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Topics - tinjaw [ switch to compact view ]

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201
From Bits du Jour : Tuesday, March 20: Screen Calipers - Here's a really handy little tool for measuring anything on your screen.

I have recommended this program in the past. I have been waiting for a DonationCoder discount on all three tools from Iconico. Maybe, if Screen Caliper does well at Bits du Jour, mouser can convince them to do a DC discount on a three-pack for us.  :Thmbsup:

202
General Software Discussion / WMHelp.com :: XMLPad 3
« on: March 13, 2007, 12:03 AM »
I have been playing with this sophisticated XML editor for the past half hour and it looks pretty good. I can't commit to it, but this seems worthy of a mini-review. This is definitely a contender for a top ten editor if it lives up to its potential. And it's freeware.

From their website:
XMLPad 3 new features:
-- XML Schema full support.
-- New and improved look & feel.
-- Project system with CVS support.
-- XML Schema editor with color syntax highlighting, line numbers, element range navigation, and context-dependent source assistant wizard.
-- Preview and printing XML Schema in graphical diagram window. The diagram is synchronized with XML Schema editor.
-- XML Schema documentation generation (ws3p.xsl) with diagram images.
-- XML Schema validation and XML files validation against the underlying XML Schemas.
-- Very big schemas (such as uccnet or xCBL35) use XML Schema binary cache in their implementation that mitigated
performance issues in validation and analysis. Every schema used in validation is compiled in binary format
on first use and later could be loaded from cache.
-- Generation of XML samples from XML schema or a sample of XML Schema from XML file. Converting XSD to DTD and DTD to XSD.
-- Schema component renaming (refactoring), navigation between schema components (Goto definition/Goto reference)
and navigation from XML data to appropriate schema component.
-- Regular expression builder and enumeration builder.
-- Schema-aware XSLT editor and debugger with Active script support.
-- Support for JAXB and Castor binding.
-- HTML & DBF import.

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203
Living Room / AAAAAwwwwwwhhhhhhhhh
« on: March 05, 2007, 01:16 PM »
xkcd is extra funny today. (Sorry mouser, but a screenshot would ruin the surprise.)

204
Living Room / Rebuilding My Laptop
« on: February 10, 2007, 06:25 AM »
I put MS Windows Vista on my laptop and kept it on there for about a day. Nothing to see here. Move along.

I have decided to rebuilt the laptop after wiping it clean and installing MS Windows XP Home SP2. However, I am going to try and heavily tune it for software development. PYTHON ROCKS! By that I mean that I intend to turn off every service that isn't needed while developing software. Uninstalling all the software that is extraneous and just taking up hard drive space. Removing all non-essential programs from the startup group and the matching registry locations, etc.

I am then going to install my "favorite" "best of breed" applications and image the drive.

I am going to try to keep a decent journal of what I install and maybe write up a short blog post on what I install.

What I want to know from my fellow DCers, is what online resources have you personally used (not just ones that you are aware of) when determining what services can be safely disabled, what programs can safely be shutdown, and what extraneous chunks of Windows itself can be uninstalled?

205
Living Room / How To Install KnowledgebasePublisher On Your Site
« on: February 06, 2007, 07:40 PM »
Hmmm, that author's name looks familiar.  ;)

How To Install KnowledgebasePublisher On Your Site is one of the recent HowTos on HowtoForge.

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206
Developer's Corner / The wxAUI Library
« on: February 03, 2007, 11:30 AM »
wxAUI is an open-source advanced user interface library that aims to make it easy to implement "cutting-edge" interface usability and design features for wxWidgets applications.

I was poking around this morning looking at various bits of Python stuff and I came across wxPython's wrapper around wx.aui. I am a fan of Eclipse RCP and this looks like an attempt to build something similar via wxWidgets. wxAUI uses the concept of a "perspective" in a manner similar to RCP. There are panels which can easily be dragged and repositioned. I'm going to try using it on one of my smaller apps.

wx.aui is similar to wxDockIt.

