I'm Trying BlitzMax for the first time

-=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- (c) WidthPadding Industries 1987 0\|407\|0 -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=- -=+=-
Socoder -> On Topic -> I'm Trying BlitzMax for the first time
Wed, 16 Jul 2025, 07:44
forest_gump	I'm Trying BlitzMax for the first time Hi all... well, the FreeBASIC poetry game is dull and dry, and to be honest, I'm kinda curious about Blitz programming language, so I clicked the "Dev Tools" Option and decided to download one of the Blitzes, so I'm downloading BlitzMax 32/64 bit (btw the link to BlitzPlus is broken) thought I try it and give my impression and maybe ask a few (few? million! ) questions - but then again I see a really good documentation and help guides and tutorials and how to documentations - guess I'll just read it over and over more and more... I've been coding too much in FreeBASIC, and BlitzMax sure looks interesting and might be the fresh air I need Now I'll need to start over with a new language, I guess (back to the drawing board), as soon as the poetry game is finished and published (man, it's so boring I don't think even I would want to play it ) I'm going to try BlitzMax and give it a shot. Stay tuned for more updates as forest gump goes BlitzMax!
Wed, 16 Jul 2025, 09:06
Pixel_Outlaw	There is a lot of missing documentation in BlitzMax (and NG which is the only one that's not dead). It is best to learn a tool like grep to dig through the source .bmx files for answers on how things with missing documentation work. (This is another excellent reason to use open source stuff.) Oh I should also mention that grep on Mac is missing a lot of features so GNU grep is best on any OS. From a pure language standpoint, the other Blitz languages are more primitive than NG - even the newer ones like Monkey X.
Wed, 16 Jul 2025, 09:27
forest_gump	Hi Pixel_Outlaw, thanks for the wise advice... Well, I've been doing some vibe coding with BlitzMax, and I must say I'm impressed - this really looks like a good alternative to FreeBASIC programming language - FreeBASIC sadly is a programming language with many disadvantages - hard learning curve, not friendly, and very toxic community and freebasic has a way of making life difficult if you want to do advanced stuff and no one to ask for or get help from... Sadly, I'm burned out from the FreeBASIC side and just couldn't progress further... btw, I'm on Windows 11 Home, not Linux or Mac, still BlitzMax seems to be everything I've been searching for and couldn't find - not even in FreeBASIC Here is a small code I tried on BlitzMax... eliza.bmx SuperStrict Framework brl.max2d Import brl.glmax2d Import brl.standardio Import brl.keycodes Import brl.eventqueue Import brl.font Import brl.stream Import brl.random ' GUI and display constants Const WINDOW_WIDTH:Int = 800 Const WINDOW_HEIGHT:Int = 600 Const CHAT_HEIGHT:Int = 500 Const INPUT_HEIGHT:Int = 30 Const MARGIN:Int = 10 ' Colors Const BG_COLOR:Int = $E0E0E0 Const CHAT_BG:Int = $FFFFFF Const INPUT_BG:Int = $F0F0F0 Const TEXT_COLOR:Int = $000000 Const ELIZA_COLOR:Int = $0000AA Const USER_COLOR:Int = $006600 ' Global variables Global chatLog:String = "" Global userInput:String = "" Global isTyping:Int = False Global cursorBlink:Int = 0 Global scrollOffset:Int = 0 Global maxScroll:Int = 0 Global font:TImageFont ' Eliza patterns and responses Global patterns:String[] Global