HTML5 Questions Answered
HTML5 Questions Answered

I'd like to start by thanking everyone for all the support you've given us so far. As of writing 208 of you have made your pledge, and we've reached $104,439 already. This is great progress, lets keep it coming!

 

Quite a number of questions have arisen during the last couple of weeks, here are some answers for you.

 

What does HTML5 deployment actually mean to me? What will I be able to do?

A good question that a number of people have asked in support. The short answer is, you will be able to run your app in a browser by just making a few selections in the standalone builder and checking a "Build for Web" box. Your end user will not need to download anything to make your app run, and it will be platform agnostic.

 

Will it just create a full webpage or a file that will be referenced by a webpage? Will it add interactivity to a webpage like javascript code?

It will create a JavaScript app that gets embedded onto a page. That will allow it to run natively in a browser without needing a plugin. Depending on how far we get with the stretch goals we'll allow you to communicate fully with JavaScript and interact with other elements on the page.

 

In the Community edition will the code be readable in a browser like html code?

The JavaScript output that gets generated will be a combination of the engine and your stack. In theory you will be able to read it but in practice because it is auto generated it won't be easy to read.

 

Will it interact with the LiveCode server? Will it require a LiveCode server to run?

It will not require LiveCode Server to run. However it will be able to access web services of all types, including those written in LiveCode server. So if your stack currently calls something online written in LiveCode Server, it would be able to continue to do so in the browser.

 

Will it work on any host (like GoDaddy or 1&1 or on our own apache or other server)

Yes it will work with any host. There is nothing that needs to be installed in either the server or the client. You just embed your LiveCode app (compiled to JavaScript) within your page.

 

Will the encryption functions be available in the HTML5 deployment?

Yes, there is no reasonOpenSSL should not compile to JavaScript like the rest of the engine does so you should be able to use Encrypt/Decrypt as you do on other platforms.

 

Are you dropping support for other platforms?

Certainly not! LiveCode will still deploy to iOS, Android, Mac, Windows, Linux and Server. As well as Web.

 

Why are you starting this additional large project now when you have so much still to complete for the Next Generation project?

Lets be realistic here. What was the last major software project you heard of that ran perfectly to schedule? This is the largest and most complex project we've ever done. It is one of the most difficult projects by any standards of software engineering. We've delivered the majority of project.

 

It is true that the refactor we've completed doesn't really change the user experience all that much. The last pieces that sit on top of what we've done are what will make the product feel next-generation to you, our users. However that's just the nature of a project of this level of complexity. You can see all our hard work in our source on Github. The remaining pieces are well in progress now.

 

If we wait to start HTML5 until Next Generation is completely done, its going to be a very long time before it gets into the hands of you, the users. You told us in very strong terms that you didn't want to wait. The results of that survey were striking and we listened. With the core refactor done this project can happen independently of our other projects without impact on either side. So we're starting now. Put another way, you want it, we can make it, it doesn't slow down anything else we're doing, so why wouldn't we start it?

 

The other excellent reason to do this now is that we have the option to obtain match funding right now. This will, among other things, support us in delivering the final next-generation goals.

 

Will this project delay delivery of Next Generation?

No. I'm not sure how many more ways there are to say this! HTML5 will have only benefits for the existing roadmap. We can get started hiring new programmers for it and train them up on Next Generation. Our current team is working solidly on Next Generation, and only Next Generation. We do not want to and will not take them off it to start a new project. This is why we are raising separate funding.

 

Are you worried that you're halfway through the funding period and have only made 26% of the target? Shouldn't you have made at least half by now?

No. This is absolutely typical of a campaign like this. Over half the funding of our last project was taken in the last few days. So while we are far from complacent, we're not despondent either. Together we can achieve this!

 

Why are you running this on your own site instead of on Kickstarter?

Kickstarter take a percentage of the funds raised as their fee. We felt that the money could be put to better use. We're not the first company to decide that this kind of crowd funding can be privately run - take a look at the recent highly successful Brewdog crowdfunding campaign for example. We and our community did most of the publicity work on the last campaign and in doing that again this time we can just as easily point people to a link on our own site. This also gives us more flexibility, for example we can accept purchase orders, wire transfers and Paypal on our own site, which Kickstarter doesn't.

 

Doesn't that mean you don't get as much publicity?

It does mean that we need you, the community, more than ever to talk about the campaign, publicise it wherever you can, tweet, blog and submit to magazines. We're doing it ourselves but the more that join in the better. In our last campaign it was the community that made the difference!

 

Can you add a pledge for the Commercial license that offers both the existing platforms and HTML5 when it is delivered?

We've had a few requests for this. If you would like to see a pledge at $499 for all platforms including html5 when ready, please email us and if enough of you ask for it we'll add it.

 

Can we reach 30% pledged by Monday?

Let's do it! Who will make the 212th pledge?

 

Let's Do It

 

About The Author
Steven Crighton
Steven is Digital Marketing Manager for LiveCode
Read Stevens Blog
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Thank you for your time.

 

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