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Sometimes when I'm drinking at 3am I like to imagine a world where somebody wrote a hypercard server and we were all developing web apps as hypercard stacks ins

Sometimes when I'm drinking at 3am I like to imagine a world where somebody wrote a hypercard server and we were all developing web apps as hypercard stacks instead of our current abomination.

disqard 5y ago
Would you give https://www.blockstud.io https://www.blockstud.io a try? I'd love to hear your thoughts on it. Thanks!
- outofpaper 5y ago
  I thought the site was pretty cool. What's your take on using Blockstud.io over Snap or Scratch?
  - disqard 5y ago
    I'm slightly biased (as the creator of BlockStudio), but I think Scratch/Snap are basically graphical editors for textual code. They solve a different problem (preventing syntax errors) than what BlockStudio is aiming for: using an extension of Graphical Rewrite Rules for programming, with an emphasis on making it accessible to beginners.
- criddell 5y ago
  That's pretty neat, but a browser-based application just isn't the same thing.
  - disqard 5y ago
    Thanks for checking it out! You're right that a browser-based app is not the same thing. At the same time, as an individual maintaining this entire thing, I can't invest the time and effort to port this to multiple platforms, whereas this format enables it to be used by people on (self-reported) laptops, tablets, as well as desktops.
    - criddell 5y ago
      It doesn't have to be on multiple platforms though... One of the cool things about Hypercard was that it could access the entire machine. A sandboxed browser page will never (hopefully) be able to do that.
- blacktriangle 5y ago
  I took a look. It's a very impressive project but it's not what I personally have in mind as a hypercard replacement. I really do like the hybrid code/visual model. I'm one of the few people I know who actually did like the original Xcode/Interface Builder split since it let both parts focus on what they were good for. I like Hypercard because it made the visual part (the UI) visual, but still gave me the programmer full control of the logic. Here it looks like you're pushing to see how far you can go with no-code. I'm not sure if any thoughts on this I or anybody on HN would have are helpful for your stated goals of broadening computational literacy. That said it's a very cool project and best of luck on your research!
  - disqard 5y ago
    Thank you for making time to check it out, for making time to share your feedback, and for the encouragement!
ksec 5y ago
Something like CardStack? https://cardstack.com https://cardstack.com
joezydeco 5y ago
We'd all be here bitching about how our stupid e-commerce stacks still need to have backwards support for 512x342 1bpp monochrome graphics.
- klodolph 5y ago
  So, HyperCard’s 1bpp limitation is fairly ingrained, but the resolution can be anything you want.
  - w0mbat 5y ago
    In HyperCard 2.0, yes. There was a color HyperCard 3.0 in development at Clarus which never shipped. Then there was the HyperCard/QuickTime hybrid that was demoed at WWDC and never shipped.
    - joezydeco 5y ago
      But would they work with the Facebook XFCNs? =)

Sometimes when I'm drinking at 3am I like to imagine a world where somebody wrote a hypercard server and we were all developing web apps as hypercard stacks instead of our current abomination.

disqard 5y ago

Would you give https://www.blockstud.io https://www.blockstud.io a try? I'd love to hear your thoughts on it. Thanks!

outofpaper 5y ago
I thought the site was pretty cool. What's your take on using Blockstud.io over Snap or Scratch?
- disqard 5y ago
  I'm slightly biased (as the creator of BlockStudio), but I think Scratch/Snap are basically graphical editors for textual code. They solve a different problem (preventing syntax errors) than what BlockStudio is aiming for: using an extension of Graphical Rewrite Rules for programming, with an emphasis on making it accessible to beginners.
criddell 5y ago
That's pretty neat, but a browser-based application just isn't the same thing.
- disqard 5y ago
  Thanks for checking it out! You're right that a browser-based app is not the same thing. At the same time, as an individual maintaining this entire thing, I can't invest the time and effort to port this to multiple platforms, whereas this format enables it to be used by people on (self-reported) laptops, tablets, as well as desktops.
  - criddell 5y ago
    It doesn't have to be on multiple platforms though... One of the cool things about Hypercard was that it could access the entire machine. A sandboxed browser page will never (hopefully) be able to do that.
blacktriangle 5y ago
I took a look. It's a very impressive project but it's not what I personally have in mind as a hypercard replacement. I really do like the hybrid code/visual model. I'm one of the few people I know who actually did like the original Xcode/Interface Builder split since it let both parts focus on what they were good for. I like Hypercard because it made the visual part (the UI) visual, but still gave me the programmer full control of the logic. Here it looks like you're pushing to see how far you can go with no-code. I'm not sure if any thoughts on this I or anybody on HN would have are helpful for your stated goals of broadening computational literacy. That said it's a very cool project and best of luck on your research!
- disqard 5y ago
  Thank you for making time to check it out, for making time to share your feedback, and for the encouragement!

ksec 5y ago

Something like CardStack? https://cardstack.com https://cardstack.com

joezydeco 5y ago

We'd all be here bitching about how our stupid e-commerce stacks still need to have backwards support for 512x342 1bpp monochrome graphics.

klodolph 5y ago
So, HyperCard’s 1bpp limitation is fairly ingrained, but the resolution can be anything you want.
- w0mbat 5y ago
  In HyperCard 2.0, yes. There was a color HyperCard 3.0 in development at Clarus which never shipped. Then there was the HyperCard/QuickTime hybrid that was demoed at WWDC and never shipped.
  - joezydeco 5y ago
    But would they work with the Facebook XFCNs? =)