responses:String[][] ' Initialize the application Function Main() Graphics(WINDOW_WIDTH, WINDOW_HEIGHT, 0, 60) SetBlend(ALPHABLEND) ' Load default font (use system default) ' SetImageFont(LoadImageFont("", 12)) ' Initialize Eliza patterns InitEliza() ' Welcome message AddToChatLog("ELIZA", "How do you do. Please tell me your problem.") ' Main loop While Not KeyDown(KEY_ESCAPE) PollSystem() HandleInput() DrawGUI() Flip() Wend End Function ' Initialize Eliza patterns and responses Function InitEliza() patterns = New String[50] responses = New String[][50] ' Pattern 0: "I am" or "I'm" - HIGH PRIORITY patterns[0] = "I AM\|I'M" responses[0] = ["How do you feel about being ?", "Why do you tell me you're ?", "How long have you been ?", "Do you believe it is normal to be ?", "Do you enjoy being ?"] ' Pattern 1: "I feel" patterns[1] = "I FEEL" responses[1] = ["Tell me more about those feelings.", "Do you often feel ?", "What makes you feel ?", "When do you usually feel ?", "Do you enjoy feeling ?"] ' Pattern 2: "I was" patterns[2] = "I WAS" responses[2] = ["Were you really ?", "Why do you tell me you were * now?", "Perhaps I already know you were .", "What if you were again?"] ' Pattern 3: "I believe" or "I think" patterns[3] = "I BELIEVE\|I THINK" responses[3] = ["Do you really think so?", "But you are not sure you ?", "Do you doubt you ?", "In what way do you ?", "What makes you think you ?"] ' Pattern 4: "I want" or "I need" or "I would like" patterns[4] = "I WANT\|I NEED\|I WOULD LIKE" responses[4] = ["What would it mean to you if you got ?", "Why do you want ?", "Suppose you got * soon.", "What if you never got ?", "What would getting mean to you?", "I sometimes also want ."] ' Pattern 5: "I can't" or "I cannot" patterns[5] = "I CAN'T\|I CANNOT" responses[5] = ["How do you know you can't ?", "Have you tried to ?", "Perhaps you could now.", "Do you really want to be able to ?", "What if you could ?"] ' Pattern 6: "I don't" or "I do not" patterns[6] = "I DON'T\|I DO NOT" responses[6] = ["Don't you really ?", "Why don't you ?", "Do you want to ?", "Does that trouble you?", "Tell me more about not ing."] ' Pattern 7: "I have" or "I've got" patterns[7] = "I HAVE\|I'VE GOT" responses[7] = ["How long have you had ?", "What does having mean to you?", "Why do you tell me you have ?", "Tell me more about your ."] ' Pattern 8: "I will" or "I'll" patterns[8] = "I WILL\|I'LL" responses[8] = ["Do you really intend to ?", "What makes you think you will ?", "When will you ?", "Do you want to ?"] ' Pattern 9: "You are" or "You're" patterns[9] = "YOU ARE\|YOU'RE" responses[9] = ["What makes you think I am ?", "Does it please you to believe I am ?", "Perhaps you would like to be .", "Do you sometimes wish you were ?"] ' Pattern 10: "You were" patterns[10] = "YOU WERE" responses[10] = ["What if I were ?", "What makes you think I was ?", "Perhaps you are .", "What does it matter whether I was ?"] ' Pattern 11: "You" (general) patterns[11] = "YOU" responses[11] = ["We were discussing you -- not me.", "Oh, I ?", "You're not really talking about me -- are you?", "What are your feelings now?"] ' Pattern 12: "Yes" or "No" patterns[12] = "YES\|NO" responses[12] = ["You seem quite certain.", "Are you sure?", "I see.", "I understand.", "Please go on."] ' Pattern 13: "My mother" or "My father" or family patterns[13] = "MY MOTHER\|MY FATHER\|MY PARENT\|MY FAMILY\|MY MOM\|MY DAD" responses[13] = ["Tell me more