The Great App Creation Contest has begun!

Have a great idea for an Android, iPhone, Web, etc. app?  Want to get some great publicity for your software?  Just looking to win a few cool prizes?

Want to do all of that with the coolest “don’t write any code and easily make your own apps without any programming experience” tool on the planet?  Read on!

Here’s the skinny:

- You create a new application using Illumination Software Creator.
- Submit that application (as an .isc project file) by emailing it to webmaster@radicalbreeze.com.
- Deadline: February 29th at midnight (Pacific Time).

Any type of app can be submitted!  Here’s a few ideas to get you thinking:
- A choose your own adventure style game.
- A flash-card application for learning about types of hats.
- An app that makes it easy to use some command line tools.

The Rules:

- Any type of application can be submitted.
- All apps will be judged on three areas: Creativity, Quality and Usefulness (or Fun-ness for games).
- All project files must be received by Feb 29th, 2012.
- Winners will be announced on March 5th, 2012 (that following Monday).
- The app can be big or small.  Size matters not.
- If you use Custom Blocks with your project, you must also email the .isb files with your submission so that we can test your app.

The Prizes:

All winners will receive the following prizes:

- A site license for Illumination Software Creator will be donated to any school or non-profit organization (of your choosing) on your behalf.
- A video game of your choice from GoG.com.
- Glory and honor (plus press coverage and recognition for your app)!
- A mystery prize (a really, really good one)!  Hint: it rhymes with “Shmandroid Shmablet”.

So get busy and build that cool app/game!

A few quick items!

A few weeks back we announced the “i” programming language.  It has since been decided that “i” is an absolutely terrible name for a programming language (for several reasons).  So we have gone ahead and re-named the project the “Lunduke SDK”.

You can find the initial documentation (including preliminary language design, etc.) over at http://lunduke-sdk.com/.

We would love your feedback on all aspects of the Lunduke SDK.  If you have any suggestions, comments, requests, questions — or would simply like to become involved in the design and development — head on over to the Lunduke SDK Forum.

I’m going to keep this brief:

Illumination Software Creator is only $19.99 between now and December 1st.

Technically Black Friday will occur during this sale.  But this isn’t really a “Black Friday Sale”.  Think of it more as a “It’s Cold Outside, And Raining A Bit More Than We’d Like, So We’re Having A Sale” sale.

$19.99.  You could be creating your own native Android, iPhone, iPad, Web, Flash and Desktop apps right now… for only $19.99.  And all 100% visually without writing a single line of code.

Think of it like this: If you purchased a new video game for $60… Illumination Software Creator will cost you one third of that price.

Plus, purchasing now ensures that you will get free upgrades to the next major release (5.0).

This announcement is big.  So let’s get right to it.

Today we are announcing 2 new, Open Source, projects… and a new programming language.

The I Programming Language

With Illumination Software Creator we have built a way for people to visually build apps (natively) for multiple platforms.

We are building on this experience, and taking things a step further, with our new programming language that we call, simply, “I”.

The concept is simple: A high level, easy to read, and extremely modular language that can be “compiled” into native source for any other platform and language.

(It may seem like a lofty goal, but this is something we have already accomplished — with high levels of success — with Illumination Software Creator.)

Here’s a quick overview on how it works:

- The language itself is simple and readable/writable by ordinary humans.
- The language is extended through the use of modules (which we call “blocks”), written in XML, which instruct the I Compiler on how to translate the I code into source code for any other platform.
- The source code, written in I, is sent through the I Compiler — resulting in usable source for the desired platform (for example: Java code for Android or Objective-C for iOS).

This is not “write once, run anywhere”.  Think of this as “write once, translate to native code for anywhere”.

Example:

If you wanted to display a pop up message box, in I you would simply type:

DisplayMessage WithText:”Hello World”

Simple.  Easy to read.

The I Compiler

Released under the GPL, the I Compiler is responsible for translating source code, written in I, into any language that is supported by the “I Block Library”.

The Compiler is written in pure C and is built to run on Linux, Windows, MacOS X, Haiku and AmigaOS.

