1. Lingo Basics

   1. Chapter 1 How Lingo Thinks

      1. So You're Too Busy to Learn Lingo
      2. Lingo Scripting Basics
      3. Variables and Properties
      4. Lingo's Skeletal Structure
      5. Conditional Execution
      6. Parameters and Arguments

   2. Chapter 2 Events, Messages, and Scripts

      1. Events and Messages
      2. Lingo Script Types
      3. Trapping Events with Scripts
      4. Message Processing Order

   3. Chapter 3 Lingo Coding and Debugging Tips

      1. Lingo Coding Tips
      2. Zen and the Art of Debugging
      3. The Lingo Debugger
      4. A Simple Sample Debugging Session
      5. Lingo Debugging Commands

   4. Chapter 4 Lingo Internals

      1. Lingo Internals

2. Lingo Data Types and Expressions

   1. Chapter 5 Data Types and Expressions

      1. Data Types and Variable Types
      2. Operators

   2. Chapter 6 Lists

      1. List Basics
      2. Lingo List Commands
      3. Commands by List Type
      4. List Utilities
      5. Other Lingo Commands That Use Lists

   3. Chapter 7 Strings

      1. Strings and Chunk Expressions

   4. Chapter 8 Math (and Gambling)

      1. Arithmetic Operators
      2. Math Functions
      3. Number Systems and Formats

3. Lingo Events

   1. Chapter 9 Mouse Events

      1. Mouse Events
      2. Mouse Properties
      3. Mouse Tasks

   2. Chapter 10 Keyboard Events

      1. Keyboard Events
      2. Keyboard Properties
      3. Filtering Keyboard Input
      4. Keyboard Tasks

   3. Chapter 11 Timers and Dates

      1. Timers and Delays
      2. Time Units
      3. Date and Time Functions
      4. Timing Utilities

4. Applied Lingo

   1. Chapter 12 Behaviors and Parent Scripts

      1. What Is a Behavior?
      2. Objects of Mystery
      3. Behaviors versus Other Script Types
      4. Behavior and Parent Script Lingo

   2. Chapter 13 Lingo Xtras and XObjects

      1. Xtras
      2. Lingo Scripting Xtras
      3. Writing Your Own Xtras

   3. Chapter 14 External Files

      1. External Files
      2. File Paths
      3. FileIO
      4. External Applications

   4. Chapter 15 The MUI Dialog Xtra

      1. MUI Alert Dialogs
      2. Custom MUI Dialogs

5. Lingo Command Reference

   1. Chapter 16 Enumerated Values

   2. Chapter 17 Changed, Undocumented, and Misdocumented Lingo

      1. Underdocumented Utilities and Lingo

   3. Chapter 18 Lingo Keyword and Command Summary

   4. Chapter 19 The Lingo Symbol Table

      1. Why Do I Care?

6. Appendixes

   1. Appendix ASCII Codes and Key Codes

   2. Appendix Changes in D6 Through D6.5

      1. New Lingo in Director 6.5
      2. QuickTime 3 Sprite Asset Xtra
      3. QTVR 1.0 Xtra
      4. Flash Asset Xtra
      5. Custom Cursor Xtra
      6. Changes in Earlier Versions of D6

   3. Appendix Case-Sensitivity, Sort Order, Diacritical Marks, and Space-Sensitivity

      1. Case-Sensitivity
      2. Diacritical Marks
      3. Space-Sensitivity

   4. Appendix The DIRECTOR.INI and LINGO.INI Files

      1. DIRECTOR.INI
      2. LINGO.INI

   5. Appendix Error Messages and Error Codes

      1. Lingo Compiler and Runtime Error Messages
      2. Director Error Codes
      3. FileIO Errors
      4. SWA Xtra getError(), getErrorString()
      5. Flash Asset Xtra getError()
      6. Network Errors—netError()
      7. MOA Errors

Our look is the result of reader comments, our own experimentation, and feedback from distribution channels. Distinctive covers complement our distinctive approach to technical topics, breathing personality and life into potentially dry subjects. The animal on the cover of Lingo in a Nutshell is a macaw, a usually brightly colored South American parrot. Macaws include several species, ranging in size from 12 to 40 inches long; some of the most common include the blue and gold macaw (Ara ararauna) and the scarlet macaw (Ara macao). Many of these often noisy parrots can be trained to mimic human speech.

All macaws have large beaks, with the upper portion overlapping the lower. Their diet consists mainly of seeds, nuts, and fresh fruit. They have four toes, two pointing forward and two backward. Larger macaws have a lifespan of up to 75 years.

Macaws generally nest in treeholes or crevices in rocks. One of their roles in nature is the propagation of plant life; undigested seeds are carried throughout the forest in the birds' droppings. Males and females are similarly colored. Many of the macaw species are threatened with extinction, due to their popularity as pets and destruction of their natural habitat. Poachers regularly steal the young from nests and export birds for illegal sale. Paula Carroll served as production coordinator. Benchmark Productions provided editorial and production services. Robert Romano created the illustrations using Macromedia FreeHand 7. Mike Sierra provided FrameMaker technical support. Seth Maislin wrote the index, with additional index work done by Marie Rizzo.

Edie Freedman designed the cover of this book, using an illustration by Susan Hart. The cover layout was produced with QuarkXPress 3.32 using the ITC Garamond font. Whenever possible, our books use RepKover(TM), a durable and flexible lay-flat binding. If the page count exceeds RepKover's limit, perfect binding is used.

The inside layout was designed by Nancy Priest and implemented in FrameMaker 5.0 by Mike Sierra. The text and heading fonts are ITC Garamond Light and Garamond Book. This colophon was written by Nancy Kotary.