Blitz Basic
Blitz Basic (often Blitzbasic or short-BB) is a programming language , which is on the syntax of BASIC -oriented and is especially suitable for programming of PC games.
Blitz Basic was created on the Amiga . After the fall of home computers , author Mark Sibly decided to port Blitz Basic to PC for Windows . MacOS and Linux are now also taken into account in the current BlitzMax offshoot . The following language variants come from this family: Blitz2D, Blitz3D, BlitzPlus and BlitzMax. None of the variants is maintained or further developed by Mark Sibly. The source code was published by him on GitHub .
Amiga
Blitz Basic
Blitz Basic is a dialect of the BASIC programming language. The compiler came onto the market for the Amiga in the early 1990s . Mark Sibly of Acid Software in New Zealand developed it with computer game programming in mind. It contains additional language elements and functions that allow you to write multimedia applications and games without any prior knowledge. The advantage of Blitz Basic in the area of game programming is that the compiler generates very fast code in the graphic area.
Blitz Basic 2
With Blitz Basic 2 you could later write Workbench applications, and a lot of new commands were added. Blitz Basic 2 became the open source AmiBlitz towards the end of the Amiga, which is still being intensively developed.
Pc
Blitz2D
At the beginning of 2000 the development of Blitz Basic for the PC began , a 2D game programming language based on DirectX 7.0 with a lot of features.
This allows you to use the basic basic syntax (for example If statements as well as For and While loops). You can output 2D graphics and sound. It is based on DirectX 7.0, which provides most of the commands you need for 2D games. Since DirectX is downward compatible, Blitz Basic can currently be used with all Windows versions that have DirectX 7.0 or higher. So regardless of the Windows version with which Blitzbasic version a program is written, it can be run on any Windows PC with DirectX 7.0 or higher without adjustments. (provided the program does not call any Windows functions that require a Windows version)
Blitz3D
| Blitz3D | |
|---|---|
 Blitz3D logo |
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| Basic data | |
| Publishing year: | 2001 |
| Developer: | Blitz Research Ltd. |
| Current version : | 1.108c (fourth quarter 2014) |
| Influenced by: | Blitz Basic |
| Operating system : | Windows |
| License : | zlib / libpng |
| github.com/blitz-research/blitz3d | |
Blitz3D (also called B3D for short) was added after approx. 68 updates (up to v1.68). It added more than 200 3D commands to Blitz Basic. With the update 1.78 the compiler was separated from the IDE. The latest version of Blitz3D is currently 1.108c .
The basic basic syntax can also be used here. Basically, the full language range of Blitz2D is available. Support for 3D objects has been added. It is also possible to manipulate the 3D environment. As with Blitz2D, DirectX 7.0 is used, which ensures compatibility with more recent versions. However, training time is required here. In addition, you should have already dealt with 3D game design in principle. The GUI commands of the BlitzPlus version are not included, but BlitzUI is now available for Blitz Basic and Blitz3D, a free extension that adds GUI functions to the languages. The BlitzUI ("Blitz User Interface") for Blitz3D and BlitzBasic allows an approach to the Windows-typical user interface such as menu bars and drop-down menus, but in contrast to BlitzPlus does not use the Windows standard GUI. Although Blitz3D was not supposed to receive any more updates, Mark Sibly released a version that contained bug fixes for Windows 8 users.
Blitz3D has been open source since August 3, 2014 and is available on GitHub . It was programmed in Microsoft Visual C ++ version 6.
Blitz3D SDK
The Blitz 3D SDK enables the functions of B3D for other languages such as C ++ or BlitzMax. Since not all B3D commands are included, there is no solution to the BlitzMax / 3D problem. In addition, the SDK is tied to Windows (graphics and audio instructions only run under DirectX ).
BlitzPlus
| BlitzPlus | |
|---|---|
 BlitzPlus logo |
|
| Basic data | |
| Publishing year: | 2003 |
| Developer: | Blitz Research Ltd. |
| Current version : | 1.47 (November 22, 2009) |
| Influenced by: | Blitz Basic |
| Operating system : | Windows |
| License : | zlib / libpng |
| github.com/blitz-research/blitzplus | |
BlitzPlus (also known as B + or BP for short) was added as a download version in 2003 and thus replaced Blitz Basic. In addition to the Blitz Basic instruction set, BlitzPlus also contains commands for generating a GUI . BlitzPlus contains almost all Blitz2D commands, but it is not 3D capable. In contrast to Blitz2D, however, it is still sold today. However, this language is used by very few people. BlitzPlus has been open source since April 29, 2014 and is under the zlib / libpng license. It had been available free of charge for around two years earlier.
