BluePrint
Language Reference

Altia BluePrint · ABPDescribe the interface. The screen follows.

BluePrint is a declarative language for human–machine interfaces. A design is a tree of components with reactive properties, events and actions. It is written in a restricted YAML, with expressions in a subset of JavaScript.

Read the language reference Get the VS Code extension 
Component: $PrimaryButton
  labelText: ""
  tone: "#333344"
  @press:
    code: tone = "#5566AA"
  @release:
    code: tone = "#333344"
  Shape: face
    kind: ShapeType::Rect
    points: [[0, 0], [160, 48]]
    bg: tone
    fg: tone
  Text: lbl
    text: labelText
    justify: Justify::Center
    width: 160
    y: 8

PrimaryButton: okButton
  labelText: "OK"
  x: 100
  y: 60

Overview

A BluePrint document says what the interface is, not how to update it. When data that a property reads changes, the property is re-evaluated and the screen updates. Nobody writes the update code.

Components

A tree of typed components

Displays, text, images, shapes and groups nest by indentation. Define your own types with Base: $Name and reuse them across modules.

Reactive

Properties are expressions

Every value is an expression. Bind a needle's rotation to Vehicle.rpm and it follows the data with no handler code.

Events

Events and actions

Handlers such as @press, @init and @tick run actions: set values, start motions, call the host.

Visuals

Layout, motion and materials

Layout, animation and custom GPU materials written in GLSL are part of the language, not add-ons.

3D

Scenes

Place 3D scenes in a 2D design and drive their baked animations from expressions.

Host

A clean host boundary

I/O and heavy computation stay in the host application. The host reaches the design through Data objects and external functions.

Get started

The language reference is the full specification. The VS Code extension edits, checks and previews designs, and the demos give you designs to start from.

Language Reference

Every construct of ABP: syntax, evaluation, events, the built-in types, host integration, diagnostics and recipes.

Read the reference →

VS Code Extension

Edit, check and preview BluePrint designs in Visual Studio Code. Version 1.0.1 is on the Visual Studio Marketplace.

Install from Marketplace →

Demos

Example .abp designs, licensed under MIT, that you can copy and adapt in your own work.

Browse on GitHub →