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How do I quit this list?!
thanks'

> Andy Stark wrote:
>> Lua list <lua@bazar2.conectiva.com.br> writes:
>>
>>> Lua is the fastest dynamically typed language
>>> implementation.  Why not use it?  Why fool around with
>>> slower?
>>
>> Unfortunately, what we are calling "slower" is called "fast enough" by
>> the
>> Flash community. And bear in mind that Tamarin is still in the early
>> stages of development - it will improve and we can't rule out the
>> possibility that it might eventually match even LuaJIT for speed. And
>> remember that Flash is not just a plug-in but also a very well developed
>> set of tools for creating the content. I'm afraid you hit the nail on
>> the
>> head in the first paragraph: Tamarin is probably the next ten years
>> whether we like it or not.
>
> Oh yes, the toolset, another extremely critical area. I don't envy
> the project team having to nurse the browser player along, plus
> write some powerful GUI tools for non-programmers in double-quick
> time. And in all this time, Flash will be working very hard to
> keep SVG off its heels. Flash intends to survive the onslaught,
> and it has taken steps to do so. In fact, Flash has been doing
> remarkably well in keeping the use of SVG almost non-existent in
> browsers. I don't envy what challenges a Lua implementation will
> have to climb or surmount in order to compete -- that is, to beat
> SVG, and Flash.
>
>> However, I think there is an opportunity for a similar type of product
>> that doesn't compete head-on with Flash. How about an animation player
>> that is based around bitmap images and effects instead of vector
>> graphics
>> and 3D? I know Flash can import bitmaps and scale, rotate, fade, etc,
>> but
>> I am thinking about something more like Apple's Motion tool that can do
>> realtime blurring, distortion and colour effects too. It would lend
>> itself
>> well to scripting and interactivity, wouldn't depend as heavily on a
>> good
>> editor (because people would rather use Photoshop, Gimp, etc, to create
>> the original images anyway) and there isn't a dominant browser plug-in
>> for
>> this type of content.
>
> I see this as less about a browser player than a GUI application
> that *artists* can use. By the time you want to build that, you
> can target the output to practically any suitable player -- Flash,
> SVG, etc. Most of us are used to coding stuff in a text editor.
> But coding in Lua would mean very little to the average artist --
> who, most of the time, simply doesn't need the extra bit of
> performance, and wants a productive GUI interface. Also, the
> features mentioned can be done with any scripting language -- any
> scripting language would be adequate. It follows that the proposal
> of the Lua player has been dealt a serious blow.
>
> Sorry, maybe I am just a dunce, but I don't see any meaningful
> opening... of course I would love to be proven wrong. Some niche
> areas, like casual game platforms, have been well covered already,
> as discussed in the IGDA Casual Games white paper.
>
>> Also, think about a tool to turn the animation into a movie - very
>> useful
>> for YouTube users to create motion graphics for their videos.
>
> --
> Cheers,
> Kein-Hong Man (esq.)
> Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
>