Inform version history facts for kids

The Inform programming language helps people create amazing interactive fiction games. These are often called "text adventures" because you read the story and type commands to decide what happens next. The history of Inform goes all the way back to 1993!

What is Inform?

Inform is a special computer language designed just for making text adventure games. Think of it like a tool that lets you write stories where players can explore, solve puzzles, and interact with the world using words.

It has two main parts:

• The compiler: This is like a translator that takes the code you write and turns it into a game that a computer can understand and play.
• The library: This is a collection of pre-written code that helps you build common game features, like moving around, picking up items, or talking to characters. It saves you a lot of work!

The Early Days: Inform 6

Inform started its journey in 1993. The very first version was released on May 9, 1993, at the same time as a game called Curses. Over the next few years, several updates were released, making the language better and better.

A big change happened in 1996 with the release of Inform 6. This version was a complete rewrite of the language, making it much more powerful. From this point on, the Inform compiler and its library were developed and released separately. This meant that updates to the compiler (the tool) and the library (the pre-made code) could happen at different times.

Over the years, Inform 6 continued to get updates. For example, in November 2002, version 6.21.3 added support for something called Glulx.

What is Glulx?

Imagine a game console. Most Inform games originally ran on a "virtual machine" called Z-code, which was like an older game console with some limits. Glulx is like a newer, more powerful virtual machine. It allows game creators to make much bigger and more complex text adventures with more memory and features.

A New Chapter: Inform 7

In 2006, a brand new version of the language, Inform 7, was released as a public beta. This was a huge step forward! Inform 7 was designed to be much easier to use, letting creators write game rules in a way that feels more like natural English sentences.

For example, instead of complex code, you might write something like: "The player carries a sword." This made it simpler for people to learn and create games.

Inform 7 also had its own series of updates and improvements. It quickly gained popularity because of its user-friendly approach. In November 2007, Inform 7 version 5G67 was the first to come with an official graphical interface (GUI) for Linux computers, making it even easier to use.

Connecting the Versions

You might notice some library versions with an "N" at the end, like "6/10N". These were special versions of the Inform 6 libraries that were changed to work well with Inform 7. The goal was to eventually combine these "N" series libraries with the main Inform 6 libraries. This way, there would be one main library that could be used for both Inform 6 and Inform 7, and it could create games for both Z-code and Glulx. This helps keep everything organized and makes it easier for game developers.