On Mon, 30 Sep 2013 09:39:06 -0500 "Edward K. Ream" <[email protected]> wrote:
> On Mon, Sep 30, 2013 at 9:20 AM, <[email protected]> wrote: > > Why can't we have some more accessible tutorial, with gentle, self > > contained lessons (maybe webcasts, or slides, or simple HTML pages) which > > _focus on the basic functionality_? > > > > Because it's a lot harder than you might imagine. I've tried many times, > and what you see is the result. > > I agree that Leo needs a muse. Apparently, I am not it. I think a lot of the problem is defining what Leo is. In some ways I think it's Python's Squeak (Squeak http://www.squeak.org/Screenshots/ being a SmallTalk environment where everything's an object). If all you want is an off the shelf turn key text editor with perhaps completion and syntax highlighting as its most advanced features, then there are several out there that are probably going to appeal more than Leo. If you're looking for an off the shelf turn key outliner, without the intent to use scripts etc., then again there are lots of alternatives, some of which probably seem more intuitive / simpler / even more feature rich than Leo. (The feature rich part is probably misleading, but they may seem that way initially). If your looking for an *environment* which includes a good editor and outliner and is completely scriptable / interactive / "live-code" in Python, then Leo wins hands down. Of course, it's basically alone in this field, as far as I know, but I'm sure it would do well even if it wasn't :-). Take out the Python part, and maybe there're some others out there, but who'd want to take out the Python part :) I guess Emacs is sort of an environment like this, only in Lisp with a prehistoric GUI system. Sometimes I've wondered why Leo seems to appeal to people who aren't comfortable in Python, I think now it's because they still recognize the value of an *environment*, and there's just not much in this niche. So to me it's more why don't more people want an environment like this. This might be relevant: http://www.python.org/doc/essays/cp4e/ (Computer Programming for Everybody). My feeling, talking generally and not about Leo in particular, is that while not everyone needs to be a "programmer", everyone who uses computers would benefit from being able to interact with them with more of the flexibility and efficiency that comes with even relatively simple "scripting", and less of the limitations that come with the "buy our latest product and you'll be able to do anything you want with a click" view pushed by other suppliers of computing environments. Cheers -Terry -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "leo-editor" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/leo-editor. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