about your family.", "What else comes to mind when you think of your ?", "How do you feel about your ?", "Does your influence you strongly?", "What does your * mean to you?", "Tell me about your relationship with your ."] ' Pattern 14: "My" (possessive) patterns[14] = "MY" responses[14] = ["Why is your important to you?", "Tell me more about your .", "Is your causing you problems?", "What does your * mean to you?"] ' Pattern 15: "Hello" or "Hi" patterns[15] = "HELLO\|HI\|HEY" responses[15] = ["How do you do. Please tell me your problem.", "Hi there. What brings you here today?", "Hello! How can I help you?", "How are you feeling today?"] ' Pattern 16: "Sorry" or "Apologize" patterns[16] = "SORRY\|APOLOGIZE" responses[16] = ["Please don't apologize.", "Apologies are not necessary.", "What feelings do you have when you apologize?", "I've told you that apologies are not required.", "It did not bother me. Please continue."] ' Pattern 17: "Dream" or "Nightmare" patterns[17] = "DREAM\|NIGHTMARE" responses[17] = ["What does that dream suggest to you?", "Do you dream often?", "What persons appear in your dreams?", "Are you disturbed by your dreams?", "How do you feel about that dream?"] ' Pattern 18: "Maybe" or "Perhaps" patterns[18] = "MAYBE\|PERHAPS" responses[18] = ["You don't seem quite certain.", "Why the uncertain tone?", "Can't you be more positive?", "You aren't sure?", "Don't you know?"] ' Pattern 19: "Name" patterns[19] = "NAME" responses[19] = ["I am not interested in names.", "Names don't interest me.", "What about names?", "I don't care about names -- please continue."] ' Pattern 20: "Computer" or "Machine" patterns[20] = "COMPUTER\|MACHINE" responses[20] = ["Do computers worry you?", "Why do you mention computers?", "What do you think machines have to do with your problem?", "Don't you think computers can help people?", "What about machines worries you?", "What do you think about machines?"] ' Pattern 21: "Everyone" or "Everybody" patterns[21] = "EVERYONE\|EVERYBODY" responses[21] = ["Really, ?", "Surely not .", "Can you think of anyone specific?", "Who in particular?", "You are thinking of a very special person.", "Who, may I ask?"] ' Pattern 22: "Nobody" or "No one" patterns[22] = "NOBODY\|NO ONE" responses[22] = ["Are you sure, no one ?", "Surely someone .", "Can you think of anyone at all?", "Are you thinking of a very special person?", "Who, may I ask?"] ' Pattern 23: "Always" or "Never" patterns[23] = "ALWAYS\|NEVER" responses[23] = ["Can you think of a specific example?", "When?", "What incident are you thinking of?", "Really, ?", "What brings this to mind?"] ' Pattern 24: "What" or "How" or "Why" questions patterns[24] = "WHAT\|HOW\|WHY" responses[24] = ["Why do you ask?", "How does that question relate to you?", "What do you think?", "You tell me.", "What comes to mind when you ask that?"] ' Pattern 25: "Because" patterns[25] = "BECAUSE" responses[25] = ["Is that the real reason?", "What other reasons come to mind?", "Does that reason apply to anything else?", "What other reasons might there be?"] ' Pattern 26: "Like" (similarity) patterns[26] = "LIKE" responses[26] = ["What resemblance do you see?", "In what way?", "What similarity do you see?", "Does that similarity suggest anything else?", "What other connections do you see?"] ' Pattern 27: "Different" or "Same" patterns[27] = "DIFFERENT\|SAME" responses[27] = ["How is it different?", "What differences