Inform 6 vs. Inform 7

Tom A

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Jun 6, 2013, 4:45:48 PM6/6/13

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Actually, this isn't asking for a comparison. It's more I'm learning 6 now, and it is made easier by the Designers Manual and Beginners guide that present step by step examples of creating games while presenting the underlying ideas. Does Inform 7 have anything like these books?

Also, is there any difference between the Inform 6 vs. Inform 7 libraries? (I assume Inform 7 has a similar library structure to Inform 6. If not, let me know).

Thanks.

Tom A.

John W Kennedy

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Jun 6, 2013, 5:14:27 PM6/6/13

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On 2013-06-06 20:45:48 +0000, Tom A said:

> Actually, this isn't asking for a comparison. It's more I'm learning 6
> now, and it is made easier by the Designers Manual and Beginners guide
> that present step by step examples of creating games while presenting
> the underlying ideas. Does Inform 7 have anything like these books?

I don't recall any books -- just the built-in tutorial.

> Also, is there any difference between the Inform 6 vs. Inform 7
> libraries? (I assume Inform 7 has a similar library structure to
> Inform 6. If not, let me know).

They are almost entirely different. Although Inform 7 uses Inform 6 as
an intermediary, it uses it as little more than an assembler. The
Inform 7 library is much more powerful than the Inform 6 library, in
the same way that C++ is more powerful than C, or Ada is more powerful
than Fortran. And, of course, Inform 7 includes an advanced workbench
facility. Do not let the vaguely COBOL-like syntax fool you; the
similarity is almost entirely cosmetic, and Inform 7, unlike COBOL, is
grounded in literally decades of experience.

--
John W Kennedy
"Those in the seat of power oft forget their failings and seek only the
obeisance of others! Thus is bad government born! Hold in your heart
that you and the people are one, human beings all, and good government
shall arise of its own accord! Such is the path of virtue!"
-- Kazuo Koike. "Lone Wolf and Cub: Thirteen Strings" (tr. Dana Lewis)

Michael Neal Tenuis

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Jun 6, 2013, 7:49:15 PM6/6/13

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The Inform 7 manuals have lots of self-contained examples. If you like,
you can look at them online without having to download the IDE:
http://inform7.com/learn/manuals/

In addition, people have also found Jim Aikin's "I7 Handbook" helpful:
http://www.musicwords.net/if/i7hb.htm

There's Aaron Reed's book "Creating Interactive Fiction with Inform 7",
which I've heard good things about, but haven't yet read myself:
http://inform7.textories.com/
Over the course of the book an example game is incrementally developed;
you can browse the source code here:
http://sand-dancer.textories.com/source.html

If you come from a programming background, you might find Ron Newcomb's
technical "Inform 7 for Programmers" useful:
http://www.plover.net/~pscion/Inform%207%20for%20Programmers.pdf
(This does not focus on complete playable examples, though.)

Regards,
Michael

Andrew Plotkin

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Jun 6, 2013, 8:31:57 PM6/6/13

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Here, Tom A <meteoric...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> Actually, this isn't asking for a comparison. It's more I'm learning
> 6 now, and it is made easier by the Designers Manual and Beginners
> guide that present step by step examples of creating games while
> presenting the underlying ideas. Does Inform 7 have anything like
> these books?

See the first post in this thread:

http://www.intfiction.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=3988

--Z

--
"And Aholibamah bare Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah: these were the borogoves..."
*

Tom A

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Jun 7, 2013, 11:46:03 AM6/7/13

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Thank you everybody. After I finish my current game, I'll look into learning Inform 7.

Tom A.