The I Block Library (The “SDK”)

The “Block Library” is, quite simply, a collection of modules (“blocks”) that provide features that you can use in your apps written with I.  Because each individual block is an easily editable XML file, it is simple to add new blocks — or update existing blocks.

The I Block Library is being released under the LGPL.

Integration with Illumination Software Creator

All of this is being developed in parallel with the current release (version 4.2) of Illumination Software Creator.  Then, starting with version 5.0, Illumination Software Creator will provide a full, commercial, IDE for the “I” language (including a full, visual editor for “I” that will allow people to write apps in “I” without writing a single line of code).

(And, of course, version 5.0 will be a free upgrade for all existing users.  So if you want to support our development of “I”, purchasing Illumination is a great way to do that.)

What Happens Now

Next week we will be providing source control, project tracking tools and a wiki (with the full language specification).  Followed by the initial release of both the I Compiler and the I Block Library.

The initial launch will support building apps for all target platforms currently supported by Illumination Software Creator (including Android, iOS, Python/GTK, Flash/Flex and HTML5).

I’m sure many of you have questions.  Many, many questions.  Never fear.  Detailed documentation and tutorials will be rolling out with the official wiki in the coming days.  You can also ask questions and discuss all things “I” in the official forum.

UPDATE

The project has been renamed to the “Lunduke SDK” and initial documentation is now available at http://lunduke-sdk.com/.

Next week we will be launching the official Illumination Software Creator Documentation Project (aka “The Illumination Wiki”).

The goal is to provide a large collection of tutorials, references and how-to’s that will help people get up to speed and get the most out of building apps with Illumination.

The Illumination team will be providing much of the material… but we’d love to have involvement from the Illumination community.  So if you would like to contribute to the official wiki (this could include anything from documenting blocks that you feel could use additional information to providing examples, etc.) send an email to webmaster@radicalbreeze.com with the following information:

- Your name
- Your email address
- Why you would like to be able to contribute to (and edit) the Illumination Wiki

We are only going to select a small handful of individuals, and those individuals will be given credit on the wiki itself.

Everett, WA (October 10th, 2011) – Radical Breeze today released version 4.1 of Illumination Software Creator for Linux, MacOS X and Windows.  This new release of the visual application creation tool fixes a boat-load (that is a technical term) of bugs and implements other user requested changes.

“Version 4.0 added the, rather awesome, ability to create HTML5 web applications along with an easy way to add graphics to your apps.  With 4.1 we took a break from new features to focus 100% on quality and bug fixing,” stated Bryan Lunduke, President of Radical Breeze.  ”Illumination Software Creator 4.1 is the most solid, bug-free release we have ever had.  It is absolutely glorious.”

Version 4.1 is a free upgrade for all existing users and is available at radicalbreeze.com.  (Updates to the Mac and Ubuntu App Store’s will follow.)

Some key benefits of Illumination Software Creator:

- Easily create cross-platform applications on Linux, Windows and MacOS X.
- Natively run those software applications on desktops as well as iPhones, iPads, Android devices, Nokia (Maemo) Internet Tablets, HTML5 websites and Flash websites.
- No software development experience is necessary (great for learning!).
- Create functional prototypes faster than ever.
- Thanks to Illumination Software Creator’s unique system of generating the source code for a desired platform, it is easy for experienced developers to add platform specific functionality at a later time.
- It is just plain fun!

Price: Illumination Software Creator is available for $49.95 from the Radical Breeze online store and is also available for purchase via the Ubuntu Software Center and Mac App Store.

Radical Breeze Website - http://radicalbreeze.com/

About Illumination Software Creator :

Illumination Software Creator is a cross platform, software development tool that allows people (even those with absolutely no programming experience) to visually design and create their own software applications that run on a wide variety of platforms, including: Python Desktop Applications (Windows, Linux, Mac), iPhone/iPad Applications, Android applications, Maemo Applications (Nokia N900, N810) and Adobe Flash/Flex websites. All in a 100% visual way, without writing a single line of code.

