-=======================
- 2: Tools of the trade
-=======================
+====================
+ Tools of the trade
+====================
.. epigraph::
| *C was a captain, all covered with lace;*
| *D was a drunkard, and had a red face.*
-Conventional -- static -- fiction can be written using nothing more than
+.. only:: html
+
+ .. image:: /images/picC.png
+ :align: left
+
+.. raw:: latex
+
+ \dropcap{c}
+
+onventional -- static -- fiction can be written using nothing more than
pencil and paper, or typewriter, or word-processor; however, the
requirements for producing IF are a little more extensive, and the creative
process slightly more complex.
text which the interpreter ultimately displays. For example, the "William
Tell" game, in the form that we wrote it, starts like this:
-.. code-block:: inform
+.. code-block:: inform6
!============================================================================
Constant Story "William Tell";
Class Room
has light;
- ...
+
+ ! ...
You will never need to look at it in the form produced by the compiler::
but you have to remember to save your game in Text File format;
* some Inform **library files** which you Include in your own game source
- file in order to provide the model world -- a basic game environment and
- lots of useful standard definitions;
+ file in order to provide the **model world** -- a basic game
+ environment and lots of useful standard definitions;
* the Inform **compiler** program, which reads your source file (and the
library files) and translates your descriptions and definitions into
Now, if you double-click the file, it should open in TextEdit so that
you can see how it's written, though it probably won't mean much -- yet.
- The above process may affect only this specific file. To change the
- program that opens by default all ``.inf`` files, try this:
+ .. note::
- * right-click on the file (or Ctrl-click)
+ The above process may affect only this specific file. To change
+ the program that opens by default *all* ``.inf`` files, try this:
- * select ``Get Info``
+ * right-click on the file (or Ctrl-click)
- * in the ``Open with`` tab, select TextEdit as the application
+ * select ``Get Info``
- * click the ``Change All...`` button, and confirm the change when asked.
+ * in the ``Open with`` tab, select TextEdit as the application
+
+ * click the ``Change All...`` button, and confirm the change when asked.
4. ``MyGame1.command`` is a Terminal Shell Script (a UNIX executable
command-line file, a kind of text-only computer program from the days
.. note::
- On the command line, you sometimes also see a compiler switch such as
- ``-S``, used for controlling detailed aspects of how the compiler
- operates. Rather than do that here, we find it more convenient to
- place any necessary switches at the very top of the source file, as
- we'll explain in the next chapter.
+ On the command line, you sometimes also see a compiler **switch**
+ such as ``-S``, used for controlling detailed aspects of how the
+ compiler operates. Rather than do that here, we find it more
+ convenient to place any necessary switches at the very top of the
+ source file, as we'll explain in the next chapter.
Once you've finished editing those lines, ``Save`` the file (not
``SaveAs``), overwriting the original, and make sure that your text editor