Xavvi apps run in a browser, so anything a browser app doesn’t allow is not going to work. However, generally speaking you will be able to transfer projects between them.
What about my legacy system?
Maybe you’ve built a massive ERP system entirely on LiveCode, and the thought of having to transition it to Xavvi is making your blood run cold. Don’t worry. Let me repeat – LiveCode is not going away. We are planning on maintaining it and adding to it to keep it relevant for the foreseeable future. You don’t have to transition unless and until you want to.
LiveCode Extensions Pack
You can upgrade your LiveCode and get some of the benefits of Xavvi without leaving your comfort zone. With the higher tiers of Xavvi licensing, you will be able to choose to add the Xavvi Extensions Pack for LiveCode, letting you use our custom cloud backend connectors and all the lovely new widgets in Xavvi, directly in LiveCode. You do need to have a Xavvi license for this, in order to be able to use the cloud data connection.
A note about pledges here: if you get the $499 Business Pledge which includes the Xavvi Extensions Pack for LiveCode, you’ll be able to keep that Extensions pack at any level of paid licensing in the future including Individual (which doesn’t otherwise include it).
At the end of the day, we’re all about enabling your development talents to go further. If you love LiveCode, Xavvi is going to astound you with what you can build in it.
Pledge now to bring Xavvi to the world.