do you see?", "What similarities do you see?", "In what way?", "What does that suggest to you?"] ' Pattern 28: "Afraid" or "Fear" or "Scared" patterns[28] = "AFRAID\|FEAR\|SCARED" responses[28] = ["What are you afraid of?", "Do you often feel afraid?", "What makes you fearful?", "What would help you feel less afraid?", "Tell me about your fears."] ' Pattern 29: "Love" or "Hate" patterns[29] = "LOVE\|HATE" responses[29] = ["Tell me about your feelings.", "What does mean to you?", "What other feelings do you have?", "Do you often feel ?", "What brings on such feelings?"] ' Pattern 30: "Sad" or "Happy" or "Angry" patterns[30] = "SAD\|HAPPY\|ANGRY\|MAD" responses[30] = ["What makes you feel ?", "Tell me about these feelings.", "Do you often feel ?", "When do you feel most ?", "What would make you feel better?"] ' Pattern 31: "Friend" or "Friends" patterns[31] = "FRIEND\|FRIENDS" responses[31] = ["Tell me about your friends.", "What do your friends mean to you?", "What kind of friend are you?", "Do you have many friends?", "What makes a good friend?"] ' Pattern 32: "Work" or "Job" patterns[32] = "WORK\|JOB" responses[32] = ["Tell me about your work.", "How do you feel about your job?", "What do you like about your work?", "What would make work better for you?", "Do you enjoy your work?"] ' Pattern 33: "School" or "University" patterns[33] = "SCHOOL\|UNIVERSITY\|COLLEGE" responses[33] = ["Tell me about school.", "What are you studying?", "How do you feel about your studies?", "What do you like about school?", "What subjects interest you?"] ' Pattern 34: "Money" or "Rich" or "Poor" patterns[34] = "MONEY\|RICH\|POOR" responses[34] = ["What does money mean to you?", "How important is money to you?", "Tell me about your financial concerns.", "Does money cause you problems?", "What would you do with more money?"] ' Pattern 35: "Time" or "Future" or "Past" patterns[35] = "TIME\|FUTURE\|PAST" responses[35] = ["How do you feel about time?", "What concerns you about the ?", "Tell me about your thoughts on time.", "Do you think much about the ?", "What does the * mean to you?"] ' Pattern 36: "Death" or "Die" or "Dead" patterns[36] = "DEATH\|DIE\|DEAD" responses[36] = ["What thoughts do you have about death?", "How does that make you feel?", "Do you think about death often?", "What does death mean to you?", "Tell me more about these thoughts."] ' Pattern 37: "Sick" or "Ill" or "Pain" patterns[37] = "SICK\|ILL\|PAIN\|HURT" responses[37] = ["How are you feeling now?", "Tell me about your symptoms.", "What kind of pain are you experiencing?", "How long have you felt this way?", "What helps with the pain?"] ' Pattern 38: "Remember" or "Forget" patterns[38] = "REMEMBER\|FORGET" responses[38] = ["What do you remember about ?", "Why do you remember just now?", "What in the present situation reminds you of ?", "What is the connection between me and ?", "What else does * remind you of?"] ' Pattern 39: "If" statements patterns[39] = "IF" responses[39] = ["Do you think it's likely that ?", "Do you wish that ?", "What would it mean if ?", "What does suggest to you?", "What are the chances that ?"] ' Pattern 40: "When" statements patterns[40] = "WHEN" responses[40] = ["What comes to mind when you think of ?", "How do you feel when ?", "Tell me about the time when .", "What is significant about ?"] ' Pattern 41: "Can I" or "May I" or "Could I" patterns[41] = "CAN I\|MAY I\|COULD I" responses[41] = ["Do