GP32 Delphi wrappers for SDK?

[Miktar]

I'm quite the capable Delphi developer (I've written a few RPGS, some Iso-engines and the occasional particle system and etc), and was wondering if anyone would be able to port the SDK to Delphi?

Please, no 'hah, only noobs use Delphi!' comments.

I want to develope for the GP32, but cannot do it with the current SDK.

 

[Nitro]

If you're capable of doing all that stuff in Delphi, I'm sure you'd be able to pick up C pretty quickly. Most stuff like that is pretty universial in how it's coded.. I shouldn't imagine you'd have too much trouble.

But to answer your question, no, there isn't a wrapper for to use Delphi with the SDK. It doesn't look like one is going to be created anytime soon, either :/

 

[Miktar]

Not really.

I could do all my graphics work in paint instead of photoshop, but it would take too long and be frustrating.

I use Delphi, because I -like- it and how it's structured as well as its syntax.

Ah well. One less gp32 developer.

 

[woogal]

Well to use your analogy, you'd like people to port the SDK to Paint (Delphi) even though there's a perfectly good Photoshop (C/C++) version already available

(I'm not knocking Delphi, I use it myself for quick jobs quite often, I just think your example was the wrong way round)

 

[Robster]

Hi Miktar,

It sounds like you are missing a big point here, which is that the GP32 is an embedded platform, and so it shares the same limitations as all embedded platforms: less choice of programming tools, generally more difficult debugging etc.

If you can find any embedded platforms that you can use Delphi to develop for, I'd be interested to hear about them. For the ability to develop for a wide range of platforms, C/C++ (and, generally, gcc) is the way to go.

So, one less Gp32 developer. C'est la vie. More importantly though, by refusing to leave Delphi you pretty much shut yourself away from doing any embedded development at all. And even though the GP32 scene needs every developer it can get, I think your loss is bigger than ours.

 

[Squidge]

I was a kind of Delphi developer myself, The first language I got for the PC was Visual Basic, and although it worked, and I liked the user interface, I hated the language itself. Quickly progressed to Delphi and found it an absolute joy to use - wrote many a windows program using it. I found it a lot easier than Microsoft Visual C++, which seemed to require hundreds of lines of coding for the most basic programs. Delphi has a UI like VB, as easy to create apps as VB, but had a powerful language behind it.

However, when Borland C++ Builder came out, I threw all the above in the dustbin - it's still as easy to use as VB/Delphi, but with the power of C++.

Of course from there, I jumped on the embedded platform bandwagon, which now includes the GP32 (which I bought not as a games machine, but as an introduction to the ARM processor strangely enough, but I know find myself with a SMC full of emulators, games, and even some bought commercial games).

Maybe Miktar is going through the same phase and one day he'll discover C++ Builder and fall in love with it as much as I did, and then progress on to C++ later.

However I must ask Miktar what he/she would do even if they had Delphi wrappers - how would you port the code to the GP32 afterwards, which only comes with a C/C++ compiler and ARM Assembler?

 

[Don Miguel]

delphi? HA!!!

i use it in some utilities

but it's impossible to wrap PASCAL to C++

we've made 2 SDK wrappers for Builder...

but forget about your idea
and start learning C

 

[Don Miguel]

err... actually.. it's possible

my friends run a company which sells

"pascal -> c++" "source wrappers"
but it is VERY expensive so forget it
and it isn't acceptable for your idea


there's another way...

just find some people and cooperate with 'em

al you need is your "game player" made in C

but you can use Delphi for the editor and stuff...

 

[purpenuk]

Hi,

I'm new to this forum, so hi everyone. I hope to get some games of my own going on the GP32 over the next few months, the versions I am working on now are written in Delphi using the SDL. I prefer Pascal, mainly cause I use it in my work, I write embedded ISP software mostly, not for the ARM chips though.

I hope to get the SDL code working in C using devkit, I haven't succedded yet, I need more time to fiddle with the install

My relavance to this discussion is that I know of a pascal compiler for Linux called FreePascal, that is very Delphi compatible, that is available as always on Linux with the sourcecode. If the object code could be generated wouldn't it be possible to use the current Cygwin code to link it into a GP32 compatible binary. I may be wrong but... I'm sure someone more knowledgable in such things would be able to do something with it.

I remember back 5 years ago someone starting to create a GCC compiler versions for the Atmel AVR chips, the amount of people who said that it was not possible. Its part of the proper GCC install with Linux now, nuff said

Thanks for listening, and I'll post more details of my projects as I get them up and running.

Bryan Whitehouse (software engineer)