Inform is a programming language used for interactive fiction and other creative purposes. Most users engage with it as an app on their devices: there are apps for MacOS, Windows, Linux and Android, but in the centre of each is the same core compiler and software.
- ● For user documentation, and downloads of the apps, go to the Inform home page at: http://www.inform7.com
- ● To download the source for the core compiler, build it, and run it at the command line rather than through the apps, go to the main GitHub repository at: https://github.com/ganelson/inform
- ● Inform is a set of "literate programs", written as "webs" of source code designed to be read by humans (in "woven" form), as well as executed by computers (in "tangled" form). For more on literate programming, go to the tool used by the Inform project: inweb
Inform is not a single program. There are around 50 webs in all, together with some images, PDF files, sets of test cases, documentation, and so on. This page is intended as a jumping-off point to navigate these.
inter
A stand-alone tool for intermediate-level code, which is also Stages VI and VII of the Inform compiler.
services
Support for predicate calculus, linguistics, abstract syntax trees and other facilities needed by the compiler tools.
inblorb
A packaging tool for wrapping interactive fiction story files, included with the Inform apps but not as a part of the inform7 executable.
inform6
A compiler for a low-level programming language, included with the Inform apps but not as a part of the inform7 executable.
Basic Inform
The Inform 7 extension read automatically into every project, defining much of the language.
Standard Rules
The Inform 7 extension read automatically into every interactive fiction project, defining much of the world model.
BasicInformKit
A kit of Inter code providing runtime support for all programs written with Inform. Included with the apps in precompiled form.
BasicInformExtrasKit
A kit of Inter code providing runtime support for all programs not using WorldModelKit. Included with the apps in precompiled form.
WorldModelKit
A kit of Inter code providing runtime support for interactive fiction projects with a simulated world. Included with the apps in precompiled form.
CommandParserKit
A kit of Inter code providing runtime support for interactive fiction projects with a command parser interface. Included with the apps in precompiled form.
indoc
A tool for typesetting the two books about Inform, and their hundreds of examples, so that these are readable in the apps. Needed by Inform (and Inform website) maintainers, but not end users.
inpolicy
A small tool for checking that the Inform source base complies with some self-imposed social norms. Needed by Inform maintainers, but not end users.
inrtps
A small tool for formatting the run-time problem displays included with the Inform apps. Needed by Inform maintainers, but not end users.
inweb
A literate-programming tool needed to build the other Inform tools. Needed by Inform maintainers, but not end users.
intest
A tool for running complex suites of end-to-end tests to verify the correctness of other tools. Needed by Inform maintainers, but not end users.
foundation
A module of basic computing services used across all of the Inform tool-chain: file-handling, generating HTML, semantic version-numbering, string-handling, memory management.