Contents

After the sample applications were built, Real Software released version 3.5 and an alpha of version 4.0 of REALbasic, which include a number of enhancements, among them regular expression support. Revolution 1.1 is in public testing. This white paper will be updated when both releases ship.

REAL Software’s direction can be seen in the alpha versions they release. They are working to integrate with Microsoft Office, and have added an internal scripting engine and support for 3D graphics. Much of their development effort at this point will focus on strengthening these new features, and polishing the feature set they already have.

Revolution’s path is clear, if only because there are always so many things clearly needed following a 1.0 release. A version including compatibility with Mac OS X, full AppleScript support, and database connectivity is scheduled for release in Q3. Further-improved graphics and Internet connectivity support are also planned. In addition, educational packages featuring Revolution based teaching material are in the works.

Both environments will have to work to provide a good experience on Mac OS X as Apple refines that OS.
 

Apple’s HyperCard, a high-level development environment that has been the inspiration for literally dozens of other environments, has languished for years, limping along on promise and momentum. It’s become clear that Apple has no plans for a Mac OS X native version. There is still a large community of HyperCard developers, many of whom are now examining their options.

The impact of the choices these developers make will be felt by both environments. REALbasic is at the same time the more familiar and more foreign environment: more familiar because it is more focused on Macintosh development; more foreign because REALbasic itself is a much greater leap conceptually from HyperCard than is Revolution. If Revolution captures the greater number of HyperCard refugees, that would do a great deal to quickly overcome the 1.0 limitation on its user community.