The Daily Click ::. Forums ::. General Chat ::. MMF2 Not a real programming language!!!
 

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Pixelthief

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15th December, 2008 at 08:46:09 -

i can't even begin to explain this. As far as computer science, you guys have absolutely no idea what the heck you are talking about. Its a matter of computing theory; turing machines. Programming languages have strict definitions that have been laid out in the past 100 years, its not some vague idea.

MMF you give instructions in the program so that the output behaves the way you want, like you would when are creating a presentation in ms powerpoint for example, the diference is MMF follows the logic of programming even though it's not actually programming.



If all you do is put some pictures in the level editor, then you've done no programming. If you write code that is compiled and executes calculations in the processors that decide the outcomes, thats programming. Powerpoint presentations cannot complete calculations. They can't model Turing Machines. MMF can.


And you are yet to show me another example of a programming language that isn't text based.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_programming_language

Your computer compiles higher level languages down into assembly code, which is roughly textual, but assembly is compiled into machine code. Machine code is not text based, it is just a bunch of bits and instruction tables. A bunch of proverbial 1's and 0's.


I don't think it does.
If I understand MMF's way of functioning correctly it works more or less this way:
There's the runtime where every event is pre-coded, and there's mmf's main program where the user activate those events as well as many other parameters. When you create an executable, you're not actually compiling anything, all mmf does is copy and paste the runtime exe, create a file where all the events and parameters are saved, as well as the media (sounds, graphics etc...) then it's encrypted in a single file, which can executed by anyone.



....what? I'm sorry man, but every single part of that post is wrong. Events aren't "hardcoded". MMF computes instructions given to it at runtime. An event saying

+Global Value A == 0
=Set "Enemy" Flag 0 off

would be equivalent to a C++ line stating

If (global_A < 0){
Enemy[1].flag_0 = off
}

MMF does not copy and paste the runtime .exe or anything like that. The events are compiled into code which is read at runtime by your computer, which decides which actions to make happen and when. This is exactly the same way C++ or Java or any other modern programming language runs a program. You ARE very much compiling something when you make an executable. MMF does not just select from predetermined action trees when executing. It calculates.

I mean hell, if you want to learn a little about programming languages I know some good articles I could recommend, some wikipedia pages, and whatnot. A few good books. Its an interesting area of study.



Like Muz put it, MMF2 is just as much a programming language as anything else, but its a very flawed one. One that traded power for speed, efficiency for ease of use. You can create things in MMF2 in an hour that would have taken a week in C++, but you can create things in C++ that take 10 seconds to run that would take your computer 10 weeks in MMF2. In the name of creating an easy to use environment, clickteam made many decisions that pulled KNP away from being a serious programming language; Predefined and allocated memory for active objects, HUGE overhead, poorly implemented looping, etc.

You could take the same architecture of MMF and create something much more professional and easier to use, recreating it from the ground up. The fundamentals of the programming are exactly the same. The limitations are just artificial.

 
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Pixelthief

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15th December, 2008 at 09:17:58 -


"MMF (Multimedia Fusion) is a diverse yet simple tool for creating videogames. As with its predecessors, Fusion has a simple language because it uses an event-grid with images, navigated entirely by the mouse. Although not a 'Programming Language' per se, its logic is very similar, serving as a good introduction to algorithmic logic (the logic of programming)."

even clickteam doesnt call it a language they call it "a very powerful all visual programming environment" as per the amazon manufacturers description http://www.amazon.co.uk/Clickteam-MMF2D-Multimedia-Fusion-Developer/dp/B000J0KWZY



Because Brazilian Portugese Review obviously knows more about computing than Turing or Babbage or that crew. You can quote me as saying "George W Bush is a closet homosexual who enjoys buttering other mens' crumpets", but it doesn't make it true. I'm not sure if you grasp this:

Processors don't read english.

Every single representation of a computing language as english or text is just a high level interpretation like any visual environment like MMF. Computers read 1's and 0's. They read strings of bits. To them, it doesn't matter if the compiled 1's and 0's came from a text compiler or a visual compiler.


