HyperCard 2.0 Packs More Features
Apple Computer is about to introduce HyperCard 2.0, the first major upgrade to the popular programming and database software on Apple’s Macintosh since HyperCard was introduced in August, 1987.
HyperCard is harder to describe than to use. It’s part database management software and part programming language. The software, which comes free with every Macintosh, allows users to create their own information systems. Unlike most programming languages, it’s designed for novices as well as professional software developers.
HyperCard can be used to create your own programs, called stacks. They are so named because they resemble a stack of index cards. Each card stores a piece of information. For example, a simple stack might be used to maintain a phone and address listing, with a separate card for each person in the directory.
HyperCard isn’t limited to simple programs. Professional programmers have created sophisticated commercial HyperCard applications. For example, Xiphius, a Marina del Rey-based software company, has used HyperCard to develop a compact disc-based national directory with names, addresses, phone and fax numbers of more than 100,000 businesses and institutions. Hyperglot Software of Knoxville has used it to create language training stacks that provide pronunciation via the Mac’s built-in speaker. Unlike most IBM-compatibles, Macs have the ability to reproduce high-fidelity sound.
I used HyperCard a couple of years ago to create a counting and word-recognition game for my then-preschool children. The game, which took only a few hours to complete, belies my general lack of programming sophistication. It features pictures and voices of my kids, me and other family members. Use of voice allowed me to issue instructions that would have been otherwise impossible for preschoolers to understand. I also used sound, including brief musical segments, to reinforce correct answers.
Photographs were scanned in with the Apple scanner. Voice and music were entered with MacRecorder, a $200 package that includes a microphone and audio input jack that plugs into the Mac’s serial port. The software that controls the scanner and MacRecorder is written in HyperCard, so they are easy to use.
You don’t have to know a programming language to work in HyperCard. Commands are issued by using the mouse to press on-screen buttons. Buttons contain the intelligence to complete certain tasks. Once a button has been created, it can be copied and used again. HyperCard comes with hundreds of buttons that users can incorporate into their own stacks.
HyperCard also comes with its own programming language, called HyperTalk, which can be used to customize stacks. You don’t even have to learn the language; simple stacks can be created by pointing, clicking and copying other objects. But serious programmers tap HyperTalk for sophisticated programs. HyperTalk, according to Apple HyperCard program manager Mike Holm, is being used by some colleges and universities to teach introductory programming.
HyperCard 2.0 adds many features to the popular software. Unlike the previous version, it lets you run more than one stack at a time, each in its own window. HyperCard itself can now run in the background while the Mac is running other programs. In the old version of HyperCard, the display couldn’t be any larger than the nine-inch screen on the Macintosh Plus or SE. The new version allows programmers to fill any screens, including the 19-inch monitors that are increasingly popular with Macintosh II systems.
The new HyperCard can more easily be used to create HyperText applications that involve clicking on a word to bring up additional information. I saw one demonstration in which clicking on an italicized word brought up a definition of that word. Another demonstration involved names being turned into “hot buttons.” You click on a person’s name to bring up his or her picture and speech sample. That was possible with the old HyperCard, but the new version makes it far easier to do.
The program now lets you create your own user-definable menus. A new HyperTalk script editor allows programmers to move back and forth between editing their scripts and running their stacks. It’s also possible for stacks to share resources with one another. A sound that’s contained in one stack, for example, can be played by any other stack on the disk. That simplifies programming (you don’t have to rewrite the code each time you use it) and also saves space on users’ disks.
The new HyperCard gives users more control over text. The old version limited your use of text styles and sizes. You now have complete flexibility, similar to what you’d expect with a Macintosh word processing program. You also have more flexibility with printed reports. HyperCard has always been great at displaying information on the screen but weak when came to printing. The new version makes it much easier to create printed reports. It also makes better use of laser printers, allowing you to print graphics at the full 300-dot-per-inch resolution.
It’s now possible for a stack to print a different type style than it displays on the screen. Some Macintosh users would consider that a step backward, but I think it’s wonderful. The Macintosh has been both blessed and cursed with a graphic screen that shows exactly what you’ll get on paper. There is even a word for it: “WYSIWYG,” pronounced wizywig, which stands for “what you see is what you get.”
Trouble is, some type sizes and styles look great on paper but awful on the screen. Most Macintosh programs don’t let you turn WYSIWYG off, so, if you want to use tiny type in your printed document, you have to suffer through it on screen--or work in a larger type size, then modify your document when you’re about to print.
Some HyperCard users will be disappointed to learn that the new version provides only limited support for color. You can include color graphics, but you cannot use color within HyperCard itself.
HyperCard comes with several free stacks, including an address book, a date book, calendars, an expense form and a phone dialer. All new Macs have it, and it is available from Apple dealers (with documentation) for $50.
Apple’s goal is to get everyone to upgrade. It is making that easy by authorizing (but not requiring) dealers and user groups to provide free updates to users who bring in their own disks. The program will be available in mid-July.
HyperCard will work on any Macintosh with at least 1 megabyte of memory and two 800-kilobyte floppy drives or one floppy drive and a hard disk.
HYPERCARD 2.0
A major upgrade to Apple’s popular programming and database software that is included free with every Macintosh.
Features: Allows users to create “stacks,” or programs, without having to learn a complex programming language. New version allows you to run multiple stacks at a time, depending on your Mac’s memory. HyperCard’s display is limited only by the size of the screen. It also has user-definable menus. Support for “HyperText” gives you a direct link from a word or group of words to related information or activity. Its on-line help system provides reference information and assistance. You have unlimited use of screen fonts and type styles. Available mid-July.
Price: Free with all new Macs. $50 (including documentation) from any Apple dealer. Dealers and user groups will be authorized (but not required) to provide copies for free or for the cost of blank disks.
Los Angeles Times
