Coding


mainnine

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I know there are topics on this already, but are there any tips for someone who wants to get into coding for the gp2x with NO PRIOR experience? :huh:
 
if you want python read this:http://www.hetland.org/python/instant-hacking.php
and then read this:http://www.pygame.org/docs/tut/chimp/ChimpLineByLine.html

pretty good tutorials. I'm currently reading the top link.
 
Do you have NO coding experience at all, or just no coding experience for the GP2X?
Do you just want to make simple games? Or something more substantial?
Fenix would be good if you just wanna make something simple.
Otherwise C++/SDL.
 
Hanz™ posted on Mar 4 2006 at 07:30 PM said:
Do you have NO coding experience at all, or just no coding experience for the GP2X?

Ok well years ago I did some visual basic and have now forgotten it, and thats about the extent of my knowledge lmao :blink:

I would like to start out simple obviously, but with the aim of moving to making something more substantial
 
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mainnine posted on Mar 4 2006 at 07:44 PM said:
Ok well years ago I did some visual basic and have now forgotten it, and thats about the extent of my knowledge lmao :blink:
I learned visual basic first as well, and it was a BIG mistake, whatever you do, do NOT go back to visual basic.

mainnine posted on Mar 4 2006 at 07:44 PM said:
I would like to start out simple obviously, but with the aim of moving to making something more substantial
If you only want to learn one language, you should probably learn c/c++ with SDL
However, you could learn fenix or python and once you understand that move up to c/c++.
For learning c/c++, try http://www.cprogramming.com/
After learning c/c++, try learning SDL following the tutorials at http://lazyfooproductions.com/SDL_tutorials/index.php

I am new to c/c++ and SDL as well and I managed to make a pretty complete game for the gp2x 2006 competition in less than two weeks (although I spent every free second I got working on it). The code is very sloppy because I cut a couple corners due to the time limit of the competition, but this doesn't affect gameplay much.


Hope this helps,
-ben
 
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I would like to start out simple obviously, but with the aim of moving to making something more substantial
Learn the majority of C++ (well the basic stuff - loops pointers etc...) and then learn some SDL.
 
mainnine posted on Mar 4 2006 at 06:32 PM said:
I know there are topics on this already, but are there any tips for someone who wants to get into coding for the gp2x with NO PRIOR experience? :huh:

I've just started to learn Fenix and I'm finding the results very gratifying indeed. My only coding knowledge was PHP (like you, I learned a bit of C++ in uni but I remember NOT A THING...I still try to actively erase that whole experience from my memory *shudder*) and I managed to get a crappy robotron clone up and running within the space fo a day.

Fenix might not be as versatile as C++/SDL, but it's an excellent starting point and you can get some really surprising results. I do plan to learn C++ somewhere down the line, but at this moment in time it's just way too daunting for my tiny mind...
 
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Is it worth me installing something like Yellow Dog Linux on my Mac and having a duel boot system? I don't have access to a Windows machine anymore, so would Linux be best with the aim of coding for the GP2X? :huh:
 
mainnine posted on Mar 5 2006 at 06:29 AM said:
Is it worth me installing something like Yellow Dog Linux on my Mac and having a duel boot system? I don't have access to a Windows machine anymore, so would Linux be best with the aim of coding for the GP2X? :huh:

Go there and decide for yourself:
http://wiki.gp2x.org/wiki/Getting_started_...P2X_development
http://wiki.gp2x.org/wiki/Development_Tutorials

For choice of the first language I suggest strongly Python. It doesn't need the compilation stage, has fairly good implementation for GP2x with pygame (SDL bindings) and perfomance for game logic or small aps is good enough. Even better the Python will allow you to get grip on concept such like lists, functional programming, object programming much quicker than C++ possibly can.

Because Python has binary logic operators too you might even prototype assembler code in it (it might sounds strange but I'm doing so constantly and with excellent results).

It's also valid aproach to write prototype of program in Python, test it on the PC then rewrite to C.
 
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I would choose python as well, it is really easy to code and read, (without these mass of brackets like in java) astonishingly robust and versatile, i'd also say it's fast, and you can even bind it to C++ via pygame (also ported to the gp2x, tough I have no idea how to use it).
C(++) looks like horror, python is definately a higher-lvl language ad thus easier to learn.
 
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