Alternatives to HyperCard

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INDEX

Click on a title to jump to that section of the page:

• INTRODUCTION
• HYPERSTUDIO
• METACARD
• SUPERCARD
• SERF
• COMPARISONS
• CONCLUSION

Main PageArticles Index

INTRODUCTION

Apple's HyperCard program defined a whole category of software, and has gathered enthusiastic users over the years, but Apple has put few resources into developing it. After twelve years (1987 to 1999), it is still in version 2, and the work on version 3 has stopped.

Although Apple has lost interest in HyperCard, other companies have built similar programs that may serve as well. From the list, I will discuss only HyperStudio, MetaCard, SuperCard, and Serf.

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HYPERSTUDIO

This program started on the Apple IIgs in 1991, making it the oldest of the Hyper-stand-ins. It has since moved to both the Mac and Windows platforms. The publisher claims that over two million people are using it.

HyperStudio is very similar in appearance to a colourized HyperCard, but very different in detail. It does not, for example, copy HyperCard's distinction between Card and Background layers. Every button, field, or other object is created without worrying about layers, but if you click a check box to make it a "Group Item," it will appear on other cards of the same "Group." The effect is the same as having placed it on the background layer in HyperCard.

In deference to its educational market, HyperStudio also requires less programming than HyperCard. The more common uses for a button are chosen from a list of "Button Actions." More unusual or advanced actions are chosen from a list of "New Button Actions," which are like HyperCard's external commands. Only when these fail does a user go to HyperLogo, HyperStudio's programming language. HyperLogo lets commands be chosen from menus instead of being typed in. This is easier on beginners and occasional users, so the program has become popular in schools. Many people prefer using HyperTalk or a close equivalent ("xTalk" is the generic name) to HyperLogo, however.

There's a free evaluation version of HyperStudio available at http://www.hyperstudio.co m/resource/index.shtml which has all the capabilities of the commercial version except that it can only create 4-card projects. You can also place an order for the HyperStudio Evaluation CD-ROM for $10 U.S. As the company notes, the demo makes a dandy paint program, even if you don't buy the full program. Other giveaways include HyperStudio players for both Windows and Macintosh and a browser plug-in for using HyperStudio stacks on the internet.

HyperStudio's web site and Evaluation CD have plenty of help, clip art, sounds, and examples for the new user. The full program also comes with a quaint and appreciated survival from more gracious times: a printed manual. Version 3.2 was recently released.

Select this link for a screen shot of HyperStudio (168K).

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METACARD

If HyperStudio is aimed at teachers, then MetaCard aimed at both teachers and professional developers. One attraction for teachers is the freely downloadable "MetaCard Programmer" course. The site licenses for K-12 schools (elementary through high school) are also surprisingly affordable at $250 U.S. for a 10 user lab pack. The cost for an individual purchaser, however, is almost four times as high. Only a professional, who could make back that money using MetaCard, would be likely to buy it at the individual price.

If we ignore the price to a single user, however, we can see MetaCard as a colour HyperCard with three unique features: the ability to convert a HyperCard stack by simply opening it, to convert a SuperCard stack with a free utility, and to run a MetaCard stack on almost any computer. MetaCard supports 68K and PowerPC Macintoshes, Windows 3.1, 95, 98, and NT, and various flavours of Unix, including Linux. The versions do not have all the same features, at least currently. For example, as of version 2.2, MetaCard for Unix has painting tools while the Mac and Windows versions do not. That deficiency is corrected in version 2.3, which is currently in beta testing.

You can download a free MetaCard Starter Kit from http://www.metacard.com/ or have it mailed to you for a nominal fee. The Starter Kit includes complete on-line documentation. The only difference from the full version is that each script can only have ten lines. This limit does not include "on...end", "repeat...end repeat", "if...end if", comment, and a few other types of lines. The full version, in contrast, allows 64K of script per object (in version 2.2) or 4GB (forthcoming in version 2.3).

What is it like? Launch it and you get a tiny Home Stack with four buttons: "Tools," "Help," and "Message Box" reveal the appropriate palettes and "Demo" runs the impressive demonstration stack. If it were cheaper, this would be my HyperCard replacement.

Select this link for a screen shot of MetaCard (97K).

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SUPERCARD

Out of all the programs considered here, SuperCard may be the closest thing to a direct replacement for HyperCard. The language is very similar and the cost is reasonable.