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207
I have used FolderMatch in the past and was very happy with it. I have only stopped using it because I now own Beyond Compare thanks to a DonationCoder discount. If you don't need the extra functionality of Beyond Compare, I highly recommend picking up a copy of FolderMatch today from Bits du Jour.

208
Developer's Corner / Educational Videos on JavaScript from Yahoo
« on: January 28, 2007, 07:10 AM »
If you are thinking about getting started with JavaScript programming, there are a series of videos of presentations made at Yahoo. The ones by Douglas Crockford will give you a good overview of JavaScript and then watch the one about Firebug when you are ready to start coding yourself. Firebug is an awesome tool and another fine example of free software being the best of breed.

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209
Developer's Corner / Tao Framework
« on: January 28, 2007, 06:31 AM »
The Tao Framework should be a great deal of help for .NET and Mono game developers.

What is the Tao Framework?

The Tao Framework provides .NET and Mono bindings to various native libraries, including OpenGL, SDL, Cg, DevIL, ODE, OpenAL, Lua, and more.
  • The Tao Framework is useful. It provides a number of libraries to help you produce your application quickly and effectively, whether you're creating a cutting-edge game, a graphics demo, a data visualization application, or an audio application, there's something for every developer.
  • The Tao Framework is easy to use. Tao provides bindings for a number of well-known libraries. All the examples and documentation available for the native libraries is valid when using Tao. Now you can develop with these libraries in the managed code environment.
  • The Tao Framework is standard. The libraries provided in the Tao Framework include Cg, DevIL, FreeGLUT, ODE, OpenAL, OpenGL, and SDL. Each of these is well-known and widely used. Tao strives to bring you the exact functionality provided in these libraries, with the same syntax and usage, within the manged code environment.
  • The Tao Framework is open source. All source code for the libraries and examples is freely available and licensed under the very liberal MIT license.
  • The Tao Framework is language-neutral. The Tao libraries work with any .NET language, including C# and Visual Basic .NET, amongst many others.
  • The Tao Framework is cross-platform. Tao works with the .NET and Mono platforms. As such, Tao Framework applications can run on a variety of operating systems.
  • The Tao Framework is supported. There are a number of developers working with and working on the Tao Framework. Development has proceeded for a couple of years and continues to move forward.

Tao Framework
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210
Find And Run Robot / Humanized Enzo
« on: January 26, 2007, 05:48 AM »
I must confess, this may have already been mentioned already, I didn't check. I watched a short video on Enzo here and thought that it might be worth looking at further to see if there is anything that can be incorporated into FARR.

211
Developer's Corner / SQLite Administrator
« on: January 21, 2007, 01:06 AM »
I've been working with SQLite the past few days and I needed a GUI administrative tool. Most of them turned out to be US$60-$600. I did find this free gem among them.


SQLite Administrator is a powerful tool if you easily want to create, design or administrate SQLite database files. The SQL code editor helps you to quickly write sql queries with features such as code completion and highlighting. Both major versions of SQLite database files are supported by SQLite Administrator.
Features:

    * Create / Modify / Delete Tables by Wizard
    * Create / Modify / Delete Indices by Wizard
    * Create / Modify / Delete Views by Wizard
    * Create / Modify / Delete Triggers by Wizard
    * SQL Code Completion that supports table aliases
    * SQL Code Highlighting
    * SQL Error Locating
    * Import Data from CSV Files
    * Export Data ( XLS / CSV / HTML / XML )
    * Store User Queries into Database
    * Search for User Queries
    * Store Images into Blob Fields ( JPG / BMP )
    * Show SQL of each Database Item
    * Migrate SQLite2 Databases to SQLite3
    * Try to keep Indices and Triggers after modifying a Table

Supported Languages:

