MHGames » python

Getting tired of C++?

Mika — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 04:48:00 +0000

I’m starting to notice, that I’ve been probably spoiled beyond all redemption by the wonders of Java and Python. And by that, I mean the general relaxed feeling when developing, such as not having to deal with memory management* and so on. As I’ve been working with Java and Python all this spring (plus we use Java at work), now writing C++ for the sekrit projekt(tm) feels cumbersome.. Dealing with const references, virtual destructors, templates and whatnot just doesn’t have the same effect for me it once did.. What’s happening to me? Am I really getting tired of C++?

But wait! There’s more.. *bows head in shame*

I’ve been further tempted to the Dark Side by my very recent interest in Qt Jambi and LWJGL.. I mean, what the hell, is there really anything stopping me of doing the sekrit projekt(tm) in Java, using LWJGL and Qt Jambi for the editor (ooops, slipped that out!)? I think not!

So.. Perhaps we hear more about these shocking developments later on. Perhaps.

*) Incidentally, I’m doing my bachelor’s thesis on “Automatic Garbage Collection In Programming Languages”..

Qt 4.4 released + plans for summer

Mika — Thu, 08 May 2008 05:11:00 +0000

Qt 4.4 framework was recently released. Hopefully PyQT 4.4 soon follows. Qt just rocks. =) Having been working with Java Swing (*cough*h o r r i b l e*cough*) these last four months, Qt 4.4 brings some light to the end of the tunnel..

Now that that’s out of the table, I can talk a little about a project I’m perhaps going to do next summer. It’s about remaking CSSTint. While I think the current Windows version of CSSTint is quite nice, it’s still… well, Windows-only. While I am using wxWidgets, it’s still doesn’t work in Linux properly – I have tried. I’m doing some nasty, ugly hacks in the code, so no wonder. All this could probably be fixed, but for the sake of learning and for an interesting experience, I’ve been thinking of rewriting the whole shebang.

I’m sure I will use Qt for the job, but I’m still undecided between C++ and Python. Learning Python has been interesting for me, as I’ve blogged before. Python version would also work on Windows as is, which won’t hurt even if the original is also for Windows. On the other hand I could reuse some of my non-GUI CSSTint code if I went with C++.. Decisions, decisions…

Anyway, that’s my current plan – things might still change.

My adventures with Python / PyQT

Mika — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 12:26:00 +0000

First of all, let me just say that Python + PyQt just rocks.

I’ve been recently learning Python. Just for fun, basically. Additional benefit is that now I have a better understanding on how to cope with Zope/Plone at my work. Anyway, apart from the Zope/Plone stuff the first thing I did in Python was a command-line script that allows creation and handling of .mpk files that I’ve used in a couple of my games. MPK or MPak is a simple WAD-like format that stores all the game files in a single package file. I had a C++ CLI application that did the job, but it was really a piece of crap..

So I deciced to write a replacement for that app, in Python. The finished script (mpak.py) is much nicer to use and works better. I wrote it in Linux and it worked as is in Windows too – neat.

Then, I wanted to try GUI stuff and went with PyQt. I had a simple DVD collection management software called MyDVDCollection that I had written in .NET using C#. It worked, but was not too good either. So I began hacking away with PyQt and now I have PyDVDCollection (pretty clever names, huh? ) that I use for maintaining my collection. It has less code and more features than its .NET counterpart. It works in Linux, naturally, and also beautifully in Vista.

As you can probably tell, I’m very impressed with PyQt and the Python language, and I’ll be using them in the future as well. =)