Recent blog entries for tripix

well it's been a torrent of a journey since my last post. Many things have happened, many things left to happen.

Perhaps I'll keep in touch.

summary of coding to date: porting sdl-perl to win32 and getting it to work on that bitch. Getting the Korruptor's retrocube code going on linux & win32. not much activity then... :-p

best linux experience ever happened the other day, I got hw 3d accell on X11, I'm most chuffed.

life wise, well, lets keep things chippa shall we....

This week(s) I've been mostly not coding :(

However, Ive been discussing a little about the future of SDLPL with the original author, David Goehrig. Version 2.0 is going to break , but the original 1.0 will be maintained, well, for a bit at anyway.

I'v also got excited about a small posibility of contributing to a Perl game book, woo hoo.

I've also decided that the Amiga SDK could do with another development language, yep, Perl, so I've suggested the idea and requested a copy of the SDK for investigative purposes.

I have sent The Corruptor the IK+ Bounce pattern creation routine. I think he will be happy when he has a look, I hope to add code that will output the data table(s) as Javascript source.

I've also consired creating some kind of TCP/IP based Data Pattern server. Which would be incorported into/ fall out from, some SDL-Perl libriaries I have in mind. XML based resources, kind-a-like the Quake Pak idea, but XML and also Distributed, XML::Path and RPC::PlServer springs to mind, instantly...

I also incorported the Corruptors mock-up GFX and my bounce and wave genration code into my Beast sideways scroller. I also made the pattern rebound of an invisible wall to see what it looked like if you just reflect the pattern in the vertical axis, and it looks ok.

Other things that I'm up to is (still) looking at porting the Perl OpenGL module to Win32. I still cant beleive this doesn't exist...arse.

I'm looking forward to the first Southampton (or Sotonians) Perl mongers meeting this week, I will probably wheel along my SDL-Perl stoof, just for ego reasons of course! :)

It's never that simple, ever. It appears that I will have to write (well adjust/port the existing) Perl OpenGL module from CPAN to Win32, so that it has no dependancy on X libs, and it uses Win32 calls instead, oh joy....lookng forward to that!

I cant believe it doesn't exist already. Oh well, being at the coal face often results in sidesteps, and in the case of Win32, regressions :)

I have managed to get a (slighlty modified) version of SDL Perl up and running on Win32, but there are install issues and using DirectX does not work, SW blitting only (again), but I'm hoping that when I install the (CPAN Version) of OpenGL.pm I will get fully accelrated OpenGL, tee hee.

I have other issues todo with some library functions not being on Win32, but there are ways to get around that, for now I commented out the ofending line(s) in the sound libs.

other problems include not having png, jpeg libs installed yet. so I had to modify the Beast game to read in gif's only, and turn of some video flags which cause a (harmless) black screen.

The MakeMaker family of utils/libs that ships with Active state Perl5.6.0 appears to be broken, I had to copy modules by hand, and the Architecture dependant libriries 'seem' to have nowhere to live either, I had to place them into 'easy to see' Win32 system 'path'ed places instead (CWD!). :(

Hope to finish the bounce pattern generator routines for IK Remix tonite, maybe I can declare myself as contributor to IK+Remix? :)

the next step is to last the week on little to no cash, and still get to a (rather busy) place of work.... we shall see.

I have a been granted sourceforge account, best get it up and running...

Spent tonite just setting up my compiler to build perl for the SDL Perl port, this is getting to be a bit annoying, I just can't beleive I've got to go ant get ~45 megs of s/w from the web just to get a compiler you have to pay for, to get to work properly. Although, I give MS too much by saying properly, because they could have a least upgraded there 9x 'shell' by now, errrgghhhhh. AND as a result I have to use someone elses (free) make utility, coz there's dont cut it. Argh, I never want to come back to win, and now it's flooding back why I left...

:
(  :/

more stoopid things windows does, if you right click somewhere during copying a file the animation of the paper from one nice and lovely folder to another eqully nice and lovely folder still ticks by on a seperate thread, by does the ACTUALL thread thats copying the file still tick by ...... answers on a postcard purlease!!!!! (if you cant guess)

anyway, I dont like the way I feel when I try to do things in windows, I cant get wait to get back to linux. Although the thought of displaying me SDL-Perl wares on me portable down the pub for our first Southampton Perl mongers meeting gives me a slight thrill!! :)

Well, I've been busy with a few things, new job and a 2hr total driving time to/from work unfortunately can really take energy out of me, which means development on sdlpl has slowed, need some time of to cocentrate on *real* coding. And trips to Brighton with obliterates the week end.

But anyway, enough of the self pity and moaning, onto the good stuff...

SDLPL now depends on SMPEG being installed because it has visible hooks into the audio part, but hidden hooks into the video playback of the lib.

I've also been trying to port SDLPL to win32, after many headaches and dead end I finally got a message from Gurusamy Sarathy (he heads up the Win perl port dev) saying that alas Microshit 'unfortunately' broke backwords compat with their lib format, or was it I didn't pay the piper with an upgrade to VC6.0??? you decide. arseholes.

Anyway, next step is to recompile my Win-Perl to 'down grade' the fucker to my incompatible compiler, ergghhh.

I have also added highly unsupported Joystick code, but alas I cant get my linux joysitck driver working, wah...

The Corruptor has asked my to implement a IK+ style ball bouncing pattern generator, which I have happily takeup up, as this will be used in the Perl version as well as his highly funky javascript/dhtml version.. </URL?>

Thought about getting my hands on the mathengine (again) and seeing if, this time, a Perl wrapper was doable, it would involve getting down with SWIG. but it would be little to no physics calcs in perl, yet again, perl IS glue, of the super quick setting variety.

Anyway, I'm supposed to be working from home today, petrol crisis.......

Just watched "Shindlers List", wow...

Just landed, looks nice...
Just had two weeks 'holiday' after leaving my old programming/come monkey job, and what have I been doing before I start my new programming job, yep, coding, but coding cool stuff, and for fun. With the little I've slept it feels like I've had about a month off! (highly recommend it, if that's what flicks your switch though)
Today I've have been mostly coding my Perl sideways 'shoot'em up' example for the SDL Perl bindings. Many thanks to The Corruptor for supplying top quality graphics, yet again. I did manage to butcher some old ones I had laying around, sorry. Spent about 8 hrs coding so far, it's not quite there yet, no collsiion detection, should have knocked that out by about 2am-ish, I hope, must be up and about before the crack of noon tommorow, flat hunting and then of to Brighton for steak and beer...shlurp.
Uploaded development version of SDL-Perl, in which I added new features to support the shooter, and beyond, most notably was 'poly-finger' keypress support, and basic joystick support, cant test it though, linux driver not playing fair, doh.
Must dash, thinking much perl...ahhhhh

have fun and learn...