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Revolution (software platform)
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<p>Revolution is a software development environment/multimedia authoring software in the tradition of <a href="/facts/HyperCard/v9GQF9K2">HyperCard</a> and is based on the <a href="/facts/MetaCard/Dd5tyEMg">MetaCard</a> engine. Its primary focus is on providing a relatively accessible development tool set and <a href="/facts/Scripting_language/8pF4ajBL">scripting language</a> that enable the creation of software programs that run across multiple platforms with little or no code modifications. The <a href="/facts/Integrated_development_environment/jbEINSQf">Integrated Development Environment</a> (IDE) included with Revolution is built partly on the models created by <a href="/facts/Bill_Atkinson/AnN2LdVc">Bill Atkinson</a> and the original HyperCard team at <a href="/facts/Apple_Inc./oTJYta3k">Apple</a> and subsequently followed by many other software development products, such as <a href="/facts/Microsoft/nGIDDXdx">Microsoft</a>'s <a href="/facts/Visual_Basic/7QMXM6fP">Visual Basic</a>. Revolution includes an English language-like scripting language called <a href="/facts/Transcript_(programming_language)/LFT4YpXF">Transcript</a>, a full programming language superset of the HyperCard's scripting language, <a href="/facts/HyperTalk/296eUWJk">HyperTalk</a>. </p><p>The higher-grade versions (see Versions, below), allow applications to be compiled to run on more than one platform, including <a href="/facts/Mac_(computer)/8GhnXTK0">Macintosh</a> (Classic or <a href="/facts/Mac_OS_9/33QM3VqV">Mac OS 9</a>, and <a href="/facts/Mac_OS_X/Y93vVpTm">Mac OS X</a>), <a href="/facts/Microsoft_Windows/bwhAhuSL">Windows</a> and <a href="/facts/Unix-like/YAKrAxzd">Unix-like</a> systems including <a href="/facts/Linux/9FvCKSTq">Linux</a>. It can also import HyperCard stacks, which require little or no modification unless they use external functions, which generally do not work in Revolution. </p><p>Revolution is designed to be an environment where non-programmers feel at ease and programmers feel not too uncomfortable (after getting used to "non-traditional" programming syntax). Like any programming language or development environment, opinions as to the degree to which those aims have been achieved vary greatly. </p>