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LiveCode Features Table

Core language features overview

 

Approximately 2000 commands, functions, messages, operators, properties and keywords

Our language dictionary is online and can be searched at docs.runrev.com

23 fully customizable interface objects

Includes buttons, check boxes, radio buttons, tabbed buttons, text fields, menus, bitmap & vector graphics and multimedia player; flexible data grid allows sophisticated presentation of data from any data source with customizable interactive cells

Object oriented behaviors

Create sophisticated reusable objects that share common behaviors

Create, delete and set object properties at runtime

Create executables that generate objects on demand, e.g. from an XML data source, create dynamic or user-editable interfaces

Nested arrays

Nested arrays allow representation and manipulation of complex data structures. Includes manipulation functions such as split, combine, add, matrix multiply, transpose and union

Automatic type conversion

Variable declaration is optional. Data in variables is automatically converted to the appropriate format on demand

Text and data processing

Comprehensive support for processing text and data. More information

Regular expression support

PERL compatible regular expression (PCRE) support

XML support

XML library supports loading, manipulating and processing XML

Unicode support

Support for rendering, editing, encoding and decoding Unicode. Some limitations apply. See the text page for more information

Timer based messaging

Send messages to be delivered in the future

Custom object properties

Attach text and binary data directly to objects, store custom property arrays, define properties as functions

Math operator functions

Full range of standard mathematical operators (IEEE double-precision arithmetic)

Bitwise operator functions

Standard operators for manipulating integers in a bitwise fashion

Networking support

 

Built in protocol support

Access http, https and ftp. HTTP post and get with one line of code

Socket support

Create a custom protocol starting from as little as 10 lines of code

Database support

 

Access standard SQL databases

MySQL, SQLite, PostgreSQL, Oracle and ODBC

Render large data sets

Flexible data grid object

Multimedia support

 

QuickTime player object

Play, interact with and programmatically control QuickTime movies on Mac OS and Windows

Bitmap graphics

Import, download, manipulate and export bitmap graphics in a variety of popular formats including JPEG, PNG, GIF, BMP and others

Vector graphics

Create and manipulate vector graphics

Custom skin support

Create complete multimedia skins for your application with a totally customizable look for all interface objects

Alpha blended windows

Support for irregularly shaped, alpha blended windows

Web browser object

Render web pages directly in your application (uses WebKit on Mac OS X and MSHTML (IE) on Windows)

Sound support

Playback of popular formats

Color cursors

Color and alpha blended cursors, depending on OS support

Screenshot import

Programmatic and user control over importing snapshots from the screen

Text to speech support

On Windows and Mac where supported by the OS

Video capture

On Windows and Mac using QuickTime on the Mac and DirectShow on Windows

Gradients

7 fully customizable gradient types for graphics

Blend modes and bitmap effects

Over 20 sophisticated object blend modes, applicable to all types of object

Data security support

 

Encrypt and decrypt data

Industrial strength symmetric cipher support based on OpenSSL

Public key cryptography support*

RSA encryption, decryption, verification and signing based on OpenSSL

Cryptographic hashes

Includes MD5 digest, SHA-1 digest* and creation of cryptographic quality random data*

Transmit data securely using HTTPS

Support for transmitting data HTTPS

File System access

 

Quick access to files

Single line access to read, append or extract data from files

Work with large files

Set of file commands support reading, writing and seeking through large files

Access and convert text and binary data

Numerous functions for converting data in a variety of formats

Work with ZIP archives and GZIP data

Create, archive and unpack data in these popular formats

Printing and output

 

High quality printing

Print text and graphics at high resolution under full programmatic control

Programmatic control over print settings

Get save and set printer settings, page layout, number of copies and more

Generate PDF output

Create high quality PDF output including support for creating links and anchors

Output images in a variety of formats

Output JPEG, PNG, BMP and other format images with alpha channel and optional optimized palette

Extensibility and Integration

 

Interprocess communication

Launch and communicate with other processes

AppleScript support

Run AppleScripts and retrieve results

Simple shell support

Get output from command-line programs in one line

Create socket based protocols

Implement any existing protocol or create a custom protocol from as little as 10 lines of code

Native code externals

Augment your application by calling code libraries written in lower level languages

Serial port access

Read and write to the serial ports

Launch elevated processes*

Launch processes which request administrator privileges

Platforms supported

 

Windows

Create native executables for Windows 2000 SP4, Windows XP SP2 and above, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista SP1 and above, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008

Mac OS X

Create native executables for 10.3.9 (Panther) on Intel and PowerPC, 10.4.11 (Tiger) on Intel and PowerPC, 10.5.8 and later (Leopard) on Intel and PowerPC 10.6.x (Snow Leopard) on Intel

Linux

Create native executables for 32-bit installation, or a 64-bit Linux distribution that has a 32-bit compatibility layer, 2.4.x or later kernel, X11R5 or later, glibc 2.3.2 or later, gtk/gdk/glib (optional – required for native theme support), pango/xft (optional – required for pdf printing, anti-aliased text and unicode font support), lcms (optional – required for color profile support in JPEGs and PNGs), gksu (optional – required for elevate process support)

Web browsers

Deploy using LiveCode Player (browser plugin) to Chrome, FireFox, Internet Explorer & Safari

iOS (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch)

Create executables for 3.x and 4.x iOS devices (this delivery platform is currently available in a pre-release form)

Windows Mobile

Support for Windows Mobile 6.x devices (this delivery platform is currently in a pre-release form)

Android

Coming soon – support for Android 2.2 (Froyo) or later

ARM Linux Mobiles

Coming soon

Server and faceless applications

Linux and Darwin (Mac OS X) servers (currently in pre-release form) other platforms coming soon

Visual Development Environment

 

Fully integrated visual development environment

Edit your interface while running your application

Extensible development environment

Editing environment is written in LiveCode and can be customized, extended with plugins or even replaced

Point and click geometry manager

Easily create dynamic layouts that resize when a window is resized

Application browser

Locate and edit controls

Integrated developer command line

Enter commands to dynamically create your interface, make batch changes, or test your application

Professional code editor with auto formatting

Tab based code editor with automatic syntax highlighting and formatting, integrated documentation. Integrated debugger and variable watcher

Object property inspectors

Edit object properties with a point and click interface

Basic painting and drawing tools

Create or touch up bitmap and vector graphics

* = Experimental in the current LiveCode release. We encourage you to use experimental features and give us feedback; generally they are made final in the next version of the product.

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