you want to be able to ?", "What would it mean to you if you could ?", "Why do you ask?", "What do you think?", "You tell me."] ' Pattern 42: "Should I" or "Ought I" patterns[42] = "SHOULD I\|OUGHT I" responses[42] = ["Why do you ask?", "What would it mean to you if you did ?", "Do you think you should ?", "You seem unsure.", "What do you think?"] ' Pattern 43: "Where" questions patterns[43] = "WHERE" responses[43] = ["Why do you ask?", "What does location mean to you?", "How does that relate to your problem?", "What comes to mind when you ask that?"] ' Pattern 44: "Who" questions patterns[44] = "WHO" responses[44] = ["Why is that person important to you?", "What does that person mean to you?", "Tell me about that person.", "How do you feel about that person?"] ' Pattern 45: "There" or "Here" patterns[45] = "THERE\|HERE" responses[45] = ["What is important about ?", "What do you see there?", "What does * suggest to you?", "How do you feel about ?"] ' Pattern 46: "Eliza" (referring to the program) patterns[46] = "ELIZA" responses[46] = ["I am a computer program created to talk with people.", "Does it matter that I am a computer?", "What does it mean to you that I am a program?", "How does that make you feel?"] ' Pattern 47: "Goodbye" or "Bye" patterns[47] = "GOODBYE\|BYE\|QUIT\|EXIT" responses[47] = ["Goodbye. I hope I have been of some help.", "Goodbye. Take care.", "Thank you for talking with me.", "I hope to see you again soon."] ' Pattern 48: Generic responses for unmatched patterns patterns[48] = "" responses[48] = ["Please go on.", "Tell me more.", "I see.", "That's very interesting.", "How does that make you feel?", "Can you elaborate on that?", "What does that suggest to you?", "I'm listening.", "Please continue.", "Go on."] ' Pattern 49: Default fallback patterns[49] = "" responses[49] = ["I'm not sure I understand completely.", "Please rephrase that.", "What does that suggest to you?", "Tell me more about that.", "I don't understand.", "Can you be more specific?"] End Function ' Handle keyboard input Function HandleInput() While PollEvent() Select EventID() Case EVENT_KEYCHAR ' Handle character input first - this properly handles apostrophes Local char:Int = EventData() If char >= 32 And char <= 126 And char <> 127 ' Add printable characters including apostrophes, quotes, etc. userInput :+ Chr(char) End If Case EVENT_KEYDOWN Local key:Int = EventData() Select key Case KEY_ENTER If userInput.length > 0 ProcessUserInput() End If Case KEY_BACKSPACE If userInput.length > 0 userInput = userInput[..userInput.length-1] End If Case KEY_UP ' Scroll up scrollOffset = scrollOffset - 20 If scrollOffset < 0 Then scrollOffset = 0 Case KEY_DOWN ' Scroll down scrollOffset = scrollOffset + 20 If scrollOffset > maxScroll Then scrollOffset = maxScroll Case KEY_PAGEUP ' Page up scrollOffset = scrollOffset - 100 If scrollOffset < 0 Then scrollOffset = 0 Case KEY_PAGEDOWN ' Page down scrollOffset = scrollOffset + 100 If scrollOffset > maxScroll Then scrollOffset = maxScroll Case KEY_HOME ' Go to top scrollOffset = 0 Case KEY_END ' Go to bottom scrollOffset = maxScroll ' Note: Printable characters handled in EVENT_KEYCHAR End Select End Select Wend ' Update cursor blink cursorBlink = (cursorBlink + 1) Mod 60 End Function ' Process user input and generate Eliza response Function ProcessUserInput() AddToChatLog("YOU", userInput) Local response:String = GenerateElizaResponse(userInput.ToUpper()) AddToChatLog("ELIZA", response) userInput = "" ' Auto-scroll to bottom when new message is added AutoScrollToBottom() End Function ' Generate Eliza response based on input Function GenerateElizaResponse:String(Input:String) Local response:String = "" ' Try to match patterns For Local i:Int = 0 To patterns.length - 1 If patterns[i] = "" Or ContainsPattern(Input, patterns[i]) Local responseArray:String[] = responses[i] Local randomIndex:Int = Rand(0, responseArray.length - 1) response = responseArray[randomIndex] ' Replace with captured text if applicable If response.Find("") <> -1 Local captured:String = ExtractCapturedText(Input, patterns[i]) captured = SwapWords(captured) ' Apply word transformations response = Replace(response, "", captured) End If Exit End If Next ' If no pattern matched, use default response If response = "" Local defaultResponses:String[] = responses[48] Local randomIndex:Int = Rand(0, defaultResponses.length - 1) response = defaultResponses[randomIndex] End If Return response End Function ' Check if input contains pattern Function ContainsPattern:Int(Input:String, pattern:String) If pattern = "" Return True Local keywords:String[] = pattern.Split("\|") For Local i:Int = 0 To keywords.length - 1 Local keyword:String = keywords[i] If Input.Find(keyword) <> -1 Return True End If Next Return False End Function ' Extract text after pattern for * replacement Function ExtractCapturedText:String(Input:String, pattern:String) Local keywords:String[] = pattern.Split("\|") For Local i:Int = 0 To keywords.length - 1 Local keyword:String = keywords[i] Local pos:Int = Input.Find(keyword) If pos <> -1 Local afterKeyword:String = Input[pos + keyword.length..] Return Trim(afterKeyword) End If Next Return "that" End Function ' Transform words for proper grammar in responses Function SwapWords:String(text:String) Local result:String = text ' Create word transformation pairs Local transformations:String[][] = [.. ["I", "YOU"], ["YOU", "I"], .. ["ME", "YOU"], ["YOU", "ME"], .. ["MY", "YOUR"], ["YOUR", "MY"], .. ["MINE", "YOURS"], ["YOURS", "MINE"], .. ["MYSELF", "YOURSELF"], ["YOURSELF", "MYSELF"], .. ["AM", "ARE"], ["ARE", "AM"], .. ["WAS", "WERE"], ["WERE", "WAS"], .. ["I'M", "YOU'RE"], ["YOU'RE", "I'M"], .. ["I'VE", "YOU'VE"], ["YOU'VE", "I'VE"], .. ["I'LL", "YOU'LL"], ["YOU'LL", "I'LL"], .. ["I'D", "YOU'D"], ["YOU'D", "I'D"], .. ["CAN'T", "CAN'T"], ["WON'T", "WON'T"], .. ["SHOULDN'T", "SHOULDN'T"], ["WOULDN'T", "WOULDN'T"], .. ["COULDN'T", "COULDN'T"], ["HAVEN'T", "HAVEN'T"], .. ["HASN'T", "HASN'T"], ["HADN'T", "HADN'T"], .. ["DOESN'T", "DOESN'T"], ["DIDN'T", "DIDN'T"] .. ] ' Split text into words Local words:String[] = result.Split(" ") ' Transform each word For Local i:Int = 0 To words.length - 1 Local word:String = words[i].ToUpper() Local transformed:Int = False ' Check against transformation table For Local j:Int = 0 To transformations.length - 1 If word = transformations[j][0] And Not transformed words[i] = transformations[j][1] transformed = True Exit End If Next ' If not transformed, keep original case If Not transformed words[i] = words[i] End If Next ' Rejoin words Local newResult:String = "" For Local i:Int = 0 To words.length - 1 If i > 0 Then newResult :+ " " newResult :+ words[i] Next Return newResult.ToLower() End Function ' Add message to chat log Function AddToChatLog(sender:String, message:String) chatLog :+ sender + ": " + message + "~n" UpdateScrollLimits() End Function ' Update scroll limits based on chat content Function UpdateScrollLimits() Local lines:String[] = chatLog.Split("~n") Local totalLines:Int = 0 Local lineHeight:Int = 15 ' Count total wrapped lines For Local i:Int = 0 To lines.length - 1 Local line:String = lines[i] If line.Trim() <> "" Local wrappedLines:String[] = WrapText(line, WINDOW_WIDTH - MARGIN * 2 - 10) totalLines = totalLines + wrappedLines.length End If Next Local totalHeight:Int = totalLines * lineHeight Local visibleHeight:Int = CHAT_HEIGHT - MARGIN * 2 maxScroll = totalHeight - visibleHeight If maxScroll < 0 Then maxScroll = 0 End Function ' Auto-scroll to bottom Function AutoScrollToBottom() scrollOffset = maxScroll End Function ' Draw the GUI Function DrawGUI() Cls() ' Draw background SetColor(BG_COLOR Shr 16 & $FF, BG_COLOR Shr 8 & $FF, BG_COLOR & $FF) DrawRect(0, 0, WINDOW_WIDTH, WINDOW_HEIGHT) ' Draw chat area SetColor(CHAT_BG Shr 16 & $FF, CHAT_BG Shr 8 & $FF, CHAT_BG & $FF) DrawRect(MARGIN, MARGIN, WINDOW_WIDTH - MARGIN * 2, CHAT_HEIGHT) ' Draw chat border SetColor(0, 0, 0) DrawRect(MARGIN-1, MARGIN-1, WINDOW_WIDTH - MARGIN * 2 + 2, 1) ' Top DrawRect(MARGIN-1, MARGIN-1, 1, CHAT_HEIGHT + 2) ' Left DrawRect(MARGIN-1, MARGIN + CHAT_HEIGHT + 1, WINDOW_WIDTH - MARGIN * 2 + 2, 1) ' Bottom DrawRect(MARGIN + WINDOW_WIDTH - MARGIN * 2, MARGIN-1, 1, CHAT_HEIGHT + 2) ' Right ' Draw chat text DrawChatText() ' Draw input area SetColor(INPUT_BG Shr 16 & $FF, INPUT_BG Shr 8 & $FF, INPUT_BG & $FF) DrawRect(MARGIN, CHAT_HEIGHT + MARGIN * 2, WINDOW_WIDTH - MARGIN * 2, INPUT_HEIGHT) ' Draw input border SetColor(0, 0, 0) DrawRect(MARGIN-1, CHAT_HEIGHT + MARGIN * 2 - 1, WINDOW_WIDTH - MARGIN * 2 + 2, 1) ' Top DrawRect(MARGIN-1, CHAT_HEIGHT + MARGIN * 2 - 1, 1, INPUT_HEIGHT + 2) ' Left DrawRect(MARGIN-1, CHAT_HEIGHT + MARGIN * 2 + INPUT_HEIGHT + 1, WINDOW_WIDTH - MARGIN * 2 + 2, 1) ' Bottom DrawRect(MARGIN + WINDOW_WIDTH - MARGIN * 2, CHAT_HEIGHT + MARGIN * 2 - 1, 1, INPUT_HEIGHT + 2) ' Right ' Draw input text SetColor(TEXT_COLOR Shr 16 & $FF, TEXT_COLOR Shr 8 & $FF, TEXT_COLOR & $FF) DrawText(userInput, MARGIN + 5, CHAT_HEIGHT + MARGIN * 2 + 5) ' Draw cursor If cursorBlink < 30 Local TextWidth:Int = TextWidth(userInput) DrawRect(MARGIN + 5 + TextWidth, CHAT_HEIGHT + MARGIN * 2 + 5, 1, 20) End If ' Draw scrollbar if needed If maxScroll > 0 DrawScrollbar() End If ' Draw instructions SetColor(100, 100, 100) DrawText("Type your message and press Enter. Use Arrow Keys/PgUp/PgDn to scroll. Press Escape to quit.", MARGIN, WINDOW_HEIGHT - 25) End Function ' Draw chat text with word wrapping and scrolling Function DrawChatText() Local lines:String[] = chatLog.Split("~n") Local yPos:Int = MARGIN + 5 - scrollOffset Local lineHeight:Int = 15 For Local i:Int = 0 To lines.length - 1 Local line:String = lines[i] If line.Trim() <> "" Local color:Int = TEXT_COLOR ' Set color based on sender If line[..6] = "ELIZA:" color = ELIZA_COLOR ElseIf line[..4] = "YOU:" color = USER_COLOR End If SetColor(color Shr 16 & $FF, color Shr 8 & $FF, color & $FF) ' Simple word wrapping Local wrappedLines:String[] = WrapText(line, WINDOW_WIDTH - MARGIN * 2 - 10) For Local j:Int = 0 To wrappedLines.length - 1 Local wrappedLine:String = wrappedLines[j] ' Only draw if line is visible in chat area If yPos >= MARGIN And yPos < MARGIN + CHAT_HEIGHT - 10 DrawText(wrappedLine, MARGIN + 5, yPos) End If yPos :+ lineHeight