Software that you would like to have for Linux

[catweazel]

Wow!
Thanks for that tidbit....

You're more than welcome.

[catweazel]

It would never happen in a million years, but HyperCard would be fun to have.

And from HyperCard we would get AppleScript.

Gee, I haven't seen or heard of that since the late 1980s or very early 90s.

[rui no onna]

Code: Select all

sudo add-apt-repository -y ppa:notepadqq-team/notepadqq
sudo apt update
sudo apt install notepadqq

It's not notepad++ but it is close.

Wow!
Thanks for that tidbit....
I am a NotePad aficionado
Ted just don't quite cut it when you are used to Notepad.

I was using Kate instead of Ted but I was still looking for something closer to Notepad++. Notepadqq looks very nice indeed but not quite a replacement yet as I use Notepad++ plugins (Compare and TextFX) heavily. It's actually the plugins giving me problems with Npp/WINE. Also, I use Notepad++ Portable and have multiple copies as separate "profiles". Need to figure out how that's going to translate to Linux, too. Maybe when I stop redoing my partition setup, I can spend more time with software .

[Bit OT]
I really liked the Spectacle screenshot tool for KDE. I've already installed it on Mint Cinnamon but how do I make it the default? Screenshot doesn't show up in Preferred Applications.

[Portreve]

It would never happen in a million years, but HyperCard would be fun to have.

And from HyperCard we would get AppleScript.

Gee, I haven't seen or heard of that since the late 1980s or very early 90s.

I think the only people who know anything about it are those of us who used Macs back in the late 80s and early 90s. Eventually, another company called Silicon Beach Software introduced a program called SuperCard, which was a more feature-rich version, along with an upgraded version of HyperScript.

For those here who are unfamiliar, I'm going to give a very short example (because my knowledge is very limited) of HyperScript, which essentially is the basis also for AppleScript:

Code: Select all

on mouseEnter
   beep
   blink 3
end mouseEnter

Let's say you had an object (like a button) in HyperCard. Any object could have some HyperScript script attached to it. If you had a button with the above script, what would happen is when you moved the mouse cursor over top of the button, it would beep (other things could be done, but "beep" would just use the system-selected beep sound) and blink 3 times. You had a number of different variations, so mouseEnter is when the mouse enters the perimeter of the object, mouseLeave is when you moved off the object, mouseDown is when you pressed down on the mouse button but had not let go, mouseUp is when you'd let go of the button (which doubled as a "click"), and so on.

I mentioned some of what I'm about to talk about up-thread, but since we've sort of revisited the "ancient past" of 80s Macintosh and Mac OS here, I'd like to give folks (briefly) a little historical perspective. A software engineer named Bill Atkinson, who wrote MacPaint and MacWrite and other bits here and there came up with the idea of a relational database program. In both figurative and quasi-literal ways, it was the forerunner to the World Wide Web, whose HTML underpinnings were created by Tim Berners-Lee, who credits Bill Atkinson with kind of pioneering the idea of inter-linking data and pages and such.

HyperCard included a scripting language called HyperScript. The language and structure of HyperScript became the basis for AppleScript, which Apple would eventually release with System 7, and still is in use and existence to this day.

The program Automator takes the idea of user scripting of tasks and functions even further, but it also makes the construction process mostly visual, with users only needing to tweak settings.

I'm certain the argument can be made that with the BASH language, it would be a wasted effort to somehow manage to implement an AppleScript-like scripting language in GNU+Linux. If someone here on LMF wants to make that argument, by all means feel free to do so, but I'd agree with you. However, I think crafting a program which leverages BASH to allow users to create scripts or even just workflows visually would be of great benefit to regular computer users, like myself, who sometimes need extra functionality but there isn't necessarily a program written to do what we are looking for. Why not be able to build your own thing? One could even host the resultant files so other GNU+Linux users could have the benefit of such a thing.

[lsemmens]

Sorry for taking too long to reply. Apparently, those two are not designed for rapid application development (RAD), but are rather alternatives for Clipper which was my favorite xbase tool before switching to FoxPro.
Anyways, thanks for sharing the links.

WOW! That's a blast from the past! I cut my teeth on dBase and migrated to Summer86 because I did not like dBase IV. Did not play much with Foxpro, but IIRC it was a GUI based product before Access became the "standard". I did a lot of personal development of stuff using Access and VBA and have yet to find a suitable alternative in the Linux camp. Not that it is an issue any more as I am now retired and have managed to adapt other stuff to my needs.

[InkKnife]

It would never happen in a million years, but HyperCard would be fun to have.

And from HyperCard we would get AppleScript.

Gee, I haven't seen or heard of that since the late 1980s or very early 90s.

I think the only people who know anything about it are those of us who used Macs back in the late 80s and early 90s. Eventually, another company called Silicon Beach Software introduced a program called SuperCard, which was a more feature-rich version, along with an upgraded version of HyperScript.

