Programbling

I've added built-in optional types to Rogue - classes ending with '?' (e.g. "Integer?") have class definitions automatically generated that are analogous to the following: class Optional<<$DataType>> PROPERTIES value : $DataType exists : Logical METHODS method init exists = false method init( value ) exists = true endClass Usage of optional types

I finished implementing the 'contingent' control structure yesterday, which completes the set of Rogue control structures. Contingents allow you to "bail out early" of a logical test, similar to a 'return' or a try/catch/throw but used for local logic instead of cross-method exceptions. The syntax is this: contingent

"Tasks" are a neat feature of Rogue. If you tag method with the [task] attribute it becomes an asynchronous method that can be used like a thread. It appears to be concurrent but it is actually executing as a series of updates on the single-threaded main update loop. Two additional

I've given Unity a pretty fair shot over the last six months. There's some good stuff there to be sure - I've got a nice little Roguelike combat engine going. And yet - I still feel like I'm constantly working against the grain; working around the API to have the

I've got Hello World working in Bard v0.3! That's what I"m calling the version of the language supported by my new Node.js-based compiler, BTW. Here's the original "Hello.bard" source file (you may notice a few small design changes from my last blog): routine main->Integer println(

Additional syntax changes for new Bard. 1. Type 'Variant' Reintroduced Variant is a type that can store data of any other type. Its implementation will vary per target language. 2. Streamlined Preprocessor Directives No square brackets. Old Bard: $[include "Actor.bard"] New Bard: $include "Actor.bard" Can use literal strings

Here are the first few notable syntax changes I'm planning for this next iteration of Bard. 1. Back to {Curly,Braces,For,Lists} Originally I wanted Bard to directly support JSON-style notation of literals (and it has until now). Practically speaking however I never use the feature (in terms of

I'm writing a new version of the Bard compiler in Node.js, the popular and convenient Google Chrome-based standalone JavaScript engine that's available as an easy, standalone install on every major desktop OS. Not only will that make distribution and installation super easy, but it will allow me to add

For anyone interested here's a Unity Primer that will help anyone brand new to Unity get oriented. It's in the form of a tutorial; go ahead and follow along in Unity for best results. New Project Setup Open Unity and then go to File > New Project..., select the "Create New