GLPro
Encyclopedia
GLPro is a multimedia authoring application for MS-DOS
and Microsoft Windows
. GLPro is a contraction of Graphics Language Professional, and was written by John Bridges
. GLPro was originally a MS-DOS
program released in 1995, written as successor to GRASP, also written by Bridges and marketed by Paul Mace Software from 1986 until 1994. Windows support in GLPro was released in the summer of 1996.
Unlike competing technologies such as Macromedia Director, GLPro takes a very minimalist approach, providing an extensive scripting language rather than a lot of WYSIWYG
tools within a Graphical User Interface. Everything is accomplished by writing code using its BASIC-like syntax. The scripting language is not object oriented
, and as a result consists of a very large number of specialised commands. The programmer is not able to create new classes or extend the language. It has been criticised for its syntactical inconsistency, steep learning curve, and the fact that it does not deliver a cross-platform multimedia solution. Despite this it has been enthusiastically received by numbers of users, many dating back to the early GRASP under MS-DOS
days.
An unusual design philosophy behind GLPro is that it does not rely on external OS services to handle many media types, such as MP3
audio, MPEG video, etc. Instead it contains its own player code. The thinking is that by avoiding OS services for these tasks, the end user is spared the problem of needing to install additional components before being able to run a multimedia title on their machine - it is intended to "just work". Although an advantage for some standalone projects, this philosophy suffered from an inability to keep up with new media developments.
GLPro was moved into a separate company, GMedia, in early 2000, which closed their doors in February 2001 just as the native Macintosh and Linux
support was entering public beta testing. Bridges is no longer involved in its development, and as of February 2002 is developing a new multimedia authoring system called AfterGRASP designed to be backwards compatible with GLPro with less emphasis on built-in media playback support.
GLPro is currently owned by Comlet Technologies, LLC. and is one of the primary languages used in its Comlets Message System product.
MS-DOS
MS-DOS is an operating system for x86-based personal computers. It was the most commonly used member of the DOS family of operating systems, and was the main operating system for IBM PC compatible personal computers during the 1980s to the mid 1990s, until it was gradually superseded by operating...
and Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
. GLPro is a contraction of Graphics Language Professional, and was written by John Bridges
John Bridges (software developer)
John Bridges is the co-author of the software program PCPaint and primary developer of the program GRASP for Microtex Industries with Doug Wolfgram. He is also the sole author of GLPro and AfterGRASP. His article entitled "Differential Image Compression" was published in the February 1991 issue of...
. GLPro was originally a MS-DOS
MS-DOS
MS-DOS is an operating system for x86-based personal computers. It was the most commonly used member of the DOS family of operating systems, and was the main operating system for IBM PC compatible personal computers during the 1980s to the mid 1990s, until it was gradually superseded by operating...
program released in 1995, written as successor to GRASP, also written by Bridges and marketed by Paul Mace Software from 1986 until 1994. Windows support in GLPro was released in the summer of 1996.
Unlike competing technologies such as Macromedia Director, GLPro takes a very minimalist approach, providing an extensive scripting language rather than a lot of WYSIWYG
WYSIWYG
WYSIWYG is an acronym for What You See Is What You Get. The term is used in computing to describe a system in which content displayed onscreen during editing appears in a form closely corresponding to its appearance when printed or displayed as a finished product...
tools within a Graphical User Interface. Everything is accomplished by writing code using its BASIC-like syntax. The scripting language is not object oriented
Object-oriented programming
Object-oriented programming is a programming paradigm using "objects" – data structures consisting of data fields and methods together with their interactions – to design applications and computer programs. Programming techniques may include features such as data abstraction,...
, and as a result consists of a very large number of specialised commands. The programmer is not able to create new classes or extend the language. It has been criticised for its syntactical inconsistency, steep learning curve, and the fact that it does not deliver a cross-platform multimedia solution. Despite this it has been enthusiastically received by numbers of users, many dating back to the early GRASP under MS-DOS
MS-DOS
MS-DOS is an operating system for x86-based personal computers. It was the most commonly used member of the DOS family of operating systems, and was the main operating system for IBM PC compatible personal computers during the 1980s to the mid 1990s, until it was gradually superseded by operating...
days.
An unusual design philosophy behind GLPro is that it does not rely on external OS services to handle many media types, such as MP3
MP3
MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III, more commonly referred to as MP3, is a patented digital audio encoding format using a form of lossy data compression...
audio, MPEG video, etc. Instead it contains its own player code. The thinking is that by avoiding OS services for these tasks, the end user is spared the problem of needing to install additional components before being able to run a multimedia title on their machine - it is intended to "just work". Although an advantage for some standalone projects, this philosophy suffered from an inability to keep up with new media developments.
GLPro was moved into a separate company, GMedia, in early 2000, which closed their doors in February 2001 just as the native Macintosh and Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
support was entering public beta testing. Bridges is no longer involved in its development, and as of February 2002 is developing a new multimedia authoring system called AfterGRASP designed to be backwards compatible with GLPro with less emphasis on built-in media playback support.
GLPro is currently owned by Comlet Technologies, LLC. and is one of the primary languages used in its Comlets Message System product.