Next End If Next End Function ' Simple word wrapping function Function WrapText:String[](text:String, maxWidth:Int) Local words:String[] = text.Split(" ") Local lines:String[] = New String[0] Local currentLine:String = "" For Local i:Int = 0 To words.length - 1 Local word:String = words[i] Local testLine:String = currentLine If testLine <> "" testLine :+ " " testLine :+ word If TextWidth(testLine) > maxWidth And currentLine <> "" lines = lines + [currentLine] currentLine = word Else currentLine = testLine End If Next If currentLine <> "" lines = lines + [currentLine] End If Return lines End Function ' Draw scrollbar Function DrawScrollbar() Local scrollbarX:Int = WINDOW_WIDTH - MARGIN - 15 Local scrollbarY:Int = MARGIN Local scrollbarWidth:Int = 15 Local scrollbarHeight:Int = CHAT_HEIGHT ' Draw scrollbar background SetColor(200, 200, 200) DrawRect(scrollbarX, scrollbarY, scrollbarWidth, scrollbarHeight) ' Draw scrollbar track SetColor(150, 150, 150) DrawRect(scrollbarX + 1, scrollbarY + 1, scrollbarWidth - 2, scrollbarHeight - 2) ' Calculate thumb position and size If maxScroll > 0 Local thumbHeight:Int = (scrollbarHeight * scrollbarHeight) / (scrollbarHeight + maxScroll) If thumbHeight < 20 Then thumbHeight = 20 If thumbHeight > scrollbarHeight - 4 Then thumbHeight = scrollbarHeight - 4 Local thumbY:Int = scrollbarY + 2 + ((scrollbarHeight - thumbHeight - 4) * scrollOffset) / maxScroll ' Draw scrollbar thumb SetColor(100, 100, 100) DrawRect(scrollbarX + 2, thumbY, scrollbarWidth - 4, thumbHeight) ' Draw thumb highlight SetColor(120, 120, 120) DrawRect(scrollbarX + 2, thumbY, scrollbarWidth - 4, 2) End If End Function ' Utility function to trim whitespace Function Trim:String(text:String) Local start:Int = 0 Local endPos:Int = text.length ' Trim from start While start < text.length And (text[start] = 32 Or text[start] = 9) start :+ 1 Wend ' Trim from end While endPos > start And (text[endPos-1] = 32 Or text[endPos-1] = 9) endPos :- 1 Wend Return text[start..endPos] End Function ' Utility function to replace text Function Replace:String(text:String, find:String, replacement:String) Local pos:Int = text.Find(find) If pos <> -1 Return text[..pos] + replacement + text[pos + find.length..] End If Return text End Function ' Start the application Main() --v
Wed, 16 Jul 2025, 23:09
Pixel_Outlaw	Well, don't let the lack of a community deter you if a language is good. The very best thing you can do when learning a language is read the whole spec. That way you get an idea of the big picture of the language. You don't have to understand everything, but it gives you an idea of the capability. I guess I've learned C++, Clojure, Python, Scheme, and Prolog without a community but I've also just got books for a nice tour. That was the guiding I needed to avoid gaps. It's a bit harder with BlitzMax. The documentation is thin so you have to quite often grep through the source code for the IDE to see how things are used. The community is also getting thinner compared to 2006. I dropped it something like 13 years and then spent a month relearning it and exploring the new features in BlitzMax NG. I would say I've outgrown BlitzMax, it's fun for quickly putting some graphics on the screen but it's not a very strong programming language overall. It does make multimedia nice though. However, that's a library concern - not part of the language itself. And for small hacks and games it's just fine.