The blog...

The new blog for BlackRabbit is found on a sub domain of this site: http://blackrabbit.jamiebalfour.com/.

This page has been compiled for the interest of all programmers who wish to learn the BlackRabbit programming language as soon as possible to allow easy programming of macros in various software applications when they are released. This is the first information to be publicly released.

What is BlackRabbit and how will it affect me?

BlackRabbit is a new "extensible programming language" that will be released alongside other applications in our portfolio of software. It is scheduled for a beta release in July 2011, December 2012 and a final beta by July 2013, with a certain selection of non-programmers being able to obtain it. Originally codenamed Foghorn, this application has been one that has been under extensive research and development for several years, and now that my class library of controls and commands is near completion, BlackRabbit, or BR as it is known as by myself and others, has become a large part of other applications. A downloadable application that will allow the testing of applications and scripts formed with BR was released in fall 2011, but no official release date has been given yet.

Understanding BlackRabbit

Available soon will be a list of commands that run at the heart of BlackRabbit and will allow commands to be delivered in a simplistic way. Foghorn will be the initial release with a listing of 100 extensible commands that will allow arguments and many other commands to be given to the language. The purpose of all versions of BlackRabbit is to be able to create usable scripts in applications that use it. It has been developed to a very high level, so that it reads much easier than C# code does.

How does BlackRabbit function?

The BlackRabbit Framework is itself based on the BBMSIL system, which uses its own interpreter to convert the code into usable code that the system can then use. We can see from the image that the software extends functionality by using the .NET Framework Language which runs functionally as the software "behind the scenes". BlackRabbit acts as the middle man (technically the .NET Framework language is also a middle man) which allows an extension to an already powerful language. The BlackRabbit and BBMSIL system interpret the commands which therefore means that rewritting code is no longer necessary.

The language used to write the BlackRabbit core is C# .NET, which gives it the potential of safety and security.

This is still seen as advantageous due to the interation that would be required without this, and therefore gives the end user the ability to script the language that the software was actually written in, in a simple format - i.e BlackRabbit Script.

The other brilliant aspect of this is that you can utilise the Balfour's Business Class Library, which is a collection of modules and tools, right

How would you create a script?

Released in July 2011, the Platform Preview tester of the BlackRabbit Scripting language was shown using various software applications, one of them was the BlackRabbit 2011 Editor program which has been underway for sometime now. This editor allows the creation of BlackRabbit scripts (as do many other applications such as Wonderword and Painter Pro) and even allows users to debug them as a standard script.

Why would I want this "programming language"?

First off, BlackRabbit may not be a programming language in its own right, but we are aiming to make it a self standing library. We don't have an answer directly for this one. This all depends on your position in what you will use our applications for. BlackRabbit is there to make life simpler. Scripting your own macros and commands into a document which you have created using Wonderword or an image in Painter Pro gives you the flexibility to do certain things that you wanted to do but couldn't do before.

When will White Papers be available?

Foghorn White Papers are not available to the general public yet. I like to refer to the White Papers by their article name as BBSA-BR.

What commands should I expect to see?

There are now a variety of commands which will be released through the command handbook on release day. I have written this language with my clients in mind - i.e. the companies and individuals who I am contracted to work for, so bare this in mind when you look at the command list. We are working to improve the list to 300 command types and address lines. As of May 2011, BlackRabbit consists of no less than 50 commands and address lines. As of July 2012, 100 commands were implemented, and it was being tested by many new users.

BlackRabbit supports If statements and Output Lines have been added. For statements are still under work, but should be in the next beta.

Start scripting!

As of July 2011, the select few who have been chosen by myself have been given the opportunity to test run a few scripts and write their own scripts.

Integration

We have designed our software to work fully with BlackRabbit and the script commands will be updatable via the site. However, as with all of our software, there has been much difficulty in the linking side, until recently.

A recent change in the style of our programming has lead to the formation of the class library structure which all of software in the portfolio now depends. This gives the advantage that we have always needed to ensure that scripts can be as simple as possible yet they can carry out complex commands.

We have done our best to ensure the scripts can be as interactive as possible.

Sample scripts

The editor software also includes sample scripts to allow you to pick up the language very quickly. More scripts will become available and we intend to release a "Script of the Day" function into the editor.

Samples of codings

Note, if you are using any of my internet browser software, Cobweb, which can be downloaded by users who are permitted, you can test this script in sandbox mode right from the right-click.

//This is a comment.

//This script will ask if the user has used BR before

Get yes no ["Are you using BlackRabbit for the first time?", "First use"]

<If return [Yes]>

//If yes, then it replies with the following

      Output ["Welcome for the first time!"], "Welcome", Information]

<Else>

//If no, then it replies with the following

      Output ["Welcome to back to BR script!", "Welcome", Information]

<End If>

So, what now?

Have I got your interest?

If so, our first major Software Milestone was in July 2011, the next Milestone should be the end of the year 2012. If you are interested, contact the site administrator by clicking "Contact" at the bottom of the page. Unfortunately, the release event is for local interest only and not a public event, therefore, the we cannot promise places.

You can download the current version which is updated daily from my software program at: http://software.jamiebalfour.com/.