Supercard
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|
| Developer(s) | Solutions Etcetera |
|---|---|
| Stable release |
4.7.3 / 2012
|
| Operating system | System Software 6, System 7, Mac OS 8, Mac OS 9, Mac OS X |
| Type | hypermedia, development |
| License | Proprietary |
| Website | www.supercard.us |
SuperCard is a high-level development environment that runs on Macintosh computers, under OS 8 and 9, and OS X. It is inspired by HyperCard, but includes a richer language, a full GUI toolkit, and native color (as opposed to HyperCard's Apple- or third-party-supplied add-ons).
The programming language used by SuperCard is called SuperTalk, and is largely based on HyperTalk, the language in HyperCard. In addition to the core language, SuperTalk can call out to OSA-based scripting languages such as AppleScript, and shell commands. The language can be extended with so-called externals, chunks of compiled code that appear like native routines.
Programs created using SuperCard can be run inside the IDE itself, or as "standalones", which combine the user-created programs and resources with the execution engine used by SuperCard.
SuperCard was first created by Bill Appleton and published by Silicon Beach Software in 1989. In 1990, Silicon Beach was acquired by Aldus Corporation. Aldus released version 1.6 of SuperCard which brought support for AppleEvents, enhanced graphic capabilities and several other improvements.
In February 1994, Allegiant Technologies of San Diego bought SuperCard. Allegiant released several versions of the software, and even won the 1995 MacUser Editor's Choice for Best New Multimedia-Authoring Application. Version 1.7 of SuperCard, which was released in June 1994, included several important enhancements, including QuickTime support and switch statements. In December of the same year, version 2.0 was released. This was the first PowerPC native version, which made it a lot faster than previous versions on newer machines. Also, this version introduced an application called Standalone Maker, which put a front end on the ability to edit the resource fork of executable SuperCard projects. SuperCard had always been able to produce stand alone executable applications, but this tool lowered the barrier to entry for novice users.
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