    * German
    * English
    * French - [by Stephane Wierzbicki]
    * Portugues (BR) - [by mamede]
    * Spanish - [by Jenaro Centeno Gómez]
    * Dutch - [by Johan Samyn]
    * Simplified Chinese - [by Zuo Weiming]
    * Russian - [by Ormada]
    * Polish - [by Piotr Drozdowski]
    * Italian - [by Paolo Paniga]
    * Hungarian - [by Zsolt]
    * Norwegian - [by Glenn O Larsen]
    * Turkish - [by Ismail Ata KURT]
    * Czech - [by Robert Hroch]

Supported Operating Systems:

    * Windows 2000
    * Windows XP
    * Windows Vista


212
Developer's Corner / Microsoft Log Parser 2.2
« on: January 19, 2007, 12:08 PM »
I rolled upon this today and tucked it away for a rainy day. It looks like it could be an easy way to add some powerful log creation and parsing capabilities to Windows apps.

Log parser is a powerful, versatile tool that provides universal query access to text-based data such as log files, XML files and CSV files, as well as key data sources on the Windows® operating system such as the Event Log, the Registry, the file system, and Active Directory®.  You tell Log Parser what information you need and how you want it processed. The results of your query can be custom-formatted in text based output, or they can be persisted to more specialty targets like SQL, SYSLOG, or a chart.  Most software is designed to accomplish a limited number of specific tasks. Log Parser is different... the number of ways it can be used is limited only by the needs and imagination of the user.  The world is your database with Log Parser.

The Unofficial Log Parser Support Site
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213
Living Room / Looking For A Short Entertaining Distraction?
« on: January 18, 2007, 08:49 AM »
If a picture is worth a thousand words, how much is a picture with words worth?

indexed
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214
Developer's Corner / Py++
« on: January 13, 2007, 09:18 AM »
As I learn more and more python, I am starting to branch out into other areas. Today I am researching how to utilize the gargantuan amounts of C++ code that is already out in the wild. I may have stumbled upon a silver bullet with the combination of Py++ and Boost.Python.

The process becomes one of putting the C++ source code through Py++ to generate the code necessary to utilize Boost.Python. The end result is C++ code that is easily utilized by pythonistas in a pythonic manner.

What is Py++?

Definition:

    Py++ is an object-oriented framework for creating a code generator for Boost.Python library.

Py++ uses few different programming paradigms to help you to expose C++ declarations to Python. This code generator will not stand on your way. It will guide you through the whole process. It will raise warnings in the case you are doing something wrong with a link to the explanation. And the most important it will save your time - you will not have to update code generator script every time source code is changed.
Code generation process

Boost.Python library allows you to expose C++ code to Python in quick and elegant way. Code generation process, using Py++ consists from few steps. Next paragraphs will tell you more about every step.

Features list

    * Py++ support almost all features found in Boost.Python library
    * Py++ generates code, which will help you to understand compiler generated error messages
    * Py++ has few modes of writing code into files:
          o single file
          o multiple files
          o multiple files, where single class code is split to few files
    * Py++ will save your compilation time - it will rewrite a file, only in case of change
    * You have full control over generated code. Your code could be inserted almost anywhere.
    * Your license is written at the top of every file
    * Py++ will check the "completeness" of the bindings. It will check for you that the exposed declarations don't have references to unexposed ones.
    * Py++ provides enough functionality to extract source code documentation and write it as Python documentation string
    * Py++ provides simple and powerful framework to create a wrapper for functions, which could not be exposed as is to Python.
    * ...

215
From the book's author's website:

Secret Goal (i.e. why I wrote this book and am giving it away for free online)
I want this book to help bring more people into the Linux kernel development fold. The act of building a customized kernel for your machine is one of the basic tasks needed to become a Linux kernel developer. The more people that try this out, and realize that there is not any real magic behind the whole Linux kernel process, the more people will be willing to jump in and help out in making the kernel the best that it can be.

License
This book is available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5 license. That means that you are free to download and redistribute it. The development of the book was made possible, however, by those who purchase a copy from O'Reilly or elsewhere.


