Edinburgh, United Kingdom – Rewritten from the ground up, LiveCode 8 brings a new plug-in architecture allowing users to drag-drop widgets containing sophisticated functionality. Widgets can be built within the LiveCode platform and can be used to wrap functionality in external libraries or each of the operating systems LiveCode supports.

LiveCode 8 ships with 9 pre-made widgets including:
* Browser – embed and control a web browser in your app
* Tree View – expandable ready to use tree views
* Header Bar – Drop a header onto your mobile app and customize
* Navigation Bar – all the standard mobile navigation items at your fingertips
* Graph – drop a full featured graph straight into your app
* Segmented Control – iOS themed choice buttons
* Switch Button – on or off is as easy as … on or off
* SVG Icons – Include scalable vector graphics that resize to any screen
* Clock – add a clock with time zones ready to go

Other highlights in this major release include:

46 New Extensions:
LiveCode Ltd’s recent acquisition of mergEXT means that LiveCode now also ships with 29 readymade iOS add ons, making development on that platform faster and easier than ever before for LiveCoders. Many of these will be developed into widgets by LiveCode Ltd and made available across all supported LiveCode platforms. In all LiveCode 8 ships with a grand total of 46 externals, libraries and widgets to extend its functionality.

LiveCode Builds LiveCode:
The all new LiveCode Builder language is available for the first time for users to build and add their own widgets and extensions. This represents a huge advance, meaning that extensions to LiveCode are now built in LiveCode instead of in lower level and arguably more difficult languages such as C++ or Objective C.

3.5x Performance Boost:
Rewritten low level string and binary implementations mean that LiveCode 8 is approximately 3.5x faster than LiveCode 7 in many key areas.

Working in Teams:
Another brand new feature in 8 is Script Only stacks. Because these are just text files, they make version control in LiveCode far easier, allowing the use of Git or other common version control tools. Working in teams is facilitated by this advance.

Web Apps:
LiveCode for HTML5 – another successfully crowdfunded project – is in beta. You can now deploy your LiveCode app straight to a browser, negating deployment issues and giving the environment the widest possible reach.

Feature Exchange:
As part of the open source community initiative, LiveCode Ltd run a Feature Exchange where the community can regularly fund desirable new features for LiveCode. Funded in this way already are: 64 bit Mac, LiveCode now supports both 32 and 64 bit versions of Mac OS X; Find and Replace in LiveCode now allows preserving and changing the formatting of found strings, saving time and effort; and PostgreSQL SSL – LiveCode has new security features when using postgreSQL databases on desktop.

Pixel Perfect Native Apps:
LiveCode now picks up the theming API’s from the desktop platforms, Mac, Windows or Linux, resulting in pixel perfect apps that look native automatically. The fonts, colors and font sizes used by default will be those appropriate to the platform selected.

Edit and Navigate:
The all new Project Browser and Property Inspector make it easier and smoother than ever before to keep track of all the parts of your app, and change properties with a few clicks. These vital components of a programmers life have been redesigned by programmers for programmers.

Improved First Run Experience:
An interactive first run tutorial has been added to LiveCode 8, helping users to quickly find their way around and understand the basics of programming in LiveCode. Build a Body Mass Index app step by step while you learn.

Copy and Paste:
Clipboard access has been overhauled, allowing easier and better use and preserving formatting during transfer.

Robust to the Core:
Changes in workflow mean that every revision or addition to LiveCode goes through a rigorous series of checks before being added to the core product. This means that fewer new serious issues are being introduced, while many existing ones are being picked up and resolved, including some obscure and deeply embedded engine issues that have not previously come to light. This release has fixed over 1000 bugs and issues and is for sure the most robust release to date.

Kevin Miller, LiveCode CEO, said: “We set out on Kickstarter to deliver the vision that Everyone can Code. It is a great pleasure to now deliver on what was one of the largest technology Kickstarter campaigns ever. LiveCode 8 represents a leap forward for the future of coding, bringing refinements and extensibility that will empower a new audience of app makers. And the new enterprise features shorten development times for those building sophisticated commercial applications.”

LiveCode customer Richard Gaskin of Fourthworld Systems said: “No other development tool has provided as much return on investment for our clients as LiveCode.”

All in all LiveCode 8 offers truly easy and powerful natural language programming on iOS, Android, Mac, Windows, Linux, Web and Server. The free Open Source Community edition brings accessibility to anyone, and the Commercial Indy edition offers training, 28 extra external addons and forum support.

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LiveCode Ltd, based in Edinburgh, Scotland, has a vision to create a productive coding platform for building powerful applications that are accessible to everyone. They make the dual licensed LiveCode platform for building native mobile, desktop and server applications, either as Open Source GPL licensed or using a Commercial license to protect source code. The visual workflow allows the user to develop apps live while the natural language syntax is powerful and uniquely accessible. The company is committed to promoting digital literacy. Commercial successes include both SMEs and Fortune 500 companies. LiveCode apps have grossed over US $100 million and include #1 best sellers, enterprise business systems, games, and productivity tools. All Material and Software (C) Copyright 2016 LiveCode Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, OS X, iPhone, iPod, iPad and Macintosh are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. Other trademarks and registered trademarks may be the property of their respective owners.