BlitzMax

This book is meant to be a reference for the BASIC dialect BlitzMax, published by Blitz Research Ltd.

History
BlitzMax is a BASIC dialect, and the latest Blitz language by Blitz Research Limited. It is the first to run on multiple operating systems; it runs on Mac OS, Linux and Microsoft Windows. The language is converted to assembler, then assembled - allowing it to be somewhat platform agnostic. From a gaming standpoint this is possible because, unlike earlier versions, BlitzMax can use OpenGL for rendering.

Other major changes from earlier Blitz products are its object-oriented and modular nature.

Compilation
BlitzMax code is first converted to a low level assembler format, which is then assembled into object code for the target platform. BlitzMax is capable of compiling for Windows, Linux and Mac OS.

Individual files can be linked together through the Import command, thus allowing complex linking structures that can include not only other BlitzMax files (.BMX), but also C source as well as other languages (particularly ObjectiveC on Mac OS).

Modules
Modules provide the runtime functionality of BlitzMax. They are stored in the mod directory inside the BlitzMax directory, and accessed via the Import and Framework commands. They can include both native BlitzMax code, and code in C or assembler formats.