For programming more complex applications, programming languages such as B. Visual Basic from Microsoft or Delphi from Borland are available. BlitzPlus however, is because of the opportunity to integrate in a simple way, a typical Windows user interface, increasingly appreciated by developers who earlier batch ( batch processing ) have programmed as through the user interface easy to BlitzPlus want to create batches unlike the previous BAT - Files can be easily operated even by unskilled users. BlitzPlus is therefore a programming language for developers for whom application development is not the main task, but an additional aid that primarily requires quick learnability and efficient, compressed language grammar, as originally implied by the basic idea of all BASIC dialects.
BlitzPlus itself was programmed in Microsoft Visual C ++ Version 6.
Multiplatform
BlitzMax
| BlitzMax | |
|---|---|
 BlitzMax logo |
|
| Basic data | |
| Paradigms : | object-oriented , imperative , modular , reflexive |
| Publishing year: | 2004 |
| Developer: | Blitz Research Ltd. |
| Current version : | 1.51 (September 21, 2015) |
| Typing : | static , weak |
| Influenced by: | Blitz Basic, Blitz3D |
| Operating system : | Windows , macOS , Linux |
| License : | zlib / libpng |
| github.com/blitz-research/blitzmax | |
BlitzMax (also known as BMax for short) appeared in December 2004. With it, not only games (with OpenGL or DirectX ), but also applications under Windows , macOS and Linux can be created. The source code can often be compiled without changes on all supported platforms. The possibilities for object-oriented programming and using pointers are completely new . The programming language is translated into assembly language by the BlitzMax compiler and uses the flat assembler to generate machine language. External assembler and C / C ++ source texts can be integrated. The corresponding GNU compilers are required for C / C ++ files (on Windows e.g. by MinGW ).
One of the most important aspects of BlitzMax is the ability to include precompiled modules and to create and compile modules yourself. The entire language has a modular structure; Blitz Research Ltd. self-written modules, as well as those that the BlitzBasic community has produced. The source code is supplied for many modules so that modifications by the programmer are possible.
BlitzMax is the youngest member of the Blitz family. With a few exceptions, it also masters 2D and BB basic syntax (with minimal deviations). It also supports OpenGL and DirectX . The most important thing about BlitzMax is its compatibility with Windows, Linux and Mac without source code changes. This only has to be compiled on each platform. At the moment there is no official 3D extension available, but an OpenGL-based 3D engine is still in the works.
On the other hand, the official GUI module MaxGUI has already been released, with which applications can be created similar to BlitzPlus, but with the general advantages of BlitzMax. Other important functionalities are the reflection module, which was added in BlitzMax 1.26, and the Lua and Thread modules, which were added in version 1.32.
On September 21, 2015 the source code of BlitzMax was completely released under the zlib license. The last part of the package that was previously unavailable was the BlitzMax compiler (bcc).
Monkey
Monkey was founded on March 1, 2011 by Blitz Research Ltd. released. In contrast to the other programming languages of the Blitz family, there is more than one compiler, Monkey can theoretically be translated into any programming language.
scope
Blitz Basic is an extensive programming language with a development environment of the same name. Since BlitzMax, programs for macOS and Linux can also be created. Blitz Basic is suitable for both 2D and 3D graphics and can therefore also be used for demanding applications without technical restrictions.
Since you already have BlitzPlus u. a. can also access the Windows API , Blitz Basic can also be used for everyday applications, but is used less frequently than languages such as Visual Basic or Delphi .
literature
- René Meyer : Now I'm learning to program games with Blitz Basic. Your own game in a flash. Markt und Technik, Munich 2003, ISBN 3-8272-6544-4 (mainly deals with 2D programming.)
- René Meyer : Hack 'n' play - programming games. Markt und Technik, Munich 2002, ISBN 3-8272-6317-4 (only covers 2D programming.)
Web links
- German side
- German portal page including forum and German command reference
- German AMIBLITZ³ support page
Individual evidence
- ↑ Blitz3D source now available on Github! ( Memento from September 6, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) on BlitzBasic.com. Retrieved August 3, 2014.
- ↑ BlitzPlus source now available on Github! ( Memento from May 17, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) on BlitzBasic.com. Retrieved May 15, 2014.
- ↑ BlitzPlus on GitHub. Retrieved May 15, 2014.
- ↑ BlitzPlus source now available on Github! ( Memento from May 17, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) on BlitzBasic.com. Retrieved May 15, 2014.
- ↑ Thread "BlitzMax open sourced" ( memento from October 1st, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) in the forum on blitzbasic.com
- ↑ License change from BlitzMax , Commit on GitHub