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Dark GDK / Java Wrapper

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divs1210
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Posted: 12th Jul 2011 19:46
Hey!
I am an intermediate Java programmer, and there is something that I have been pondering on for quite some time.
I checked out the Leadwerks Engine sometime back and noticed that they were also supplying a Java wrapper for using the Leadwerks engine with Java.
Could you people do the same with DarkGDK? You could create a JNI wrapper for DarkGDK, which could be used to use the DarkBASIC engine with Java.
As a part of the Java community, I can tell you that there is a SERIOUS lack of Game Engines that can be programmed with Java. Java 3d API is very complex, and not very functional, and JOGL is TOO convoluted for anyone to use.
The only other GOOD option is the JMonkey Engene, and even that is VERY hard to use.
If you could release a Java wrapper for DarkGDK, it would be a BIG breakthrough for game developers that prefer Java, and I'm sure you'd gain a LOT of support from the Java community.

What say?

Democracy is a device that insures we shall be governed no better than we deserve.
Mistrel
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Posted: 13th Jul 2011 06:33 Edited at: 13th Jul 2011 06:58
DarkGDK is a set of hand coded static libraries which hav been built for the Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 and 2010 compilers. Unfortunately, the amount of effort that would be required to port it to JNI/Java would be immense.

On the bright side, PureGDK 2.0 which is procedurally generated and is based off of dynamic libraries has been built with language portability from the ground up. It currently supports the PureBasic and C++ languages as a proof of concept and is currently in beta. The language portability code is open source and is available in the SDK for anyone to work with, if you would be interested in porting it yourself.

I definitely want to get this ported to Java as well and hope to start working on this after the beta is complete. It's on the big TODO list!

kklouzal
14
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Location: Arizona
Posted: 15th Jul 2011 02:20
If GDK/PureGDK went java I would pick it up immediately! It's a great idea, I believe irrlicht has a java wrapper of the sort called Jirr
divs1210
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Posted: 15th Jul 2011 17:13
@Mistrel Well, if PureGDK has the same features, then it's good! Unfortunately though, I myself have never worked with JNI before, and I'm probably not the right person to port it .
Anyhow, please try to let this idea reach everyone in the community, so that someone who is capable enough may do it. I would happily wait for it.

@kklouzal hey! i didn't know that! am going to check it out. thanks!

Democracy is a device that insures we shall be governed no better than we deserve.
kklouzal
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Posted: 15th Jul 2011 20:12
It's like a step back from DarkGDK, there aren't all these handy singlet functions you can call to do all the dirty work, rather a bunch of classes that does the dirty dirty work for you xD if that makes sense!
Red Eye
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Posted: 16th Jul 2011 00:58 Edited at: 16th Jul 2011 01:09
@Mistrel: Hey, I have some questions: Does PureGDK support latest dx with the commands it has? Can I use the Visual C++ 208/10 editor with it? Are there speed advantages if using puregdk instead of darkgdk?
So I will keep the speed of C++ over BASIC too?

Thank you in forward.

Cheers,

Leo

vitinho444
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Posted: 16th Jul 2011 01:56
hEY I dont know Java, but according to Hassan its not a bad idea.

Hey hassan do you recommend learning java?
PS: Srry offtopic

Learning C++
VB6 Advanced: 4/5
VB.NET Advanced: 4/5
Mistrel
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Posted: 16th Jul 2011 08:25 Edited at: 16th Jul 2011 08:28
Quote: "@Mistrel: Hey, I have some questions: Does PureGDK support latest dx with the commands it has?"


Right now it supports DirectX 9, the same as DBP/DarkGDK. But it's been built to be loosely coupled to the engine. At some point I hope to decouple it from the engine entirely so you can swap it out for DX9, DX10, DX11, OpenGL, or whatever. Then I can begin to work it into the cross-platform arena. GDK for iPhone/Android, anyone?

Quote: "Can I use the Visual C++ 208/10 editor with it?"



C++ Projects supported by PureGDK out of the box:

GNU make/g++ (gcc compiling may require setup)
nmake/vc++ (vcvars32.bat compiling should work out of the box)
Visual Studio 6
Visual Studio .NET
Visual Studio .NET 2003
Visual Studio 2005
Visual Studio 2008
Visual Studio 2010

This list is not finite! PureGDK will "just work" with any standards-compliant C++ compiler. This includes any version of Visual Studio Express.

Quote: "Are there speed advantages if using puregdk instead of darkgdk?"


There is a slight overhead cost for PureGDK, I'd estimate about 5% compared to DarkGDK. But this 5% can very easily be made up by the quality of the code you write. And because it's dynamically linked, you can continue to use it with every new Visual Studio that comes out (2012/2014/etc) immediately.

What's even better is that because it's been designed for portability, if ever you decide to change languages you can take the engine with you!

See here for more features that can be found in PureGDK:

http://forum.thegamecreators.com/?m=forum_view&t=185378&b=22&msg=2223946#m2223946

Red Eye
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Posted: 17th Jul 2011 11:18
Daimn! I must say it is very neat!

Mistrel
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Posted: 17th Jul 2011 12:08
Quote: "Daimn! I must say it is very neat! "


That's what I've been trying to tell you guys.

zaphos
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Posted: 18th Jul 2011 01:29 Edited at: 18th Jul 2011 01:55
Hello guys,
I wrote the Java wrapper for Leadwerks2. Someone asked me to have a look at this thread I don't know if it is posible to wrap DB for Java as I haven't looked into it, I might give it a go sometime in the future, but not right now as I don't have the time.
Just so you know, you do not have to use JNI at all, you can use JNA and it works very well and means you can just write Java code and not touch the native code at all.

Morcilla
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Posted: 19th Jul 2011 20:58
Well, since C/C++ can be embedded into Java code, I think that using DGDK into Java should be possible, without having to rewrite the DGDK libraries. Of course it would only work with Windows/DirectX, you know.

Mistrel
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Posted: 20th Jul 2011 00:54
It's not a question of possibility. PureGDK can be used with Java. It's just a matter of writing the supporting language plugin with the PureGDK SDK.

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