4 ms·

Infocom's ZIL programming language user's guide (1989) [pdf]

30 points by gnosis 14y ago

sp332 14y ago
If you want to see how the tools have progressed, check out Inform 7. http://inform7.com/ http://inform7.com/ The IDE has features that automate playthroughs, like integration tests. The I7 language itself is an excellent, extensible DSL.
- ConstantineXVI 14y ago
  To be clear, Inform isn't related to ZIL other than both targeting the Z-machine.
  - sp332 14y ago
    Right, Graham Nelson reverse-engineered the Z-machine, and wrote the Inform language to target it. Versions 1-6 were more cryptic DSLs https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inform_7#Example_game https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inform_7#Example_game whereas Inform 7 reads like plain English https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inform_7#Example_game_2 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inform_7#Example_game_2 Edit: ok several mistakes in a small paragraph :) Nelson didn't solely reverse-engineer the z-machine, and Inform 1-5 were quite different from v6.
    - AimHere 14y ago
      I think the credit for the reverse engineering of the Z-machine goes to a lot more people than merely Graham Nelson. Nelson himself only claims 'a few pieces of the Jigsaw' in the Z-machine standards, at http://www.inform-fiction.org/zmachine/standards/z1point0/index.html http://www.inform-fiction.org/zmachine/standards/z1point0/in... . He is the main man behind Inform, of course (and I reckon that his collaborator for Inform 7, Emily Short, is just his pseudonym too...)
      - mratzloff 14y ago
        I think she would be very surprised to learn she was just a pseudonym. :-) http://www.edge-online.com/files/images/AI_heads_two.jpg http://www.edge-online.com/files/images/AI_heads_two.jpg
        deleted 14y ago
        [deleted]
      - xyzzyb 14y ago
        Why in the world would you think that Emily Short is a pseudonym? Their games and code are quite different.
        deleted 14y ago
        [deleted]
      - msbarnett 14y ago
        Emily Short has appeared at a number of interactive fiction panels and the like. She's definitely a real, and very talented, person, and in a Male-centric field, it's somewhat insulting to see people assuming that she must just be a man's pseudonym.
        sp332 14y ago
        First, it's a joke. Second, it's a compliment to both of them because they are only alike in being top-notch writers and programmers. It's like comparing Hammet to Chandler, not Shakespeare to Milton.
- rmc 14y ago
  Inform 7 is interesting for people interested in programming languages, since its so different from other languages.
comatose_kid 14y ago
I worked with David a long while back at VM Labs - fun times, and my first introduction to people who used and liked lisp.
Rudism 14y ago
My earliest computer gaming memories are of playing Zork with a friend on his C64. Good games and good times! I wonder if the yung'uns of today will look back on their Xbox live or MMOG multiplayer sessions with as much nostalgia.
- WalterGR 14y ago
  I wonder if the yung'uns of today will look back on their Xbox live or MMOG multiplayer sessions with as much nostalgia. They will, just as our parents look back at the games of their youth with similar nostalgia.

30 points by gnosis 14y ago

sp332 14y ago

If you want to see how the tools have progressed, check out Inform 7. http://inform7.com/ http://inform7.com/ The IDE has features that automate playthroughs, like integration tests. The I7 language itself is an excellent, extensible DSL.

ConstantineXVI 14y ago
To be clear, Inform isn't related to ZIL other than both targeting the Z-machine.
- sp332 14y ago
  Right, Graham Nelson reverse-engineered the Z-machine, and wrote the Inform language to target it. Versions 1-6 were more cryptic DSLs https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inform_7#Example_game https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inform_7#Example_game whereas Inform 7 reads like plain English https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inform_7#Example_game_2 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inform_7#Example_game_2 Edit: ok several mistakes in a small paragraph :) Nelson didn't solely reverse-engineer the z-machine, and Inform 1-5 were quite different from v6.
  - AimHere 14y ago
    I think the credit for the reverse engineering of the Z-machine goes to a lot more people than merely Graham Nelson. Nelson himself only claims 'a few pieces of the Jigsaw' in the Z-machine standards, at http://www.inform-fiction.org/zmachine/standards/z1point0/index.html http://www.inform-fiction.org/zmachine/standards/z1point0/in... . He is the main man behind Inform, of course (and I reckon that his collaborator for Inform 7, Emily Short, is just his pseudonym too...)
    - mratzloff 14y ago
      I think she would be very surprised to learn she was just a pseudonym. :-) http://www.edge-online.com/files/images/AI_heads_two.jpg http://www.edge-online.com/files/images/AI_heads_two.jpg
      - deleted 14y ago
        [deleted]
    - xyzzyb 14y ago
      Why in the world would you think that Emily Short is a pseudonym? Their games and code are quite different.
      - deleted 14y ago
        [deleted]
    - msbarnett 14y ago
      Emily Short has appeared at a number of interactive fiction panels and the like. She's definitely a real, and very talented, person, and in a Male-centric field, it's somewhat insulting to see people assuming that she must just be a man's pseudonym.
      - sp332 14y ago
        First, it's a joke. Second, it's a compliment to both of them because they are only alike in being top-notch writers and programmers. It's like comparing Hammet to Chandler, not Shakespeare to Milton.
rmc 14y ago
Inform 7 is interesting for people interested in programming languages, since its so different from other languages.

comatose_kid 14y ago

I worked with David a long while back at VM Labs - fun times, and my first introduction to people who used and liked lisp.

Rudism 14y ago

My earliest computer gaming memories are of playing Zork with a friend on his C64. Good games and good times! I wonder if the yung'uns of today will look back on their Xbox live or MMOG multiplayer sessions with as much nostalgia.

WalterGR 14y ago
I wonder if the yung'uns of today will look back on their Xbox live or MMOG multiplayer sessions with as much nostalgia. They will, just as our parents look back at the games of their youth with similar nostalgia.