BlitzMax/User Guide/MaxIDE

The BlitzMax IDE is an application used for editing source code files and building projects. IDE stands for 'integrated development environment'.

The BlitzMax IDE operates very much like a text editor or word processor.

Getting started

Ok, time to compile and run your first program!

First, select New from the file menu or toolbar. This will create a new, empty source file for you to work with.

Next, enter the following little program:

'
'My first BlitzMax program
'
Print "Hello World!"

Now, its time to build and run: Select Build And Run from the Program menu. You should see the following output:

Building untitled1
Compiling:untitled1.bmx
flat assembler  version 1.51
3 passes, 2417 bytes.
Linking:untitled1.debug.exe
Executing:untitled1.debug.exe
Hello World!

Process complete

Congratulations! You've just created your first program!

What happens if there's an error in your program? Create a new source file and try the following program instead:

'
'My first bug!
'
rint "Hello World!" 'oops! Forgot a 'p'!

This program has an error in it - there is no such command as 'rint' so attempting to build this program will produce the following error:

When you return to the main source code window, the cursor will be placed at the line containing the error, allowing you to fix it.

This type of error is known as a compile time error, because the bug was detected by the compiler before you actually ran the program. However, the compiler cannot catch all possible errors - some errors are not apparent until your program is run. These kinds of errors are known as runtime errors. Here's an example of a program with a runtime error in it:

'
' My first runtime bug!
'
Local an_array[10]

For k=0 To 10
Print an_array[k]
Next

If you run this, you should see the following error message:

Note how the pane on the right has also switched to the 'Debug' pane. This means your program is in 'debug mode', and by navigating through the debug pane you can inspect your programs variables.

The File menu

Menu Item	Action
New	Create a new source file.
Open	Open an existing source file.
Open Recent	Reopen a recently used source file.
Close	Close current source file.
Close All	Close all source files.
Save	Save current source file.
Save As	Save current source file under a different name.
Save All	Save all open source files.
Next File	Switch to next open source file.
Previous File	Switch to previous open source file.
IDE Options	Open the IDE options panel.
Project Manager	Open the project manager panel.
Import BB Project	Import and convert a BlitzPlus or Blitz3D project.
Print	Print current souorce file.
Exit	Close down and exit the IDE.

The Edit menu

Menu Item	Action
Undo	Undo most recent source file edit.
Redo	Redo most recently undone source file edit.
Cut	Cut selected text from current source file.
Copy	Copy selected text from current source file.
Paste	Paste text into current source file.
Select All	Select all text in current source file.
Block Indent	Indent the currently highlighted block.
Block Outdent	Unindent the currently highlighted block.
Find	Find text in the current source file.
Find Next	Find next occurrence of text.
Replace	Find and replace text.
Goto Line	Go to a line in the current source file.

The Program menu

Menu Item	Action
Build	Build the current source file (or locked build file).
Build And Run	Build and run the current source file (or locked build file).
Command Line	Specify command line options for BlitzMax apps.
Step	In debug mode, step over next program statement.
Step In	In debug mode, step into next program statement.
Step Out	In debug mode, step out of current block or function.
Halt	Stop current build or program run.
Build Options:Quick Build	Enable or disable quick builds. The quick build feature causes the compiler to only recompile modified files.
Build Options:Debug Build	Enable or disable debug builds. Debug builds performing extra error checking at runtime, at the cost of some execution speed.
Build Options:Build GUI App	Instructs BlitzMax to build a 'GUI' application. Disable this if you are building a lightweight, text-only applications.
Lock Build File	Lock the current source file for future build and build and run operations. This can be useful if you have a multifile project and are editing several source files but only ever rebuilding one of them.
Unlock Build File	Unlock the currently locked build file.
Synchronize Modules	Perform an online update of all Blitzmax modules.
Build Modules	Build any recently modified modules.
Rebuild All Modules	Rebuild all modules from scratch.
Document Modules	Rebuild module documentation.

The Help menu

Menu Item	Action
Home	Go to the help home page.
Back	Return to previous help page.
Forward	Advance to the next help page.
Quick Help	Jump to command reference entry for command nearest cursor.
About BlitzMax	Show information about BlitzMax and the IDE.