Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!jarthur!wilkins
From: wilkins@jarthur.Claremont.EDU (Mark Wilkins)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.hypercard
Subject: Re: HyperCard Authoring...The Brouhaha
Message-ID: <8583@jarthur.Claremont.EDU>
Date: 22 Sep 90 08:43:04 GMT
References: <30754@athertn.Atherton.COM>
Organization: Harvey Mudd College, Claremont, CA 91711
Lines: 40

In article <30754@athertn.Atherton.COM> dlw@Atherton.COM (David Williams) writes:
>   d) How to activate scripting is made generally public...but Claris
>adds value by doing fantastic manuals and support for more features in a  
>timely manner and you get official technical support (An Apple First)!

  This is probably the closest of the things you mentioned.

  I called up Apple's Developer Hotline and after some futzing about they
came back to me and explained that while the details weren't entirely clear
to them the following was true.

  There will, as Chuq has already said, be ONE HyperCard.  The version
shipped with the Mac will probably not have all the help facilities, or all
the example stacks.  It MAY (and this is a personal inference from my copy
of 2.0 final which just came in the mail) have a different Home stack which
provides no easy way to get into scripting mode.  However, Cmd-M "set
userlevel to 5" will almost certainly work and there probably will be an 
easier way.

  Also, the Claris product will include some new developer tools which
haven't been part of earlier HyperCard packages.

  Now, I just got a copy of the "golden master" HyperCard package from
Apple, in the mail.  It isn't clear to me whether this package was
equivalent to the Claris HyperCard package or the bundled one.  However, it
had a fair amount of stuff meant for the infrequent user and a fair amount
of stuff meant for casual developers.  Some of the development resources
seemed better than anything 1.2.x ever came with.

  The long and the short seems to be this.  HyperCard 2.0 the binary executable
comes in one variety.  The various support stacks come in two varieties, one
bundled and one sold for $50 to $100.

  All you need is the "Script Language Guide" or a Winkler or Goodman book,
and the one which comes with your Mac will be all you need.  However, some
of the things in the Claris package will be good enough that you will WANT 
them.

-- Mark Wilkins
   wilkins@jarthur.claremont.edu