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{{for|the military aircraft targeting system|Target Acquisition and Designation System, Pilot Night Vision System}}
{{Infobox programming language
{{Infobox programming language
| name = TADS
| name = TADS
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| website = {{URL|http://www.tads.org}}
| website = {{URL|http://www.tads.org}}
}}
}}

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{{for|the military aircraft targeting system|Target Acquisition and Designation System, Pilot Night Vision System}}


'''Text Adventure Development System''' ('''TADS''') is a [[prototype-based programming|prototype-based]] [[domain-specific language|domain-specific]] [[programming language]] and set of [[standard library|standard libraries]] for creating [[interactive fiction]] (IF) games.
'''Text Adventure Development System''' ('''TADS''') is a [[prototype-based programming|prototype-based]] [[domain-specific language|domain-specific]] [[programming language]] and set of [[standard library|standard libraries]] for creating [[interactive fiction]] (IF) games.


==History==
==History==
The original TADS 1 was released by [[High Energy Software]] as [[shareware]] in the late 1980s, and was followed by TADS 2 not long after. In the early 1990s, TADS established itself as the number one development tool for [[interactive fiction]], in place of simpler systems like AGT ([[Adventure Game Toolkit]]).{{Fact|date=November 2008}} In the late 1990s, it was joined by [[Inform]] as the most popular interactive fiction development language.
The original TADS 1 was released by [[High Energy Software]] as [[shareware]] in the late 1980s, and was followed by TADS 2 not long after. In the early 1990s, TADS established itself as the number one development tool for [[interactive fiction]], in place of simpler systems like AGT ([[Adventure Game Toolkit]]).{{Citation needed|date=November 2008}} In the late 1990s, it was joined by [[Inform]] as the most popular interactive fiction development language.


TADS 2 syntax is based on [[C (programming language)|C]], with bits of [[Pascal (programming language)|Pascal]]. TADS 2 has been maintained and updated at regular intervals by its creator, Michael J. Roberts, even after it became freeware in July 1996. Graham Nelson, creator of Inform, describes Inform and TADS as the "only two systems... widely used" in the last half of the 1990s,<ref name="DM4">{{cite web
TADS 2 syntax is based on [[C (programming language)|C]], with bits of [[Pascal (programming language)|Pascal]]. TADS 2 has been maintained and updated at regular intervals by its creator, Michael J. Roberts, even after it became freeware in July 1996. Graham Nelson, creator of Inform, describes Inform and TADS as the "only two systems... widely used" in the last half of the 1990s,<ref name="DM4">{{cite web
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Games written in TADS are compiled to a platform-independent format that can be played on any computer for which a suitable [[virtual machine]] (VM) exists. Such virtual machines exist for several platforms, and in this respect, TADS closely follows the example of the original [[Infocom]] [[Z-machine]], as well as modern languages such as [[Java (programming language)|Java]] and [[C Sharp (programming language)|C#]].
Games written in TADS are compiled to a platform-independent format that can be played on any computer for which a suitable [[virtual machine]] (VM) exists. Such virtual machines exist for several platforms, and in this respect, TADS closely follows the example of the original [[Infocom]] [[Z-machine]], as well as modern languages such as [[Java (programming language)|Java]] and [[C Sharp (programming language)|C#]].


Whereas the TADS 1 and 2 VMs had to [[parse]] the commands entered by the player, before sending the results on to the game, TADS 3 employs a more general-purpose virtual machine, where the command-parsing is done by the game code itself, akin to Inform. The rationale for this is that it is easier to customize the parser.{{Fact|date=November 2008}}
Whereas the TADS 1 and 2 VMs had to [[parse]] the commands entered by the player, before sending the results on to the game, TADS 3 employs a more general-purpose virtual machine, where the command-parsing is done by the game code itself, akin to Inform. The rationale for this is that it is easier to customize the parser.{{Citation needed|date=November 2008}}


===Notable games developed in TADS 2===
===Notable games developed in TADS 2===
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* ''The Frenetic Five vs. Sturm und Drang'', the first game in the "[[Frenetic Five]]" series by [[Neil deMause]] (1997). The game won a [[XYZZY Award for Best NPCs]] that year.
* ''The Frenetic Five vs. Sturm und Drang'', the first game in the "[[Frenetic Five]]" series by [[Neil deMause]] (1997). The game won a [[XYZZY Award for Best NPCs]] that year.


* ''Worlds Apart'' by Suzanne Britton (1999). Winner of [[XYZZY Award for Best Story]] and finalist in seven other XYZZY Award categories in 1999, the game features a huge amount of detailed worldbuilding.{{Fact|date=November 2008}}
* ''Worlds Apart'' by Suzanne Britton (1999). Winner of [[XYZZY Award for Best Story]] and finalist in seven other XYZZY Award categories in 1999, the game features a huge amount of detailed worldbuilding.{{Citation needed|date=November 2008}}