About Radical Breeze :

Radical Breeze has been developing high quality applications for Linux, MacOS X and Windows since 2003. For more information visit www.radicalbreeze.com or email webmaster@radicalbreeze.com. The latest news and press releases can be found at blog.radicalbreeze.com.

Illumination Software Creator 4.1 Beta 4 is now available!

Bugs fixed in 4.1 Beta 4:

- You can no longer accidentally add illegal characters to the names of user interface controls or your application name.
- The image library is now properly cleared, in all circumstances, when starting new projects.
- Properties for selected blocks and user interface controls (in the Window Editor) now properly refresh themselves when variables and controls are updated or removed.

Illumination Software Creator 4.1 Beta 4 for Linux

Illumination Software Creator 4.1 Beta 4 for MacOS X

Illumination Software Creator 4.1 Beta 4 for Windows

If you encounter any problems with 4.1 Beta 4 please report them over on the official Beta Forum.

Presenting: Illumination Software Creator 4.1 Beta 3!

Continuing in our grand tradition of squashing every single bug we can find, these are the major changes in Beta 3:

- Picture handling should now properly function on all 64bit Linux systems.
- Fixed a problem with HTML5 Custom Blocks, which prevented the code from being loaded properly in the editor.
- Now properly builds for Maemo targets again without failures.
- Fixed a bug that cropped up in Beta 2 where, on HTML5 and Flash builds, if/then statements would not properly check for equality.

Illumination Software Creator 4.1 Beta 3 for Linux

Illumination Software Creator 4.1 Beta 3 for MacOS X

Illumination Software Creator 4.1 Beta 3 for Windows

If you encounter any problems with 4.1 Beta 3 please report them over on the official Beta Forum.

If no new bugs are found or reported, Beta 3 will become the final release of version 4.1.

With Illumination Software Creator version 4.1 (which is set to release as soon as we get the green-light from our Beta testers) we are focusing on bringing a high level of quality and polish to our favorite, completely visual app builder.

Then we’re changing gears a bit.  For the next two releases, we (Radical Breeze) will be building a specific app with Illumination Software Creator during each release.  And, during that process, adding whatever features are necessary to make that particular piece of software.

There are two main goals:

1. To increase what is possible with Illumination Software Creator.
2. To show to the world that building quality (even commercial) applications is not only possible, but downright delightful.

Here is the breakdown of what apps we are be building (along with what new features are already underway to allow building those types of apps easily):

Version 4.2 : Massively Multi-player Game

That’s right.  We’re building an entire multi-player game.  The game is turn based and will be released (commercially) on iOS, Android and Flash.

To make this possible, we’re building new Blocks to handle Web Services, New User Interface Controls,  and the ability to read and write Dictionary variables to the file system and have re-sizable user interfaces (as well as a few other goodies).

Version 4.3 : A Twitter Client

Sure.  A Twitter client is boring.  But we’ll be taking it a step further by releasing it as open source so that everyone can take a look at how we’ve built it (and even re-use portions in their own apps).

And in version 4.3 we’ll be including even more User Interface Controls, Timers and enhanced file handling.

There is no set timeline for these releases.  We are taking a firm “We will release these versions when they are 100% ready and high quality” approach.  That said, we expect to release the final version of 4.1 in the next few weeks.  After which 4.2 will start its Beta process.

This website (blog.radicalbreeze.com) will be updated with each release and beta announcement.

I should also note: All of these releases will be free upgrades for all users.  As usual.  So if you pick up a copy now, you’re all set.

keep looking »

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Recently Written

• The Great App Creation Contest
• PR: Illumination Software Creator 4.1.1 fixes bugs, improves usability
• The Lunduke SDK
• The “Not-Exactly-Black-Friday” Sale!
• The I Programming Language
• Illumination Software Creator Wiki
• PR: Illumination Software Creator fixes bugs. Then fixes more bugs.
• Illumination Software Creator 4.1 Beta 4
• Illumination Software Creator 4.1 Beta 3
• Building A Multiplayer Game And Twitter Client With Illumination

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