Introduction |
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Introduction |
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Introduction |
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Introduction |
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ContentsChanges from 8 to 9
Familiar with AutoPlay Media Studio 8?
Here's what you need to know to get right up to speed with v9!
AutoPlay Media Studio 9 was developed with v8 users in mind. While a plethora of new features have been added, v8 remains almost 100% compatible with v8 projects.
AutoPlay Media Studio now contains an updated version of the Lua scripting library, version 5.3 (previously 5.1). AutoPlay's version has been compiled to try to maintain compatibility, however there are some minor syntax changes/deprecations made to the language that you need to be aware of for future development as well as previously created projects and Lua scripts.
The concept of environment changed. Only Lua functions have environments. To set the environment of a Lua function, use the variable _ENV or the function load.
| • | To manipulate the "environment" of a userdata (which is now called user value), use the new functions lua_getuservalue and lua_setuservalue. |
| • | Lua identifiers cannot use locale-dependent letters. |
| • | Doing a step or a full collection in the garbage collector does not restart the collector if it has been stopped. |
| • | Weak tables with weak keys now perform like ephemeron tables. |
| • | The event tail return in debug hooks was removed. Instead, tail calls generate a special new event, tail call, so that the debugger can know that there will not be a corresponding return event. |
| • | Equality between function values has changed. Now, a function definition may not create a new value; it may reuse some previous value if there is no observable difference to the new function. |
| • | An integer subtype for numbers was introduced. Although this change should not affect "normal" computations, some computations (mainly those that involve some kind of overflow) can give different results. |
| • | You can fix these differences by forcing a number to be a float, in particular writing constants with an ending .0 or using x = x + 0.0 to convert a variable. (This recommendation is only for a quick fix for an occasional incompatibility; it is not a general guideline for good programming. For good programming, use floats where you need floats and integers where you need integers.) |
| • | The conversion of a float to a string now adds a .0 suffix to the result if it looks like an integer. (For instance, the float 2.0 will be printed as 2.0, not as 2.) You should always use an explicit format when you need a specific format for numbers. |
As of AutoPlay Media studio 9, only plugins created with version 3 of the Plugin SDK (or higher) are compatible. When a version 8 project is opened in version 9, the project is analyzed to determine if it contains any plugin objects or actions. A list of these can be viewed in the analysis report that is automatically generated under the heading "Legacy Plugins."
In order for your project to work you will need to obtain updated versions of the plugins listed. Once you have the updated version of these plugins, simply install them into the correct plugin directory and your project should work properly. If you have already installed versions of the listed plugins that were created using version 3 of the Indigo Rose Plugin SDK then no further action is necessary.
You have access to a wealth of free Lua code you can download and use in your AutoPlay Media Studio 9 projects. In most cases you simply copy the module files into your project and "require" them in your script. LuaSocket and LuaSec modules are already bundled in the product and ready for use. Other useful modules out there include Bit Operation, Date, Canvas Draw, Imaging Tool, GD, Crypto, Colors, Speech, Alien, Social (Twitter), CURL, Regular Expression Parsing and so much more. It's a whole treasure chest of addons and tools just waiting for you!
AutoPlay Media Studio 9 now ships with an ODBC actions plugin, which can be used to allow data exchange with any local or remote database server for which a suitable driver is installed. This plugin can be used for access to any database for which no LuaSQL driver is yet available.
This actions plugin can be used, on 64-bit operating systems, to access folders controlled by the File System Redirector and to read and write registry keys that are subject to Registry Redirection. These functions can also be used on 32-bit operating systems.
Action Plugins and Object Plugins are one of the best features of AutoPlay Media Studio. They allow 3rd party software developers to extend and expand the product in an extremely integrated and seamless fashion. By simply dropping a plugin into your project, you can easily save yourself hours of work and add significant functionality to your application. The great news is that with AutoPlay Media Studio 9, plugin developers can now fully leverage the advantages of the Lua 5.3 language. The Plugin SDK v3 is available for free download on the indigorose.com website.
Hundreds of other changes have made their way into AutoPlay Media Studio 9. Some visible, some hidden deep within the core… All of them designed to make AutoPlay Media Studio 9 your "go to" tool when you're on a deadline and need to create graphically rich interactive software applications.
Learn More: Indigo Rose Software - AutoPlay Media Studio - Buy Now - Contact Us