Lite-C is a

programming language A programming language is a system of notation for writing computer programs. Most programming languages are text-based formal languages, but they may also be graphical. They are a kind of computer language. The description of a programming ...

for multimedia applications and

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

s, using a syntax subset of the

C language C (''pronounced like the letter c'') is a general-purpose computer programming language. It was created in the 1970s by Dennis Ritchie, and remains very widely used and influential. By design, C's features cleanly reflect the capabilities o ...

with some elements of the C++ language. Its main difference to C is the native implementation of multimedia and computer game related objects like sounds, images, movies,

GUI The GUI ( "UI" by itself is still usually pronounced . or ), graphical user interface, is a form of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices through graphical icons and audio indicator such as primary notation, inste ...

elements, 2D and 3D models, collision detection and rigid body physics. Lite-C is a compiled language. It runs on 32-bit and 64-bit

Windows XP Windows XP is a major release of Microsoft's Windows NT operating system. It was released to manufacturing on August 24, 2001, and later to retail on October 25, 2001. It is a direct upgrade to its predecessors, Windows 2000 for high-end and ...

Vista Vista usually refers to a distant view. Vista may also refer to: Software *Windows Vista, the line of Microsoft Windows client operating systems released in 2006 and 2007 *VistA, (Veterans Health Information Systems and Technology Architecture) ...

operating system An operating system (OS) is system software that manages computer hardware, software resources, and provides common services for computer programs. Time-sharing operating systems schedule tasks for efficient use of the system and may also in ...

s. Lite-C supports the

Windows API The Windows API, informally WinAPI, is Microsoft's core set of application programming interfaces (APIs) available in the Microsoft Windows operating systems. The name Windows API collectively refers to several different platform implementations th ...

and the Component Object Model (COM); therefore

OpenGL OpenGL (Open Graphics Library) is a cross-language, cross-platform application programming interface (API) for rendering 2D and 3D vector graphics. The API is typically used to interact with a graphics processing unit (GPU), to achieve hardwa ...

and

DirectX Microsoft DirectX is a collection of application programming interfaces (APIs) for handling tasks related to multimedia, especially game programming and video, on Microsoft platforms. Originally, the names of these APIs all began with "Direct", ...

programs can directly be written in lite-C. It has integrated the free A8 rendering engine.

History

The Lite-C language and compiler was originally developed in 2007 by Conitec in cooperation with

Atari, Inc. Atari, Inc. was an American video game developer and home computer company founded in 1972 by Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney. Atari was a key player in the formation of the video arcade and video game industry. Based primarily around the Sunny ...

, with focus on creating computer games by non-programmers. Lite-C continues to be actively developed and maintained by Conitec Datasystems, with updates and improvements released periodically to support the evolving needs of game developers.

Features

Lite-C has the following differences to standard C: * Native multitasking and multiplayer support * On-the-fly

compiling In computing, a compiler is a computer program that translates computer code written in one programming language (the ''source'' language) into another language (the ''target'' language). The name "compiler" is primarily used for programs that ...

* Supports external classes (OpenGL, DirectX, Windows API) * Implementation of the 3D GameStudio A7/A8 rendering engine * Function library for display/manipulation of 3D models * Function library for rigid body physics * Function library for vector and matrix functions * Function library for GUI objects * Function library for playing sound and movie files * Remote control of arbitrary Windows applications * Native support of DirectX 9 functions * Small footprint - approximately 15 MB with compiler, IDE, debugger Lite-C also supports rudimentary classes and

function overloading In some programming languages, function overloading or method overloading is the ability to create multiple functions of the same name with different implementations. Calls to an overloaded function will run a specific implementation of that f ...

References

External links

* {{official website, http://www.3dgamestudio.com/
Lite-C download page

Lite-C user forum
C programming language family