* ''[[Kaged]]'' by [[Ian Finley]] (2000). Winner of the 2000 annual [[Interactive Fiction Competition]].
* ''[[Kaged]]'' by [[Ian Finley]] (2000). Winner of the 2000 annual [[Interactive Fiction Competition]].
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===Notable games developed in TADS 3===
===Notable games developed in TADS 3===
* ''Max Blaster and Doris de Lightning Against the Parrot Creatures of Venus'' by [[Dan Shiovitz]] and [[Emily Short]] (2003). Winner of the 2003 [[Spring Thing]]; a somewhat unusual example of multiple [[player character|player characters (or PCs)]].{{Fact|date=November 2008}}
* ''Max Blaster and Doris de Lightning Against the Parrot Creatures of Venus'' by [[Dan Shiovitz]] and [[Emily Short]] (2003). Winner of the 2003 [[Spring Thing]]; a somewhat unusual example of multiple [[player character|player characters (or PCs)]].{{Citation needed|date=November 2008}}


* ''[[The Elysium Enigma]]'' by [[Eric Eve]] (2006). Eve was awarded [[XYZZY Award for Best Game]], [[XYZZY Award for Best Individual NPC]], and took third place in the 2006 annual [[Interactive Fiction Competition]].
* ''[[The Elysium Enigma]]'' by [[Eric Eve]] (2006). Eve was awarded [[XYZZY Award for Best Game]], [[XYZZY Award for Best Individual NPC]], and took third place in the 2006 annual [[Interactive Fiction Competition]].
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* [http://www.hypertads.org/ HyperTADS], a Mac OS multimedia interpreter for TADS 2 and 3
* [http://www.hypertads.org/ HyperTADS], a Mac OS multimedia interpreter for TADS 2 and 3


{{DEFAULTSORT:Tads}}
[[Category:Interactive fiction]]
[[Category:Interactive fiction]]
[[Category:Domain-specific programming languages]]
[[Category:Domain-specific programming languages]]
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[[Category:Text adventure game engines]]
[[Category:Text adventure game engines]]
[[Category:Video game creation software]]
[[Category:Video game creation software]]

{{videogame-software-stub}}


[[ar:TADS]]
[[ar:TADS]]

Revision as of 09:52, 10 June 2011

For the military aircraft targeting system, see Target Acquisition and Designation System, Pilot Night Vision System.
TADS
Paradigmprototype-based, domain-specific
Designed byMichael J. Roberts
DeveloperMichael J. Roberts
First appeared1988; 36 years ago (1988)
Stable release
3.0.18.1 / May 5, 2009; 15 years ago (2009-05-05)
Typing disciplineStrong typing, type inference
OSAmiga, BeOS, DOS, Microsoft Windows, Unix (Linux, Mac OS X), others
LicenseTADS 2 Freeware source code
Websitewww.tads.org

Text Adventure Development System (TADS) is a prototype-based domain-specific programming language and set of standard libraries for creating interactive fiction (IF) games.

History

The original TADS 1 was released by High Energy Software as shareware in the late 1980s, and was followed by TADS 2 not long after. In the early 1990s, TADS established itself as the number one development tool for interactive fiction, in place of simpler systems like AGT (Adventure Game Toolkit).[citation needed] In the late 1990s, it was joined by Inform as the most popular interactive fiction development language.

TADS 2 syntax is based on C, with bits of Pascal. TADS 2 has been maintained and updated at regular intervals by its creator, Michael J. Roberts, even after it became freeware in July 1996. Graham Nelson, creator of Inform, describes Inform and TADS as the "only two systems... widely used" in the last half of the 1990s,[1] and TADS has been called "The second most commonly used IF programming language today".[2] Multimedia TADS, introduced in 1998, allows games to display graphics, animation and play sounds, if the platform supports it.

In 2006, TADS received a major overhaul with the release of TADS 3, which is a complete rewrite of the TADS engine, only retaining the platform-dependent code to ease porting. TADS 3 uses a language with a syntax that resembles C++ and Java. It has many new features, such as efficient dynamic objects (with automatic garbage collection), structured exceptions, native UTF-8 strings, and many useful function classes.

The TADS 3 compiler and interpreter have been ported to the DOS, Macintosh and Unix platforms. Several TADS 3 games have been released.

TADS games

Games written in TADS are compiled to a platform-independent format that can be played on any computer for which a suitable virtual machine (VM) exists. Such virtual machines exist for several platforms, and in this respect, TADS closely follows the example of the original Infocom Z-machine, as well as modern languages such as Java and C#.

Whereas the TADS 1 and 2 VMs had to parse the commands entered by the player, before sending the results on to the game, TADS 3 employs a more general-purpose virtual machine, where the command-parsing is done by the game code itself, akin to Inform. The rationale for this is that it is easier to customize the parser.[citation needed]

Notable games developed in TADS 2

  • Worlds Apart by Suzanne Britton (1999). Winner of XYZZY Award for Best Story and finalist in seven other XYZZY Award categories in 1999, the game features a huge amount of detailed worldbuilding.[citation needed]

Notable games developed in TADS 3

See also

References

  1. ^ Nelson, Graham (2001). "DM4 §46: A short history of interactive fiction". The Inform Designer's Manual. Retrieved 2007-09-03. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  2. ^ Maher, Jimmy (2006). "Chapter 8: The Growth of Hobbyist IF". Let's Tell a Story Together (A History of Interactive Fiction). Retrieved 2010-09-17.
  3. ^ Brendan I. Koerner (2005-01-30). "A Game With A Low Body Count". New York Times. Retrieved 2007-09-03.
  4. ^ Nick Wadhams (2003-04-07). "'1893' has history, mystery". Columbia Chronicle Online. Retrieved 2007-09-03.

External links

Interpreters
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