Scratch

shadow_7283 wrote:

Just like it annoys me when people say Windows and PCs are horrible.
It also bugs me when Steve Jobs releases Apple's next device that is almost the exact same as the old one with a bigger screen. Apple's "no code interpretation policy" also annoys me.
But enough of that.

First thing - PC mean Personal Computer, and macs were the first PCs. Second thing - The iPad is awesome. Third thing - It annoys me too.

But it's only a few itty bitty problems. The pros of mac are equal to that of Windows. I like Windows Seven, it's as close to a Mac Windows can get without being a Mac.
The pros of Mac: No viruses. Fast. Crashes less. Stylish. Good quality. Lots of games. Good for programming and that stuff. Lots of stuff like Flash and Java.

The pros of Windows:Kind of fast. Slightly stylish. Good quality, depending on which version. LOADS of games. LOADS of programs. Cheap.

Mac:7
Windows:7

shadow_7283 wrote:

I've noticed that BYOB3 never gets the disappearing text glitch.

THANK GOODNESS!

EDIT: I've just started to notice that although the Scratch Team is great, they take WAY too long to bug fix and add new features. You guys add features in one minor update that would take them months and a new release. Feel proud. 

QFT.

shadow_7283 wrote:

You guys add features in one minor update that would take them months and a new release. Feel proud. 

Thanks!

"You guys" is all Jens, who's done all of the programming (except I put in about two lines for the Mac compiler feature    ).  As he said a year ago in his blog, he didn't realize, when he wrote up the original BYOB as a proof-of-concept that you could define blocks in a reasonable way, that people like me were going to come along and insist that he make it even better, for massive use in courses.

But, yeah, this has taken up the entire life of both of us, and I am proud of it!  I'd like to think that after the official release we can take a break from it, but no, we already have a long list of things we want and things other people want, and we're starting to say things like "I guess that'll be in 3.4" to each other. 

But, to be fair, you have to remember that most of the Scratch Team's audience aren't like you.  They're not modders, not "Advanced Topics" readers.  And they very probably would hate it if a new version came out every day!

Also, it's not as if they're sitting around idle.  Two weeks ago I saw a mockup of the planned online Scratch 2.0 look-and-feel.  To make it happen they're doing a complete rewrite, in a whole different language.  They probably couldn't do frequent updating of 1.4 at the same time they're developing this new version.

Really? That sounds pretty cool! You wouldn't happen to have a link to the Scratch 2.0 mockup, would you?

Wait a minute... If Scratch is being rewritten, does that mean BYOB will have to be too?

bharvey wrote:

shadow_7283 wrote:

Really? That sounds pretty cool! You wouldn't happen to have a link to the Scratch 2.0 mockup, would you?

Sorry, I don't think it's on the net.  It was cool, although I personally am less interested in web-based computing (write Scratch projects on the web, keep your costumes and sounds and stuff on the web too) than some other people are.

Wait a minute... If Scratch is being rewritten, does that mean BYOB will have to be too?

One of two things will happen:  (1) We convince them to adopt our ideas about first class data[*], in which case they do the rewriting; or (2) we don't, in which case it doesn't really matter if they switch to another platform; we can stay with what we have.  Although sooner or later we should rewrite it anyway, to make it faster.  But if we're not trying to embed BYOB in a browser, we can pick a good programming language to write it in. 

This was a pretty urgent question when we started this project, because Scratch 2.0 was supposed to be done by this fall.  That's one reason we made the movie in advance of having the software ready.  But now it seems it'll be at least a year from now, so we can wear down their resistance gradually. 

[*] (I know, it gets harder to convince you I'm really a child if I footnote forum postings, but...)  "Our ideas" makes it sound as if we know something they don't, but in fact the Scratch Team are well aware of first class data, having taken the same Abelson and Sussman course at MIT from which I learned it.  It's our idea only in the sense that we're more convinced than they are that it belongs in Scratch.

I think that it's best if the mods stay in squeak, because it would take forever to rewrite them.

Billybob-Mario wrote:

I think that it's best if the mods stay in squeak, because it would take forever to rewrite them.

Yes, and it certainly won't happen soon for us (although nXIII is talking about completely rewriting Panther).  But Scratch is an interpreter on top of an interpreter, which makes it inherently pretty slow.  And the code in the evaluator is, umm, Baroque.  If we started with, say, a Scheme compiler, we could have a blindingly fast evaluator.  But all the user interface graphics would have to be redone.

shadow_7283 wrote:

What does that mean?

Jeez, you know just as much about the internet as my dad -.-

It means "Quoted for truth" - like I agree with you.

fullmoon wrote:

By the way, excellent beta release. It installed flawlessly on Vista (which is no mean feat).

Thanks!

Scratch 2.0: Flash? Squeak? JS? Take the Scratch 2.0 Platform Poll!

What if I don't like any of those languages?  Your poll has no provision for write-in votes.  (I know, you didn't write the software.)

bharvey wrote:

Lucario621 wrote:

Jeez, you know just as much about the internet as my dad -.-

Hey!  Your dad is a computer programmer!

Yeah...

He knows lots about computers. Not about the internet and memes and abbreviations and stuff :3

Heck, when my grand kids ask what I did when I was a kid, I'll tell 'em I laughed at cats on the internet  .

bharvey wrote:

fullmoon wrote:

By the way, excellent beta release. It installed flawlessly on Vista (which is no mean feat).

Thanks!

Scratch 2.0: Flash? Squeak? JS? Take the Scratch 2.0 Platform Poll!

What if I don't like any of those languages?  Your poll has no provision for write-in votes.  (I know, you didn't write the software.)

What language do you want then? C? B? A? D? Perl? Python? That-one-that-you-keep-mention-but-I-can't-remember? Pascal?

markyparky56 wrote:

What language do you want then? C? B? A? D? Perl? Python? That-one-that-you-keep-mention-but-I-can't-remember? Pascal?

Hehe, it's That-one-that-you-keep-mention-but-I-can't-remember and it's called Scheme. If you ever go to Berkeley you'll learn to remember it 

Schaffenswut should probably translate to "obsessively creative"