The authors initially conceived this book as a source of broad-based and detailed information for advanced HyperTalk programmers. They later decided to extend the scope of the book to meet the needs of intermediate-level programmers. Therefore, the book seeks to be a comprehensive source of information on HyperTalk and to support the development of programmers who are already familiar with HyperTalk.
The book is divided into three parts, plus a section of appendices at the end. The first part, “Scripting in HyperTalk,” is devoted to programming in HyperTalk. It provides information on the language, its characteristics, and programming style. The second section, “HyperTalk Reference,” contains details on HyperTalk syntax, how to refer to objects, how to build expressions, and what each message does. The third section, “The Elements of HyperTalk,” describes all the HyperTalk elements in alphabetical order, giving detailed information on each, including examples. The appendices contain reference information. The structure of the book and the size of each section are as demanded by the objectives of the work.
In the first section, chapter 1 deals with the three major elements of the HyperTalk language: messages, manipulators, and message paths. Chapter 2 focuses on the scripts editor and the debugger built into the programming environment. Chapter 3 provides instructions and suggestions on stack design and how to write easily readable and debuggable scripts. Chapter 4 explains how the capabilities of HyperTalk can be extended by adding code segments, called XCMDs, and manipulator functions, called XFCNs. Chapter 5 indicates how to use code written in AppleScript to manage HyperCard objects, and chapter 6 provides recommendations and advice on writing HyperTalk code designed to be executed in special-purpose environments.
In the second section, chapter 7 gives a detailed explanation of a process that is not always properly understood: naming and referring to objects. Chapter 8 defines the building blocks for HyperTalk expressions, that is, functions, literals, variables, and the like. Finally, chapter 10 describes special aspects of the message paths and the order in which the messages are sent.
The third section is an extensive dictionary of HyperTalk elements. The appendices contain the classic table of ASCII characters; a statement of the limits of HyperTalk elements; the list of error messages and suggestions for remedying their causes; a formal description of the syntax of the language; and a description of the Translation Interface.
The book is primarily a reference on HyperTalk. A good four-fifths of the book is concerned with providing reference information, whereas the remaining fifth discusses the conceptual and practical aspects of HyperTalk programming and the language, no doubt with intermediate-level programmers in mind.
The authors state that the book is designed for programmers who have at least two months’ experience in HyperTalk or are well versed in other programming languages, including BASIC, and, at the other end of the scale, for programmers who wish to take HyperTalk beyond its original limits. The book meets its two purposes. On the one hand, it devotes some 600 pages to information on HyperTalk and provides additional resources for quickly locating the information sought: an index of HyperTalk elements, a category-based thesaurus of these elements, an index of manipulators, and the traditional word index and glossary. In short, it is an effective source of information. On the other hand, the chapters explaining HyperTalk programming and the HyperTalk language meet the objective of building on intermediate programmers’ knowledge. Although it would have been a good idea to devote more space to programmer development and HyperTalk for beginners, the sheer size of the book makes this infeasible.
Unquestionably the best feature of the work is its primary objective of being the best source of information on HyperTalk. The book is the largest collection of publicly available information about HyperTalk. It explains HyperTalk systematically and logically and provides mechanisms for efficiently locating information. The fact that the principal author of the book is also the principal author of HyperTalk speaks for the book as a source of information on the language.
The worst feature is the absence of an introductory explanation of the general features of HyperTalk. The book is not open to readers who like to get the general idea at a glance. Although there is no reason why a book should not be designed for a particular audience--in this case for intermediate-level HyperTalk programmers--this goal should not exclude a wider group of readers who may be interested in the subject but need an introduction to orient them. This objection does not, however, detract from my overall opinion of the book, which serves its purposes well.
The book contains a few references to other works on HyperTalk, although there are not many works on this subject. The authors claim that this edition has been enriched with a description of new HyperTalk elements and that more examples and new details have been added. Notes have been included on the evolutionary changes in the HyperTalk language, and other areas are covered, such as the use of AppleScript and AppleEvents. Organizational changes have been introduced to improve the present edition. The book was not designed to be a textbook and, therefore, does not contain exercises; nor is it suitable for teaching HyperTalk.
