Out of curiosity, what is it that the MetaCard development environment has that the Revolution environment doesn't?
Or, what is it that MetaCard _doesn't_ have that can't be hidden or> done away with in Revolution?
The second statement is more likely on target. I can use either environment in most cases, but there are some times when MC is easier. The thing that MC has that Rev doesn't is, in a nutshell, simplicity. This issue is probably of more consequence to experienced MC users than those who come new to Revolution.
For users who are not as familiar with the capabilities of the engine, Rev probably offers the best interface because it is so visual: the user doesn't need to know the entire language and environment to get work done. There are lots of palettes and libraries to help, and a lot of the stack design can be done by simply clicking checkboxes and filling in a few fields.
But for those who have been using MC for a long time, the extra palettes, libraries, and interface elements can get in the way. Someone mentioned speed, and that's a consideration too; it does take somewhat longer for Rev's palettes to load and display their data -- noticeably more time than the equivalent MC palettes. I can think of two examples of how Rev slows my work, both of which I ran up against yesterday, and which caused me to simply switch my working environment from Rev to MC for that session.
I am porting a 4,000-card, multi-background client stack from HyperCard to Revolution. I wanted to look at a list of all objects on a particular card. It is impossible to see an overview of a stack this large in the Application Overview unless you are willing to go out to lunch and maybe have a couple of drinks while it is loading. I didn't need, or want, to see a list of all the cards -- obviously this is a database -- I just wanted to see the objects on the current card. It was a no-brainer; I opened it in MC where the Control Browser showed me -- instantly, with no delay -- only what I wanted. Rev's IDE, in this case, interfered and slowed me down. I know there are third-party Rev tools to do what I want (including your own control browser) but at that moment I couldn't play with the IDE, I just needed to get the work done. Switching back to MC was easier and a magnitude faster. (The fact that there are several third-party control browser stacks around shows that my experience is common and perhaps should be addressed by Runtime.)
I have a library of custom handlers that I load at startup in both MC and Rev. One of my handlers reports the mainstacks that are currently loaded in memory. When I run this handler in MC, there are at most only a couple of stacks from the IDE listed, but in Rev, it is difficult to find my own stacks among the dozens that Rev maintains. When I get around to it, I will customize my handler to remove all the "rev" stacks before displaying the results, but at that moment the extra info was intrusive. I can't remove these stacks from Rev (nor do I want to) because they are necessary to its functioning. A somewhat parallel example is the number of custom messages that are constantly being sent in the background by Rev. I know I can view a modified list of pending messages from within the message box, but since MC sends no custom messages in the background at all, MC's IDE translates to the user as "cleaner." And again, these custom messages can't be removed from the program.
These are very minor examples, none of which are crucial or insurmountable. I can customize my way out of the first two of them easily. But the lean IDE in MC has its appeal -- precisely because I *don't* have to customize it. It just stays out of my way. I think it is this kind of thing that causes experienced MC users to accuse Revolution of "bloat". It is also this feeling of steamlined useability that caused HyperCard people to accuse MetaCard of "bloat" as well. ;) Hypercard's huge advantage is the way its own IDE remains completely out of sight until you need it.
The most likely answer to your question is that, given human nature, people don't easily change their habits. For myself, I find I use Revolution far more from the message box than from within its many palettes. It's just how I'm used to doing things, and it is much faster because I type fast and I don't have to wait for interface elements to load. The good news for MC users who are moving to Rev is that it works just fine that way.
-- Jacqueline Landman Gay | [EMAIL PROTECTED] HyperActive Software | http://www.hyperactivesw.com
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