Introducing to Qube

Qube is the multiplatform desktop environment. This means, it was designed to be easily ported to wide variaty of operating systems all over the world. There is a simple idea to make multiplatform system. It's based on pointers. All functions and objects in Qube are pointers somewhere to the memory. Let's show an example. If there is a pixel placed on the screen, it's a function low_grx_putpixel that points to function that will displayed the pixel. If you need to redirect this function to other one, you can simple ( in the running process as well ) redirect this function to the other one. Another function can draw only the black pixels and you will see only black screen instead of a nice color bitmap. Of-course, Qube doesn't dispone only with low_grx_putpixel function used for graphics displaying, but this is the logic of the whole low-level system.

The high-level API used low-level functions to makes user-friendly programmers environment, but you will be often furted to use low-level API in your application. Note please, that using of low-level API is the same compatible as the high-level API usage, but low-level is used as the bridge with operating system. High-level API covers wide range of important programmers functions and objects that makes programming more simple, but there are also situations like using function low_mem_malloc ( _malloc ) that you need to use when you need allocate memory.

Qube is 32bit desktop environment and it's able to be platformed to 32bit operating systems. There are few exceptions such as DOS operating systems, where Qube runs allthought the DOS is 16bit operating system.

Qube use the own format of executables that's based on COFF ( Common object file format ) format. This format has an extension MXX, or MXL in the case of libray. There are only few small differences between libraries and applications. You can use the library as the application, but you can run only one of copy to memory and it exports names of functions or objects you can use in other libraries and applications. Libraries and applications may contains resource file that may contain any data you want to use in your program.

Qube uses own kind of mutitasking, that's usefull in the same way on multitasking like on non-multitasking operating systems as well. It looks and works simple modern windowing operating systems, that uses focus of keyboard or top visible object and more.

 

 

Last change Jun 4, 2001