Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!att!osu-cis!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!rutgers!apple!dan
From: dan@Apple.COM (Dan Allen)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.hypercard
Subject: Re: Reviews of HyperCard books
Message-ID: <17500@apple.Apple.COM>
Date: 21 Sep 88 21:50:37 GMT
References: <243taylorj@byuvax.bitnet>
Reply-To: dan@apple.com.UUCP (Dan Allen)
Organization: Apple Computer Inc, Cupertino, CA
Lines: 48

Many individuals have recently been requesting sources of information
about HyperCard, HyperTalk, XCMDs, etc.  There is a rash of bad books
out on the market, as well as a few good ones.  The following capsule
comments are strictly the personal opinions of one individual who just
happens to work at Apple: all lawyers and paranoid engineers need not
read any further, as my very opinionated remarks are strictly my own and
do not in any way reflect Apple's endorsement or non-endorsement of any
of the books mentioned.  We live in a very sad time when I have to put
in such a disclaimer due to the many lawyers that love to make men
offenders because of a word.

If anyone wants to learn more about HyperCard after reading the supplied
owner's manual, let them begin with "HyperCard Script Language Guide:
The HyperTalk Language", co-published by Addison-Wesley and Apple as
part of the Apple Technical library.  It contains information about HC
1.2 and is probably the most accurate book currently in print about the
HyperTalk language.  It is hardback, has a price of $22.95, and an ISBN
number of 0-201-17632-7 for those collecting ISBN numbers.

Danny Goodman has two books on HyperCard and HyperTalk, both published
by Bantam Books.  They are quite good and are filled with lots of
examples, although they are a bit weighty.

That is pretty much it for the books on my personal recommended list.
There are a bunch of other books out, but few have any substance.  Many
are retellings of the owner's manual, but they are not even as good.
Some of the books have glaring errors, so buyer beware!  I am reasonably
in touch with the current bunch of books available, but there could be
others which are great, but I am just not aware of them.

For those that are quick to point out that I worked on the Apple book I
will simply say, Yes, I helped check it for accuracy and I wrote several
of the appendicies, but I do not in any way get a dime for the work that
I did on the book, other than my standard Apple salary.  The main writer
of the book spent far more time than I did and also receives no mention
anywhere in the text.  I recommend the Apple book strictly because it is
the most accurate book SO FAR published about the HyperTalk language.
In the future there may be other books that are better, in fact, there
will almost certainly be better books published on HyperTalk, but they
are months away.

The best way to learn about HyperTalk is to use it and the help stack
and to explore existing stacks.

Dan Allen
Software Explorer
HyperCard Team
Apple Computer