@Gianluca Thanks for the question. I had been trying to give RW Classic it’s “day in the sun” without commenting too much – so it’s nice to have an excuse to talk about what I’ve been working so hard on without feeling like I’m trying to steal the limelight :-)
Let’s see, I’ll start with quick short answers:
- When: later this year.
- FTP? Project-import? Both are top priorities. However I’m need to hold off saying more until I’m further along.
- Purchase Recommendations: I always tell folks to purchase software as need arises – not before.
Stacks 5 Development: Month 4 – Week 17 – Day 116
The longer answer
It has been a bit more than 3 ½ months – as the title said: 116 days – but who’s counting. 😉 So let’s reflect a bit on that time. Talk more about where we are today. And a few more hints about where we’re headed.
Past
Back in March, RW9 was said to be in “about 3 months” away. My first plans were to ship something not too long after that. However, there are exactly zero complex apps that a solo-dev can build in 3-months. It’s simply not possible. Even in 6 months reality imposes hard limits. Despite that, I managed to put together a very short list of only core features and got to work on my 6-month app.
Present
Three months came and went uneventfully. This takes some of the heat off. There’s no longer an urgent need to show off something, more a need to show off something great.
So for the past few weeks I’ve tried to slow my pace a bit. I’m no longer working 12-hour shifts (phew – that was getting old fast) and I’m focusing more on building something awesome rather than something right now.
Future
Schedule
Stacks 5 will ship later this year. But software schedules are notoriously difficult to predict so it’s probably wise not to be any more specific than that.
Caveat emptor: I’m a one-man show, if I catch covid or break a finger, the schedule is bound to change. Touch-wood/Knock-on-wood, cross both fingers 🤞🤞, and say a few prayers for good measure. In any case, you have my word that I’ll ship Stacks 5 as soon as humanly possible.
Features
Both FTP and project-importing on my short list of features. But shipping something for developers to work with as soon as humanly possible is important – so please do not be surprised to see an alpha or beta version that only provides core features necessary for developers to test their 3rd-party stacks.
Recommendations
Coming full circle back to this week. I feel that RW8 + Stacks 4 is still a pretty great combo and will be how most users get their work done for a bit. Despite all the announcements, RW8+S4 remains a solid place to be.
But I’m very happy to see Realmac’s commitment to supporting the RW 8 API going forward. Professionally this gives me great hope for the platform and that there’s room for us to work together again someday.
I hope this answers a few of your questions, if you have anything more specific, please don’t hesitate to ask.
If I don’t answer immediately it’s nothing personal, I just I have my head down in the code. Despite a slow-er pace, I’m still putting in 10 hours most days. If you ping me on twitter (I’m @isaiah there) i’ll usually see it quickly as that’s the app I open first on my coffee breaks.