[plug] Linux Gaming Question

[Peter Wright]

On Wed, Oct 24, 2001 at 03:06:02AM +0000, Clinton Butler wrote:
> _isn't_ a free source program.

Okay.

> > And assuming you _can_ get the source code, how well do you know C++?
> > :)
> 
> I don't personally know C++ but I have a lot of reference material and 
> could pick it up quickly (I did the same for JavaScript).

I admire your optimism at least. :)

Sorry, I'm not meaning to put you down if it sounds like I am. It's just
that... well... C++ is considered one of the more complex (if not the most
complex) of the mainstream programming languages out there[0]. A different
kettle of fish entirely from Javascript (although the basic syntax will
look similar, from what I remember of Javascript).

Its (C++'s) main saving grace is that (similarly to Perl) you don't need to
learn _all_ of it to program useful stuff. Hell, a lot of C++ programmers
never use templates or the STL (standard template library) at all, which is
one of the trickier areas. You can even write well-behaved C code and it
will compile quite happily under a C++ compiler.

C++ can be described as multi-paradigmatic (assuming "paradigmatic" is a
word), in that you can use it to do object-oriented programming, generic
programming, straightforward procedural programming, and even functional
(eg.  Lisp/Scheme - to a very limited extent) programming. It is a complex
language, but damn it is a powerful one.

> > (I mean, how do you measure difficulty anyway?).
> 
> Okay.. I was refering to time and effort.

I couldn't really guess - it would depend so much on the state of the code
(and the size of the code) as well as the other factors below.

> > If, however, the Windows app uses libraries that are simply not available
> > on Linux, you'd have to literally rewrite large portions of the code to 
[ ... ]
> I don't know right now.. but I can get hold of the information.

Good idea. :)

> > Okay, after all that negativity :), I just want to ask - why on earth
> > do you not want to use Wine?
[ ... ]
> I have not had a very good experience with wine as it never wants to 
> agree with me.
> 
> > Have you _tried_ to install and run the app using Wine?
[ ... ]
> See above

You haven't been able to get anything working using Wine, then?

Well I guess I'm not surprised that you'd rather avoid Wine if your
experience with it has been mainly (or entirely) failure. I felt the same
way for a while - it took me a looong time (over a year) of trying many
different versions before I was able to get a version of Wine running
Half-Life, and I found it a bloody frustrating experience. However, now I
have worked out most of my problems with Wine and find it very effective
for running quite a few Windows applications.

Perhaps you could bring your machine in to a meeting sometime and arrange
for some of the PLUG/Wine gurus to have a bash at it. Actually, now I think
about it, I might try downloading the game you mention and see if I can get
it working under Wine. I'll let you know.

Pete.

[0] But don't let me put you off learning it - after all (as Calvin's dad
says) it'll build character. :)
-- 
http://akira.apana.org.au/~pete/

-- 
A computer without COBOL and Fortran is like a piece of chocolate cake
without ketchup and mustard.