HyperNext
Encyclopedia
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...
computers. It was inspired by HyperCard
HyperCard
HyperCard is an application program created by Bill Atkinson for Apple Computer, Inc. that was among the first successful hypermedia systems before the World Wide Web. It combines database capabilities with a graphical, flexible, user-modifiable interface. HyperCard also features HyperTalk, written...
and includes a GUI
Graphical user interface
In computing, a graphical user interface is a type of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices with images rather than text commands. GUIs can be used in computers, hand-held devices such as MP3 players, portable media players or gaming devices, household appliances and...
having controls such as buttons and listboxes, and an interpreted English-like programming language
Programming language
A programming language is an artificial language designed to communicate instructions to a machine, particularly a computer. Programming languages can be used to create programs that control the behavior of a machine and/or to express algorithms precisely....
. HyperNext also includes a high-level object-oriented compiled BASIC
REALbasic
Realbasic is the object-oriented dialect of the BASIC programming language used in Real Studio, a programming environment, developed and commercially marketed by Real Software, Inc of Austin, Texas for Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, 32-bit x86 Linux and the web.- Language features :RB is a strongly...
. The HyperNext Studio package comprises three complementary applications that can help users create and run software under 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...
and Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
and Mac OS 9
Mac OS 9
Mac OS 9 is the final major release of Apple's Mac OS before the launch of Mac OS X. Introduced on October 23, 1999, Apple positioned it as "The Best Internet Operating System Ever," highlighting Sherlock 2's Internet search capabilities, integration with Apple's free online services known as...
platforms:
(1) HyperNext Creator is similar to Hypercard and enables users to create their own software, both cross-platform standalone applications and stacks for the freeware HyperNext Player. The design interface of Creator has just a design window, one toolbar and a mode switcher. Its three modes of Design, Preview and Run enable rapid switching between the creation/editing and running of programs.
(2) HyperNext Developer builds plugins/libraries for HyperNext Creator and allows users to extend the functionality of Creator with their own or 3rd party plugins. HyperNext Developer has a very similar user interface to that of Hypernext Creator and places built plugins directly into the Creator's plugin folder. For faster plugin development is possible to have both Creator and Developer open simultaneously.
(3) HyperNext Player is a standalone application similar to Hypercard Player in that it runs stacks created by its creator application, HyperNext Creator. HyperNext Player is freeware and there are versions for Windows and Mac OS X and Mac OS 9 platforms.
Programming environment
HyperNext has a relatively simple design interface that allows programs to be quickly run and tested. Controls such as buttons can be selected on the toolbar and then added to the design window. Once placed, controls can have their properties changed and their scripts edited using the in-built script editor. HyperCard is based on the concept of a "stack" of virtual "cards." Cards hold data, just as they would in a rolodexRolodex
A Rolodex is a rotating file device used to store business contact information currently manufactured by Newell Rubbermaid. The Rolodex holds specially shaped index cards; the user writes the contact information for one person or company on each card...
but can also contain user-interface elements such as buttons.
HyperNext's main programming language is simply called HyperNext and is loosely based on Hypercard's HyperTalk
HyperTalk
HyperTalk is a high-level, procedural programming language created in 1987 by Dan Winkler and used in conjunction with Apple Computer's HyperCard hypermedia program by Bill Atkinson. The main target audience of HyperTalk was beginning programmers, hence HyperTalk programmers were usually called...
language. HyperNext is an interpreted English-like language and has many features that allow creation of full applications and stacks. These features includes a large variety of keywords to affect and receive feedback from its many GUI control types and multi-media capabilities using Apple Quicktime. Midi notes and sounds can be played using Note Player and HyperNext's sprite surface has various uses including game development. The Macintosh versions of HyperNext include functions to run the AppleScript
AppleScript
AppleScript is a scripting language created by Apple Inc. and built into Macintosh operating systems since System 7. The term "AppleScript" may refer to the scripting system itself, or to particular scripts that are written in the AppleScript language....
scripting language.
The HyperNext language can be extended with user-defined or third-party plugins developed using HyperNext Developer. HyperNext also has the ability to run RBscripts at runtime so allowing users to make their own programmable applications. There is a wide range of RBscript code and similar BASIC code already available at various sites on the internet. RBscript is a version of REALbasic
REALbasic
Realbasic is the object-oriented dialect of the BASIC programming language used in Real Studio, a programming environment, developed and commercially marketed by Real Software, Inc of Austin, Texas for Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, 32-bit x86 Linux and the web.- Language features :RB is a strongly...
, a modern object-oriented BASIC developed by REAL Software.
HyperNext has a framework for developing neural networks
Neural Networks
Neural Networks is the official journal of the three oldest societies dedicated to research in neural networks: International Neural Network Society, European Neural Network Society and Japanese Neural Network Society, published by Elsevier...
and comes with examples showing how to implement neural network training and testing. The example projects and stacks include analysis of patient heart data, DNA sequences and second hand car prices.
A recent introduction to HyperNext is the ability to control biofeedback devices such as the LightStone http://www.mindmodulations.com/prodwd.html using USB HID
USB human interface device class
In computing, the USB human interface device class is a part of the USB specification for computer peripherals: it specifies a device class for human interface devices such as keyboards, mice, game controllers and alphanumeric display devices.The USB HID class is defined in a number of documents...
communications. The LightStone device sends out data that can be processed to give heart rate and skin conductance values which can then be monitored by a program to aid meditation or enable biofeedback games to be played. HyperNext has an example project and stack that display graphically the data from a LightStone device.
HyperNext Android Creator
HyperNext Android Creator can develop applications for the Android (operating system). It currently runs on the WindowsMicrosoft 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...
platform with development underway on the Macintosh version. It allows beginner programmers to develop applications for both the Android Emulator and Android smart-phones/tablets without the the need to know the Java (programming language)
Java (programming language)
Java is a programming language originally developed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems and released in 1995 as a core component of Sun Microsystems' Java platform. The language derives much of its syntax from C and C++ but has a simpler object model and fewer low-level facilities...
.
HyperNext Android Creator integrates with the Android SDK and Java JDK to allow much easier creation of Android apps by beginner programmers than either the Eclipse (software)
Eclipse (software)
Eclipse is a multi-language software development environment comprising an integrated development environment and an extensible plug-in system...
or NetBeans
NetBeans
NetBeans refers to both a platform framework for Java desktop applications, and an integrated development environment for developing with Java, JavaScript, PHP, Python, Groovy, C, C++, Scala, Clojure, and others...
development systems can because knowledge of the Java (programming language)
Java (programming language)
Java is a programming language originally developed by James Gosling at Sun Microsystems and released in 1995 as a core component of Sun Microsystems' Java platform. The language derives much of its syntax from C and C++ but has a simpler object model and fewer low-level facilities...
and Android SDK framework are not required.
HyperNext Android Creator includes a subset of the current Android functionality including Services for running background tasks. It builds Android apps for Android OS 1.6 and above.