ANNOUNCING — Galaxy 1.5 with 9 new components and 31 new features! Try it for 30 days, or buy it now and start your year of free upgrades and online support right away.
By Way of Explanation
As you probably know, Galaxy is a set of IDE components that work either in conjunction with — or as an alternative to — the standard Revolution IDE components. (The script editor is an IDE component, for example.)
Galaxy has a dock, a tool bar, a message box, a debugger, a variable watcher, a project manager, a script editor and property editor. These can be used en masse or on an ad hoc basis instead of their counterparts in the standard Rev IDE (Integrated Development Environment).
Now I’m supposed to tell you that if you use the new, improved Galaxy 1.5, you can have all those things about which you now only dream and/or receive spam. Truth is, Galaxy components, especially the new ones in 1.5, really are cool. We’ve added 31 new features and 9 whole new components. I just don’t want to go on and on about them right now.
I Have a Dilemma
We’ve really hit our stride with Galaxy 1.5 to the point where I don’t want to take time away from using it on my client projects (or developing new features for it) just to write a ho-hum web page promoting it.
I’d rather spend my spare time enjoying my home and family in the Texas Hill Country or seeing what DVD I just got from Netflix. I also love a good cigar. All that said, there’s still nothing like a good rant. Which is what I think I’ll do instead of an ad.
You see, I HAVE spare time, because I use Galaxy to make a living. That’s why I built it. Another developer, Trevor DeVore, started using Galaxy a while back and he had the same idea. “If I could make Galaxy the best custom property editor in the world, I could finish work for my company at least three times faster.” I showed him how to modify my code and he’s been collaborating with me on Galaxy ever since.
Trevor and I set up a Basecamp site so we could collaborate. As more developers started using Galaxy and wanted to get involved, we added them to the site. It’s now our quality assurance site for Galaxy. We also have a nice support site on Basecamp.
You Don’t Have to Buy Galaxy
No, you don’t. In fact, let me talk you out of it. If you like the workflow that the standard Revolution IDE employs, then you probably won’t like Galaxy. Our premise for what a developer might do with the Revolution engine differs from Runtime Revolution’s premise. As a result, our workflow is different.
The Galaxy workflow is based on finishing a project in Revolution quickly and without going crazy. It has evolved over time to make sure that happens. Its features, UI, and graphics are all there to support that workflow premise. It’s made by developers for developers to use the Revolution language and objects. If that sounds appealing, check it out.
We discovered that there are three basic kinds of behavior that all developers engage in: tweaking, prototyping and app building. (These are the ones we can talk about here.) I think the Rev IDE is great for prototyping. Everything is pretty easy to access. It also demos well during a presentation.
For many of us, the Galaxy workflow supports all three of the above stated activities better than the Rev IDE workflow. In fact, Galaxy 1.5 is even better than Galaxy 1.0 at tweaking and prototyping. It even surprises me. Why is that? The folks who work on Galaxy use it to make a living. We are tweakers, prototypers and app builders.
Tune In, Turn On and Drop Out
(I’ve always wanted to write that — nothing to do with this paragraph, really.) The community of users that have formed around Galaxy can ask for features and actually get answers other than “Your feature request has been noted.” There’s nothing as formal (or formidable) as Bugzilla between us and you.
My responses to feature requests could be “You’re kidding, right?” or “That’s a great idea. Let’s do it!” I actually say what I think. I don’t have time to think up politically correct answers. That’s right . . . I’m busy using Galaxy to make money or fooling around at home. Did I mention I work at home?
Here’s another plus: when users want to know how to do something in Galaxy, and they’re just too lazy to read the docs (more on the docs in a minute), I not only deride them for not reading the docs, but, I also show them how to get what they want out of Galaxy AND make them feel silly in the process. That’s a skill, let me tell you. Something to behold.
Our Docs Pretty Much Suck
Once again, most of us are so busy working on our projects and Galaxy, that we really don’t like the idea of having to document it. “How do you expect people to use it, if you don’t document it?” I don’t really, remember? I actually use it to make money creating apps for clients.
As it turns out, we DO have a wiki on RevDeveloper that describes how each component works. We also have extensive (I mean really extensive) contextual tooltips that appear in Galaxy Bar whenever you place the pointer over an element of any component. If you hold down a modifier key (like option or alt), the tool tip tells you about how the element works when you click it with the mod key. Imagine that.
All that said, a couple people have volunteered to help with the docs. I expect some day soon, the docs won’t even suck. Then I’ll have to find something else to brag about. Trevor is actually concerned about the state of our docs. A moment of silence for Trevor, if you please. Thanks.
One More Thing
I was supposed to create a bunch of screenshots showing all the cool things Galaxy 1.5 does, but do you have any idea how time-consuming that would be? But, here are screenshots of one cool thing (to whet your appetite).
The fact is, if you really want to know what Galaxy does, download the 30-Day FREE Trial (info below), and experience Galaxy for yourself. Invest a little time in it. It’ll keep you away from Bugzilla. OR, you know what? Buy the damn thing. You know you’re miserable without it.
Try Galaxy 1.5 for 30 days and, if you haven’t purchased it by day 30, it reverts to Galaxy Free. You’ll lose the Property Editor, Debugger, Variable Watcher, Project Manager, Single-purpose Message Box, and Galaxy Dictionary. But, you’ll keep the Galaxy Dock, Toolbar, and Tabbed Script Editor.
Compatibility
Works seamlessly with Revolution IDE components
Requires Revolution version 2.6 or higher
Is available NOW for Mac OS X and Windows XP