The Scripter's Scrapbook
Hugh Senior, The Flexible Learning Company
Once in a galaxy far, far away…
Many moons ago, when 20Mb was all you would ever need and the Internet was used by 6 people in California, HyperCard made 'programming for the rest of us' a real possibility. We didn't have a background in computer science, software design or code management but it didn't matter. We made a card, added a couple of fields and buttons and hey presto we had an address book (of sorts) that was truly our own. And we became scripters. Then we learnt a bit more and our stacks got really good… mostly spaghetti code of course, but what the heck - HyperCard forgave us our humanity and understood our intentions. And so 4GL (fourth generation language programming) had arrived.
Pigeonholes and Top Drawers
Over time other 4GL programs come on the scene, each one taking scripting to new heights, culminating in Revolution that is arguably one of the most advanced 4GL programs around today. Trouble is, as computers advance so do our expectations as users. We want more features, and that means we have to learn more 'stuff' to make the 'new stuff' work in our programs. But that's okay. We can do that. We have news groups, archives, helpful web sites, other people's 'stuff' and our own trial and error to support us. We also have reams of paper notes (highly organized, of course, in the top drawer of our desks), text documents of all flavours, useful pdf files and web pages we downloaded, sample stacks, lists of noteworthy sites, email addresses of folks who 'know about stuff'. We try to accumulate facts, but because there's so much of all this 'stuff' and so many little factoids, either we forget them or we don't have time to sort them out. Yes at the time we pigeonhole them, but storage is frankly a mess and one that only gets worse over time. We forget, we mis-remember or we lose the note, so the sooner we start turning 'stuff' into accessible information the better. That's where a knowledge base comes in, so we can say not only "I know I know that" but also "I know where that is". Better yet if it's entirely personalized with just the information we need that grows and expands as we grow and achieve more.
Enter The Scripter's Scrapbook
That was why the Scripter's Scrapbook was written, a way or organizing 'stuff' not just as a memory jogger but over time as a repository, a library, a reference source of personal 'stuff'… from useful functions and handlers, tips, tricks and samples, to code libraries, how to's and what not to's, what to do when's, tutorials, samples, files, links... That top drawer but coordinated and organized, personalized, immediately accessible, the way we want.
The Eightfold Path
There are six key issues in organizing information: Input, Storage, Presentation, Manipulation, Location and Output. There are also two types of information, that which is immediately available and that which isn't. Any utility that is going to be truly useful has to accommodate these and in a functional and transparent way. Otherwise it simply won't do the job or will be too much hassle for us to be bothered.
There are also a couple of issues about ourselves as programmers (yes, a scripter is a programmer). We learn in different ways, we structure our knowledge in different ways, and many of us use more than one programming language.
So how does the Scripter's Scrapbook support all this?
From a Digital Notepad to an Integrated Information System
By design it is flexible. For the input, you can drag and drop, import, copy n' paste, or simply type new information into individual records (called Entries), or import existing Entries from backup files. For the storage you can set up as many categories as you want and define up to 12 different programming languages to associate with your entries. For the presentation you have a raft of features from embedded images and code colorizing to a tab ruler and text formatting to assist in clear appearance. For manipulation you can bookmark, omit, and select Entries according to your own criteria. To locate information, you have simple and advanced internal search facilities with links to external Internet search engines and language-dedicated sites. For the output you have print previews with display options, a variety of export formats and web-publishing options. For accessing external information, you can create hyperlinks to other Entries, to local files on your computer or network, to external web resource and email addresses. You can even embed any file you wish inside the Scrapbook (compressed, of course), and associate it an Entry or the entire Scrapbook. In fact, if it's digital and accessible, you can store it, embed it, or link to it.
With point and click selection options to create backup files you can maintain multiple sub-sets of Entries, and using multiple Scrapbooks you have a virtually infinite number of ways of managing even complex quantities of information. So you have a utility that is what you want it to be, from a drag n' drop notepad to an integrated information system, and one that organizes your stuff your way.
And finally, the data files (the Scrapbooks themselves) are completely cross-platform, as are the backup files. Mac OS9, OSX, Windows 2000 or XP, switching computer does not mean you lose access. The system comes with standalone players if you want to use your Scrapbook independently and accessible from whatever program you are using, or you can use it as a Revolution plugIn. The choice is entirely yours.
Different Strokes
And we'll all do it differently. Newbies will find that they have a great way to manage all the new 'stuff' they meet by accident or by design, the answers they get, the disparate facts they come across. Seasoned veterans finally have a place to centralize code libraries, supporting documents, library stacks and the plethora of 'stuff' accumulated over the years. Teachers can manage student work with links or embedded stacks by individual or by class, along with lesson notes and all the supporting materials. Intermittent and hobbyist scripters will find that it provides a solution to keeping the wisdom of others. Web page writers can keep links and re-usable code snippets. Artwork can be organized. Ideas can be kept. There is almost no limit to its uses.
A Knowledge Community
The Scripter's Scrapbook also has an Online Repository for sharing your Entries with others. It comes with a Publisher so you can post your Entries to the Repository, and a Browser so you can review and select published Entries to add to your Scrapbook. And just so you have even more control over how your Entries are used, you can optionally providing licensing restrictions or even offer your Entries for purchase by others.
It also comes with a customised version of ChatRev which allows you to ask and answer questions, send files and private messages, or simply chat with other scripters... you can even send Entries from one person to another, in real time! The Scripter's Scrapbook is evolving into a knowledge community.
The Next Step…
Simply download the 30-day trial from www.FlexibleLearning.com/ssbk.htm. The trial is fully featured, and will give you plenty of time to evaluate Scripter's Scrapbook to see how it will help you organize all of your 'stuff'. When you are ready to purchase (whether it be during the trial period or after the trial period is over), simply return to the web site and purchase your key online. Scripter's Scrapbook was designed with flexibility in mind, and we completely understand that you will have multiple machines that you may need to use this on. When you purchase your key you are licensed for an unlimited number of Scrapbooks on an unlimited number of computers for a single individual.
So what Doesn't the Scripter's Scrapbook do?
It doesn't make the tea at this time. But we're working on that.
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