Illumination Software Creator
Encyclopedia
Illumination Software Creator (Illumination) is a tool for visually designing and developing software, and a corresponding Visual programming language
that is available for Microsoft Windows
, Linux
and Mac OS X
. Software developed with Illumination runs on Microsoft Windows
, Linux
, Mac OS X
, Android (operating system) powered devices, IOS (Apple) powered devices (including IPhone
and IPad
), Maemo
powered devices and Adobe Flash
powered websites. Illumination is developed and sold by Radical Breeze.
s, Illumination does not require any code to be written by hand in order to develop software.
Within Illumination each "Block" is a self contained piece of functionality. Blocks are tied together via "inputs" and "outputs" which pass no data, and only serve to structure the flow of the application. Illumination also contains a "Window Editor" to allow for the building of applications with simple user interfaces.
As of 2.0, Illumination Software Creator supports creating Python (programming language)
(PyGTK
) applications as two distinct targets: Desktop and Maemo Tablet. And also supports creating Adobe Flex
based rich Internet application
s that run on the Adobe Flash
platform.
At version 2.1 support for building Android applications was added.
In version 2.2 support for building what are called "Custom Blocks" was added to allow developers to expand the functionality of their projects as needed using traditional programming languages (such as Java, Python and ActionScript).
For version 3.0 support for building IPhone
and IPad
applications was added.
For version 4.0, released on September 7, 2011, support for building HTML5 applications and including graphics was added.
based Linux distribution, built with Susestudio, that provides a pre-setup system for testing and using Illumination Software Creator as a Live-CD or VMWare
virtual machine.
On Dec 16th, 2010, the Illumination Software Creation Station won the first annual Novell Disters award for best software appliance built with Susestudio.
Visual programming language
In computing, a visual programming language is any programming language that lets users create programs by manipulating program elements graphically rather than by specifying them textually. A VPL allows programming with visual expressions, spatial arrangements of text and graphic symbols, used...
that is available for 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...
, 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...
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...
. Software developed with Illumination runs on 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...
, 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...
, 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...
, Android (operating system) powered devices, IOS (Apple) powered devices (including IPhone
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
and IPad
IPad
The iPad is a line of tablet computers designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc., primarily as a platform for audio-visual media including books, periodicals, movies, music, games, and web content. The iPad was introduced on January 27, 2010 by Apple's then-CEO Steve Jobs. Its size and...
), Maemo
Maemo
Maemo is a software platform developed by the Maemo community for smartphones and Internet tablets. It is based on the Debian Linux distribution, but has no relation to it...
powered devices and Adobe Flash
Adobe Flash
Adobe Flash is a multimedia platform used to add animation, video, and interactivity to web pages. Flash is frequently used for advertisements, games and flash animations for broadcast...
powered websites. Illumination is developed and sold by Radical Breeze.
History
Illumination was created by Bryan Lunduke, and first released in May 2010. The earliest known public mention of Illumination was on the April 11, 2010 episode of The Linux Action Show!.Features
Illumination works by arranging "building blocks" in order to visually describe the functionality of a software application. Like many other Visual programming languageVisual programming language
In computing, a visual programming language is any programming language that lets users create programs by manipulating program elements graphically rather than by specifying them textually. A VPL allows programming with visual expressions, spatial arrangements of text and graphic symbols, used...
s, Illumination does not require any code to be written by hand in order to develop software.
Within Illumination each "Block" is a self contained piece of functionality. Blocks are tied together via "inputs" and "outputs" which pass no data, and only serve to structure the flow of the application. Illumination also contains a "Window Editor" to allow for the building of applications with simple user interfaces.
As of 2.0, Illumination Software Creator supports creating Python (programming language)
Python (programming language)
Python is a general-purpose, high-level programming language whose design philosophy emphasizes code readability. Python claims to "[combine] remarkable power with very clear syntax", and its standard library is large and comprehensive...
(PyGTK
PyGTK
PyGTK is a set of Python wrappers for the GTK+ graphical user interface library. PyGTK is free software and licensed under the LGPL. It is analogous to PyQt and wxPython which are python wrappers for Qt and wxWidgets respectively. Its original author is the prominent GNOME developer James Henstridge...
) applications as two distinct targets: Desktop and Maemo Tablet. And also supports creating Adobe Flex
Adobe Flex
Adobe Flex is a software development kit released by Adobe Systems for the development and deployment of cross-platform rich Internet applications based on the Adobe Flash platform...
based rich Internet application
Rich Internet application
A Rich Internet Application is a Web application that has many of the characteristics of desktop application software, typically delivered either by way of a site-specific browser, via a browser plug-in, independent sandboxes, extensive use of JavaScript, or virtual machines...
s that run on the Adobe Flash
Adobe Flash
Adobe Flash is a multimedia platform used to add animation, video, and interactivity to web pages. Flash is frequently used for advertisements, games and flash animations for broadcast...
platform.
At version 2.1 support for building Android applications was added.
In version 2.2 support for building what are called "Custom Blocks" was added to allow developers to expand the functionality of their projects as needed using traditional programming languages (such as Java, Python and ActionScript).
For version 3.0 support for building IPhone
IPhone
The iPhone is a line of Internet and multimedia-enabled smartphones marketed by Apple Inc. The first iPhone was unveiled by Steve Jobs, then CEO of Apple, on January 9, 2007, and released on June 29, 2007...
and IPad
IPad
The iPad is a line of tablet computers designed, developed and marketed by Apple Inc., primarily as a platform for audio-visual media including books, periodicals, movies, music, games, and web content. The iPad was introduced on January 27, 2010 by Apple's then-CEO Steve Jobs. Its size and...
applications was added.
For version 4.0, released on September 7, 2011, support for building HTML5 applications and including graphics was added.
Illumination Software Creation Station
The Illumination Software Creation Station is an OpensuseOpenSUSE
openSUSE is a general purpose operating system built on top of the Linux kernel, developed by the community-supported openSUSE Project and sponsored by SUSE...
based Linux distribution, built with Susestudio, that provides a pre-setup system for testing and using Illumination Software Creator as a Live-CD or VMWare
VMware
VMware, Inc. is a company providing virtualization software founded in 1998 and based in Palo Alto, California, USA. The company was acquired by EMC Corporation in 2004, and operates as a separate software subsidiary ....
virtual machine.
On Dec 16th, 2010, the Illumination Software Creation Station won the first annual Novell Disters award for best software appliance built with Susestudio.
External links
- Radical Breeze, creators of Illumination Software Creator
- Radical Breeze Blog and press release archive.
- Illumination Software Creator Support Forum
- Review of Illumination Software Creator 2.0 from MeeGo.De
- Video Tutorial of Illumination Software Creator from the LubuntuLubuntuLubuntu is a lightweight Linux operating system based on Ubuntu but using the LXDE desktop environment in place of Ubuntu's Unity shell and GNOME desktop...
Linux distro. requires registration to view - Illumination Software Creator video tutorial given by the head developer from Linuxfest NorthwestLinuxfest NorthwestLinuxFest Northwest is an annual technology conference and expo held in Bellingham, Washington. It is a Saturday and Sunday weekend event held in late April...
2011. - Video review from the March 16, 2011 episode of Hak5.
- Review of version 3.0 from Linux JournalLinux JournalLinux Journal is a monthly technology magazine published by Belltown Media, Inc. of Houston, Texas. The magazine focuses specifically on Linux, allowing the content to be a highly specialized source of information for open source enthusiasts.-History:...
magazine.