Revolution (programming language)

LiveCode
Paradigm	Object-oriented
Developer	Runtime Revolution, Ltd
First appeared	1993
OS	iOS, Mac OS X, Mac OS 9, Microsoft Windows, Linux, Solaris
License	Proprietary
Website	www.runrev.com
Influenced by
	HyperTalk

The LiveCode programming language (formerly the "Revolution" programming language) is a commercial Cross-platform rapid application development language based on Hypercard's programming language HyperTalk. It is developed and sold by Runtime Revolution Ltd., based in Edinburgh, Scotland.

LiveCode runs on Mac OS (Classic), Mac OS X, Windows 95 through Windows 7, and many variations of Unix, including Linux, Solaris, and BSD. It can be used for both desktop and server/CGI applications. It is the most successful and widely used Hypercard/HyperTalk clone, and the only one that runs on all major operating systems.

LiveCode allows developers to create applications that run in any environment, using a fast and easy compile-free workflow. Developers can reuse the same code across multiple devices and platforms from a single code base. LiveCode uses a high level, English-like programming language that is dynamically typed. The sensible programming language and compile-free workflow allow for logical code that is self-documenting and easy for casual programmers to comprehend. For example:

 repeat ten times
   put "Hello world at" && the time & return after field 1
   wait two seconds
 end repeat

Will place ten lines of "Hello world at 9:00 AM" into the first field.

While its natural-language syntax appeals to beginners, the language contains advanced features including associative arrays, regular expressions, QuickTime multimedia, integrated support for a variety of databases, and TCP/IP libraries. The LiveCode engine supports a variety of graphics formats, anti-aliased vector graphics, embedded web browsers. Yet, accessing these higher-level functions is still quite easy. For example, to load the contents of a web page into a variable takes one line of code:

put url "http://www.yahoo.com" into MyVariable

To upload a file via FTP is similar:

put url "binfile:picture.jpg" into url "ftp://john:passwd@ftp.example.net:2121/picture.jpg"

The language may be extended by external libraries.

LiveCode project files are binary-compatible across platforms. They inherit each platform's unique look and feel and behaviors with no modification. For example, buttons, scrollbars, progress bars and menus behave correctly without any intervention on the part of the developer.

Compiling a standalone produces a single-file executable (minimum size ~1.5MB) for each platform targeted. There is no separate runtime necessary.

The Wikipedia article on Hypercard, being at root quite similar, contains a more detailed discussion about the basics of the development environment and scripting language. Livecode is a much richer and far more powerful evolution of that original program.

External links

Runtime Revolution Ltd. maker of LiveCode
Mirye Software Publishing publisher of LiveCode
revJournal webzine for LiveCode developers
Tips and Tricks Comprehensive list of tips and tricks for using LiveCode
NativeSpeak I18N/Localization for RunRev
Article: Extending the Revolution Message Path Review of the Revolution message hierarchy with details on extending it with frontScript, backScripts, and libraries

See also

External links