First impressions are mixed. The SuperCard box contains no printed manual, no installation instructions, and no "Welcome to SuperCard" pamphlet. There is just an ominous-looking "Terms of Use" agreement, some advertising, and a CD. Once SuperCard has been installed, it shows a few rough edges. For example, the "Welcome to SuperCard" stack has spelling errors (such as "GIFF" graphics, and "trainging" for "training") and a few grammatical mistakes, too. The documentation, which is in Adobe Acrobat format, refers to both SuperCard's current publisher, IncWell, and its former one. None of these flaws is fatal.

The program itself seems solid, complex, and very capable. It can import and export a useful variety of files. It handles your words as either plain text or rich text format (RTF) files. It handles graphics as either vector (PICT) or painted graphics. (The painting tools are not in plain sight. To reach them, first drag the paintbrush tool over an area of the card to create a canvas). SuperCard also supports animations in standard QuickTime and its own PICS formats.

You can convert HyperCard stacks to SuperCard by running the SuperEdit application and choosing "Convert" from the File menu. However, as with MetaCard, you may have to work around some language differences before even a simple stack, works perfectly. In particular, HyperCard's "sharedText" and "sharedHilite" properties and "Visual" commands are missing from SuperCard. Select this link to see a converted HyperCard stack (71K), complete with a conversion problem.

SuperCard stacks can be uploaded to the internet and run in a web browser, thanks to the Roadster plug-in. You can choose if your stack will be for the computer or the internet when you create it.

There is a downloadable demo version of SuperCard at http://info.incwell.com. It expires after 30 days of use and stacks created with it will not run under the full version of SuperCard.

Select this link for a screen shot of SuperCard's editing environment (170K).

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SERF

Dan Gelder's program, Serf, keeps such HyperCard features as buttons, fields, stacks, and a reasonably close facsimile of HyperTalk, but departs from it radically in other ways. For example, Serf allows multiple stacks to be placed on a single window, like fields on a card! Another unique feature is that Serf supports its own database files. These files are not part of any stack, and can be read simultaneously by many users on a network. (Only one can open it for writing at any time). Serf's AppleScript support should allow other programs to use Serf databases.

There is an increasing number of scripting differences from HyperTalk, which may be a concern to ex-HyperCarders. For example, parts (buttons, windows, fields, etc.) should be referred to as "button part" "window part," "field part" etc. You can get away with having just "button" or "field" and then the identifier for now, just like in HyperCard, but the documentation warns that Serf will lose this flexibility eventually. Serf also allows apostrophe-s to substitute for HyperTalk's "of." For example: Serf understands that "field part 1's first word" is the same as "word 1 of field part 1".

In the tool palette are two big buttons that switch between the Use and Edit modes. There are 15 tools below these for creating objects of various kinds. Some of these objects can be changed into others by changing options in their Information Boxes. For example, a single-line text field can be changed into a static text field. The large number of object types speeds up the creation of a stack.

Serf is under development, so some things are currently missing, such as painting tools, printing and text file support. Other things, of course, are not as convenient as they should be. For example, when you choose an icon for a button you have to specify the type of art you wish to examine from a pop-up menu in the Information Box. Most people, I think, would use an "All types" option, if it were available.

The complete beta version is a free download at http://www.best.com/~serf/. A third-party reference to using Serf is available from http://www.onthenet.com.au /~sarahtim/Serf.html. Serf 1.0 will cost only $65 U.S. It costs only $55 U.S., if you buy now.

Select this link for a screen shot of Serf (220K).

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COMPARISONS

The programs reviewed here have similar, but not identical features. The next table compares a few features which are important to me.

Despite their common inspiration, these programs are not equally suitable for everyone. The next table gives my best estimate of their ideal users.

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CONCLUSION

SuperCard, MetaCard, and Serf are mirror images of HyperStudio. HyperStudio doesn't use HyperCard's programming language, but keeps its painting tools, enhanced for colour. The others keep HyperCard's programming language, but MetaCard (at present) and Serf (at present) have no painting tools; SuperCard has them, but emphasizes its drawing tools. Replacing painting tools with drawing tools is like replacing an easel with a drafting machine: although both make pictures, that is where the resemblance ends.

The number of competitors for HyperCard's crown is increasing, rather than the reverse. Not only is Serf getting ready for prime time, but Thoughtful Software (http://www.thoughtful.com) has promised to release a version of HyperSense -- a HyperCard clone for the NeXT computer -- for Macintosh OS X. iShell and Teach! Lite are other free tools that I will have to investigate further. Obviously, HyperCard is too good an idea to disappear, whatever Apple thinks.