And honestly man, it doesn't "use precompiled libraries". Thats like comparing a jungle gym tic tac toe board to a pentium 2. If you wanted to model every situation that could occur from a simple MMF programmed project, even with memory limitations considered the result would be many times larger than the number of atoms in the universe. MMF does not work by selecting a predetermined outcome based on input. It calculates the output based on the input. IE computing.

Take LEGOs for example. If you construct a little house out of legos, that is not programming. If you create a little lego lever that launches a penny when you flip it, that is not programming. That is a singular on/off switch. But if you buy Lego Mindstorms and construct a robot that is programmed to react to inputs and sensor detections with chains of events, that is programming. It is abstract, high level, stupid programming. But thats programming language. And you can very well build a turing-machine complete computer out of lego's:
Image



 
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Ski

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15th December, 2008 at 09:50:48 -

Why do American's call it Legos? Since when did it have an s on the end?

 
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Pixelthief

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15th December, 2008 at 09:52:30 -

Plural of Lego.

 
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15th December, 2008 at 09:54:30 -


Because Brazilian Portugese Review obviously knows more about computing than Turing or Babbage or that crew. You can quote me as saying "George W Bush is a closet homosexual who enjoys buttering other mens' crumpets", but it doesn't make it true. I'm not sure if you grasp this:



im not saying its true. im saying i like it. no one is doubting mmf's ability as a programming tool or even saying "its not programming", the descrimination is about whether or not it is a programming "language" which in my opinion is a term not suited for what it is.


a very powerful all visual programming environment



that term i am completely accepting of.


Processors don't read english.


you are right, and im not disputing this.


And honestly man, it doesn't "use precompiled libraries". Thats like comparing a jungle gym tic tac toe board to a pentium 2. If you wanted to model every situation that could occur from a simple MMF programmed project, even with memory limitations considered the result would be many times larger than the number of atoms in the universe. MMF does not work by selecting a predetermined outcome based on input. It calculates the output based on the input. IE computing.


as i said. it was wikipedia and i doubt its reliability as there are no cited sources.


Every single representation of a computing language as english or text is just a high level interpretation like any visual environment like MMF. Computers read 1's and 0's. They read strings of bits. To them, it doesn't matter if the compiled 1's and 0's came from a text compiler or a visual compiler.


i like this part as even you yourself refer to it as an environment. i edited it out but i made a remark that mmf is more like a shell on a language. i can go to a resturaunt and check off which food i want. do i get to make the food myself? no. the chef makes it for me. ie mmf.

 
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Pixelthief

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15th December, 2008 at 09:56:12 -

Visual environment and programming language aren't mutually exclusive.

 
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15th December, 2008 at 10:00:02 -

that wasnt my point -.-

 
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Ski

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15th December, 2008 at 10:00:31 -


Originally Posted by Pixelthief
Plural of Lego.



Uh.. never called it Legos in my family. Always Lego, like fish and sheep.

 
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15th December, 2008 at 11:44:45 -

Sounds like Pixelthief has this topic sussed and I'll just go along and agree with it.

And I used to call them "fishes", but not Legos or sheeps. And Sticklebricks.

 
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15th December, 2008 at 12:11:09 -

1 lego (each brick is a lego)
2 legos

 
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15th December, 2008 at 12:23:51 -

lego my eggo! >

 
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Dr. James MD

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15th December, 2008 at 13:04:40 -

http://stason.org/TULARC/games/mindstorms-lego/7-Plural-of-LEGO.html should resolve everything, even that MMF2 is a kind of programming language.

 
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15th December, 2008 at 13:40:18 -

Fighting over the definition of a programming language.
Fighting over the plural of Lego.

You guys are such geeks

 
Disclaimer: Any sarcasm in my posts will not be mentioned as that would ruin the purpose. It is assumed that the reader is intelligent enough to tell the difference between what is sarcasm and what is not.

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Ski

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15th December, 2008 at 13:46:50 -

Hah! I was right! It's LEGO not Legos! Silly "American English"

 
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15th December, 2008 at 13:54:25 -

Well... LEGO Bricks. But close enough!

 
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