For those here who are unfamiliar, I'm going to give a very short example (because my knowledge is very limited) of HyperScript, which essentially is the basis also for AppleScript:

Code: Select all

on mouseEnter
   beep
   blink 3
end mouseEnter

Let's say you had an object (like a button) in HyperCard. Any object could have some HyperScript script attached to it. If you had a button with the above script, what would happen is when you moved the mouse cursor over top of the button, it would beep (other things could be done, but "beep" would just use the system-selected beep sound) and blink 3 times. You had a number of different variations, so mouseEnter is when the mouse enters the perimeter of the object, mouseLeave is when you moved off the object, mouseDown is when you pressed down on the mouse button but had not let go, mouseUp is when you'd let go of the button (which doubled as a "click"), and so on.

I mentioned some of what I'm about to talk about up-thread, but since we've sort of revisited the "ancient past" of 80s Macintosh and Mac OS here, I'd like to give folks (briefly) a little historical perspective. A software engineer named Bill Atkinson, who wrote MacPaint and MacWrite and other bits here and there came up with the idea of a relational database program. In both figurative and quasi-literal ways, it was the forerunner to the World Wide Web, whose HTML underpinnings were created by Tim Berners-Lee, who credits Bill Atkinson with kind of pioneering the idea of inter-linking data and pages and such.

HyperCard included a scripting language called HyperScript. The language and structure of HyperScript became the basis for AppleScript, which Apple would eventually release with System 7, and still is in use and existence to this day.

The program Automator takes the idea of user scripting of tasks and functions even further, but it also makes the construction process mostly visual, with users only needing to tweak settings.

I'm certain the argument can be made that with the BASH language, it would be a wasted effort to somehow manage to implement an AppleScript-like scripting language in GNU+Linux. If someone here on LMF wants to make that argument, by all means feel free to do so, but I'd agree with you. However, I think crafting a program which leverages BASH to allow users to create scripts or even just workflows visually would be of great benefit to regular computer users, like myself, who sometimes need extra functionality but there isn't necessarily a program written to do what we are looking for. Why not be able to build your own thing? One could even host the resultant files so other GNU+Linux users could have the benefit of such a thing.

The beauty thing with Apple script is the recording function. Linux supports many scripting languages but something it seems all of them lack the ability to record a series of actions to produce a script. You could "show" the computer what to do instead of having to tell it in an arcane language.
GIMP vs Photoshop is another example of the FOSS app being scriptable if you know the language but Photoshop lets you build actions by recording the action you want without actually knowing how to program.
Being able to build scripts from recorded actions would be a great addition to the FOSS/Linux world.

[AZgl1800]

The beauty thing with Apple script is the recording function. Linux supports many scripting languages but something it seems all of them lack the ability to record a series of actions to produce a script. You could "show" the computer what to do instead of having to tell it in an arcane language.
GIMP vs Photoshop is another example of the FOSS app being scriptable if you know the language but Photoshop lets you build actions by recording the action you want without actually knowing how to program.
Being able to build scripts from recorded actions would be a great addition to the FOSS/Linux world.

Hey Hey!!!

In M$ Word, I use the Record Macro script a lot, and in LO, it is damn near impossible to make that work.
In fact, I have not been able to record a script, and then assign a kybd shortcut to it....

[Portreve]

The beauty thing with Apple script is the recording function. Linux supports many scripting languages but something it seems all of them lack the ability to record a series of actions to produce a script. You could "show" the computer what to do instead of having to tell it in an arcane language.
GIMP vs Photoshop is another example of the FOSS app being scriptable if you know the language but Photoshop lets you build actions by recording the action you want without actually knowing how to program.
Being able to build scripts from recorded actions would be a great addition to the FOSS/Linux world.

I never even thought about that part, but you're absolutely right. Something like this would be awesome, and it's not the sort of thing that's so utterly tied to a specific system that the libre community couldn't implement it without stepping on IP issues.

[mediclaser]

Sorry for taking too long to reply. Apparently, those two are not designed for rapid application development (RAD), but are rather alternatives for Clipper which was my favorite xbase tool before switching to FoxPro.
Anyways, thanks for sharing the links.

WOW! That's a blast from the past! I cut my teeth on dBase and migrated to Summer86 because I did not like dBase IV. Did not play much with Foxpro, but IIRC it was a GUI based product before Access became the "standard". I did a lot of personal development of stuff using Access and VBA and have yet to find a suitable alternative in the Linux camp. Not that it is an issue any more as I am now retired and have managed to adapt other stuff to my needs.

I learned the XBase starting with dBase III+, but immediately switched to FoxBase+ after seeing how fast it is compared to dBase. I then switched to Clipper Summer '87 because of the needs to deploy the apps in executable form. Then I switched back to Fox when it became FoxPro (compiled to executable + RAD capability). All these were apps under DOS environment. I was a teenager back then, and I'm now in my mid-40's and still has a long way to go before reaching the retirement age. XD