Turbo Vision
Encyclopedia
Turbo Vision is a DOS
-based character-mode text user interface
(TUI) framework developed around 1992 by Borland
for Pascal, and C++
. Later it was deprecated in favor of Object Windows Library
for the then-increasingly important Win16 API
.
The Turbo Vision framework was included with Borland Pascal, Turbo Pascal
, and Borland C++
. It was used by Borland itself to write the integrated development environment
s (IDE) for these programming language
s. By default, Turbo Vision applications replicate the look and feel of these IDEs. Key parts of the Turbo Vision library replicate the functionality of standard components in Microsoft Windows, for example edit controls, list boxes, check boxes, radio buttons and menus, all of which have built-in mouse support.
Around 1997 the C++ version, including source code, was released by Borland into the public domain
and is currently being ported and developed by an open-source community, under the GPL license. An older update of the Borland code by Sergio Sigala is BSD licensed.
The Pascal version was never released, so the Free Pascal
project recreated an own version by backporting
a clone made by Leon de Boer that run in graphical mode back to textmode. The result is called Free Vision. Over the years this codebase has grown stable on nearly all operating systems and architectures that FPC supports. The textmode IDE is very close to the original TP environment, with built in compiler and IDE much closer than e.g. RHIDE, and supporting functionality like code folding
.
DOS
DOS, short for "Disk Operating System", is an acronym for several closely related operating systems that dominated the IBM PC compatible market between 1981 and 1995, or until about 2000 if one includes the partially DOS-based Microsoft Windows versions 95, 98, and Millennium Edition.Related...
-based character-mode text user interface
Text user interface
TUI short for: Text User Interface or Textual User Interface , is a retronym that was coined sometime after the invention of graphical user interfaces, to distinguish them from text-based user interfaces...
(TUI) framework developed around 1992 by Borland
Borland
Borland Software Corporation is a software company first headquartered in Scotts Valley, California, Cupertino, California and finally Austin, Texas. It is now a Micro Focus subsidiary. It was founded in 1983 by Niels Jensen, Ole Henriksen, Mogens Glad and Philippe Kahn.-The 1980s:...
for Pascal, and C++
C++
C++ is a statically typed, free-form, multi-paradigm, compiled, general-purpose programming language. It is regarded as an intermediate-level language, as it comprises a combination of both high-level and low-level language features. It was developed by Bjarne Stroustrup starting in 1979 at Bell...
. Later it was deprecated in favor of Object Windows Library
Object Windows Library
The Object Windows Library is a Borland C++ object-oriented framework originally designed for WinAPI. It was used in Turbo Pascal for Windows, Borland Pascal and their Borland C++ package. It was a competitor to the Microsoft Foundation Class Library .OWL had incomplete support by the Borland C++...
for the then-increasingly important Win16 API
Windows API
The Windows API, informally WinAPI, is Microsoft's core set of application programming interfaces available in the Microsoft Windows operating systems. It was formerly called the Win32 API; however, the name "Windows API" more accurately reflects its roots in 16-bit Windows and its support on...
.
The Turbo Vision framework was included with Borland Pascal, Turbo Pascal
Turbo Pascal
Turbo Pascal is a software development system that includes a compiler and an integrated development environment for the Pascal programming language running on CP/M, CP/M-86, and DOS, developed by Borland under Philippe Kahn's leadership...
, and Borland C++
Borland
Borland Software Corporation is a software company first headquartered in Scotts Valley, California, Cupertino, California and finally Austin, Texas. It is now a Micro Focus subsidiary. It was founded in 1983 by Niels Jensen, Ole Henriksen, Mogens Glad and Philippe Kahn.-The 1980s:...
. It was used by Borland itself to write the integrated development environment
Integrated development environment
An integrated development environment is a software application that provides comprehensive facilities to computer programmers for software development...
s (IDE) for these 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....
s. By default, Turbo Vision applications replicate the look and feel of these IDEs. Key parts of the Turbo Vision library replicate the functionality of standard components in Microsoft Windows, for example edit controls, list boxes, check boxes, radio buttons and menus, all of which have built-in mouse support.
Around 1997 the C++ version, including source code, was released by Borland into the public domain
Public domain
Works are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...
and is currently being ported and developed by an open-source community, under the GPL license. An older update of the Borland code by Sergio Sigala is BSD licensed.
The Pascal version was never released, so the Free Pascal
Free Pascal
Free Pascal Compiler is a free Pascal and Object Pascal compiler.In addition to its own Object Pascal dialect, Free Pascal supports, to varying degrees, the dialects of several other compilers, including those of Turbo Pascal, Delphi, and some historical Macintosh compilers...
project recreated an own version by backporting
Backporting
Backporting is the action of taking a certain software modification and applying it to an older version of the software than it was initially created for. It is part of the maintenance step in a software development process....
a clone made by Leon de Boer that run in graphical mode back to textmode. The result is called Free Vision. Over the years this codebase has grown stable on nearly all operating systems and architectures that FPC supports. The textmode IDE is very close to the original TP environment, with built in compiler and IDE much closer than e.g. RHIDE, and supporting functionality like code folding
Code folding
Code folding is a feature of some text editors, source code editors and IDEs that allows the user to selectively hide and display sections of a currently-edited file as a part of routine edit operations...
.
See also
- Visual Component LibraryVisual Component LibraryVCL is a visual component-based object-oriented framework for developing Microsoft Windows applications. It was developed by Borland for use in, and tightly integrated with, its Delphi and C++Builder RAD tools...
- Object Windows LibraryObject Windows LibraryThe Object Windows Library is a Borland C++ object-oriented framework originally designed for WinAPI. It was used in Turbo Pascal for Windows, Borland Pascal and their Borland C++ package. It was a competitor to the Microsoft Foundation Class Library .OWL had incomplete support by the Borland C++...
- Box drawing charactersBox drawing charactersBox drawing characters, also known as line drawing characters, or pseudographics, are widely used in text user interfaces to draw various frames and boxes...
External links
- Free Vision “Free Pascal’s Turbo Vision”
- TVision sf project, doesn't react to mails anymore
- [ftp://sunsite.unc.edu/pub/Linux/devel/lang/c++/tvision-0.8.tar.gz "Sigala's version"]
- Turbo Vision resources