Kevin,
Welcome to the best kept secret for many of us professional developers. I've yet to find something I can't build using RR. See below for some thoughts and answers.
Kevin Walzer wrote:
1. How closely does Rev resemble AppleScript--not in terms of its hooks into the Mac OS, but on a more general scale--its syntax, its programming logic, etc.? Does a background in AppleScript and AppleScript Studio lessen the learning curve somewhat?
I'm primarily a PC programmer, but have 'dabbled' some in Applescript. Just like Applescript uses an 'english-like' syntax, so does Revolution. The language is quite robust, in fact, rarely have I ever had to go outside the language for both Mac and PC applications. I've created a neat little image app called "ButtonGadget" (www.buttongadget.com) using RR with no externals. Took me only a couple of weeks to develop.
2. How does Rev compare to other cross-platform toolkits such as Qt and Java/Swing? Does it have limitations over what these other systems can do? Does it have advantages?
I probably am not the best person to ask, but my partner is a seasoned C programmer and has used most of the toolkits you've talked about. He tells me I can build apps an order of magnitude faster than the fastest C programmers he knows. He also is a big fan of RR, and Altuit (our company) builds externals for it as well. (See http://www.altuit.com/webs/altuit2/RunRev/default.htm)
As you probably already know, QT is even more expensive than Rev. Also, Rev has an Express product which is very affordable. Actually, one of the biggest advantages Rev has going for it, is this list. It's VERY active and both newbies and advanced users are welcome :-)
3. How does Rev compare specifically to other scripting languages, especially Tcl/Tk and Python/wxPython? I'm studying Tcl/Tk out of a slightly contrarian nature, as I know the GUI's that can be built with Tk are more limited; wxPython, by contrast, is very rich. Can anyone with experience with either of these development environments offer some insight about how they compare to Rev?
Dan Shafer is a big python nut, and perhaps he'll chime in here. I doubt you can create the types of interfaces in Python as you can in Rev. In fact, I believe Dan has written books on both Python and Rev and he could give you some advice...(He's currently mostly using Rev these days).
4. Documentation. I note that Rev seems to come with fairly comprehensive documentation built-in--the API reference, Transcript dictionary, and some basic tutorials. I found it a bit hard to navigate, although this may be something that can be overcome with a greater investment of time. However, Apple has both a very complete (300+ plus pages) API reference for AppleScript and AppleScript Studio, and detailed introductory materials, that made learning AppleScript very easy. I also note that there is a large pool of third-party documentation on AppleScript, both informal (websites) and formal (O'Reillly books). The same is true, especially, for Qt, Tcl/Tk (I just spent $60 on two nice Prentice Hall books on Qt and Tcl) and of course Java. By contrast, I haven't noticed a large pool of documentation for Rev outside of that which comes with the application. Is it out there, and I just haven't seen it? Is there an O'Reilly book in the works? I guess I'm curious as to what additional independent resources there are for learning Transcript apart from what comes with Rev itself.
You can purchase the Reference Manuals from Rev direct...I did. They make for great 'bedtime reading' but you'll probably also want to buy Dan's book as well. It's great for those just getting started. You can find it on the RR site.
I appreciate any advice anyone can give me!
Your welcome! Hope you decide to join our community:-)
-Chipp Walters
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