Code center > Darwinbots3
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bacillus:
I concur, Java would be the best option. The trouble seems to be that VB, C++ and C# are the only ones that most people seem to know. I tried writing a version of DB in Java once; if I get a decent UI working and I/O as well (my two weak points), I should have a version .jar'd and running in no time.
asterixx:
Wont the language it is written in ultimately depend on what sort of purpose the program will serve? If it is anything like DB 2.43, Im pretty sure that Java wouldnt work, which is perhaps why it wasnt selected in the first place. . . ?
I havent been using DB for very long so if Im speculating here, please enlighten me. And I agree moonfisher, C++ is wonderful!
bacillus:
I think Java is a very useful language when making complicated programs. Programs like Ruby and Python (Both of which are very powerful languages, by the way) are good when writing smaller programs, but Java has so many plugins from the OS community that it's easy to find what you need and implement it via abstract classes. Exhibit 1: The Java 3D class. Combined with the dozens of physics engines out there, and interpreters, it'll be easy to write a 3D version of DB. I actually wrote mine in Java, then put it all together using JRuby. The Java VM is built into virtually all Operating Systems, so is platform independent, meaning no different versions have to be used for Linux, Mac, Windows, Solaris etc.
asterixx:
OK! I clearly dont know the history of DB well enough to know where it came from and hence, where its going. I get the sense that there are a lot of ideas and reccomendations flying around though.
EricL:
The main line 2.4x code is VB6 because it's was originally written in that language by Carlo, the original author and inventor a long time ago, when Java was still just a type of coffee and no-one since then has gone to the effort to port it to anything modern.
Later this year, if I'm so inclined, I will likely port it to a modern version of VB to get threads and a decent network I/O package and a bunch of other things. Why stick with VB? Because I'm lazy and this is the easiest way to get those things. I'm not up to porting to a completly different language, at least not this year and the advantages of doing so don't outweigh the costs IMHO.
The current engine is primarily systems code. Graphics are a surprisingly small portion of the total code. Someday it would be nice to leverage some hardware acceleration or a 3rd party physics engine, but if your waiting for me to go there, don't hold your breath. I have no such plans.
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