216
Developer's Corner / Writing Arinoid using pyGame (4 ShowMeDo videos)
« on: January 10, 2007, 08:37 AM »
from gmane.comp.python.announce

Summary:
Chuck Arellano created 4 pyGame videos during 2006 which show the
viewer how to build an Arinoid (Arkanoid-like) game clone.  Full src
and graphics are provided:
http://showmedo.com/...ArellanoPyGameSeries

Detail:
Chuck produced the videos and is considering completing the set
by producing the 5th (and final) video.  If you like his efforts,
would you leave a comment on one of the pyGame pages encouraging
him to complete the set?  All authors like to know that their
work is valued!

About ShowMeDo.com:
Free videos (we call them ShowMeDos) showing you how to do things. 
The videos are made by us and our users, for everyone.  56 of our
122 videos are for Python, with more to come.

We'd love to have more contributions - would you share what you know?

The founders,
Ian Ozsvald, Kyran Dale

http://ShowMeDo.com

217
Developer's Corner / GameMonkey Script
« on: January 09, 2007, 08:57 PM »
While searching for information on Lua, I stumbled up on the website for GameMonkey Script.

What is GameMonkey Script?
GameMonkey is a embedded scripting language that is intended for use in game and tool applications. GameMonkey is however suitable for use in any project requiring simple scripting support. GameMonkey borrows concepts from Lua (www.lua.org), but uses syntax similar to C, making it more accessible to game programmers. GameMonkey also natively supports multithreading and the concept of states.

218
Developer's Corner / XNA Magic
« on: January 08, 2007, 08:14 AM »
There is a new kid on the block- XNA Magic. It looks like it is the first game engine built from the ground up for Microsoft's XNA technology. I have requested to be part of the beta. I'll report in if I get in.

From their website:
XNA Magic is the first all-in-one game development system designed from the ground up to take full advantage of the brand new Microsoft XNA platform.

Providing an extensible game engine, level editor, particle system design surface, logic editor, script editor and a great deal more, XNA Magic is designed to be both complete and easy to use.

As well as the core engine that is designed to work on both Windows® XP and the XBox 360, XNA Magic features a fully dynamic design time environment that allows you to see changes to all your game components, shaders and assets in real time.

XNA Magic is not a port of an existing engine, it is a complete solution designed around the brand new XNA Framework. It is therefore completely shader based throughout and has no ties to a fixed function past.

What’s more, unlike many engines that require you to modify the engine source, XNA Magic takes a highly granular approach. You can choose to dip in and use whatever aspects you need and no more. Scenes you create in the development environment can be run standalone or exported as a components that you can call from your own code.


219
Developer's Corner / gameswf
« on: January 07, 2007, 01:47 PM »
As we are doing all of our game development we often mix and match technologies. I came across this today and thought others besides myself might be interested in it. It is only Alpha code at this point, but reportedly some people have used it in production apps.

gameswf (pronounced "game swiff") is an open source Public Domain library for parsing and rendering SWF movies, using 3D hardware APIs for rendering. It is designed to be used as a UI library for computer and console games.

It is written in C++, and compiles under Windows, Mac OSX and Linux, using GCC and MSVC. It includes code for rendering with OpenGL. The rendering module is factored out so that you can port to other APIs.

It is currently being maintained as a semi-autonomous part of my personal tu-testbed project on SourceForge.

The biggest benefit of using SWF as a file format for game UIs is the availability of high quality authoring tools (like Macromedia Flash MX) and the large number of talented designers who have expertise with these tools. The SWF format is not perfectly suited for game UIs, but it's not bad, and my hope is that gameswf will help improve the quality of game UIs while reducing the effort that goes into making them.

gameswf
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220
Developer's Corner / How To Create Games Incredibly Fast
« on: January 05, 2007, 07:51 PM »
Although I have been a proponent of RAD and heavy prototyping for years I can always use a little reminder every now and then. Today I got a good one from GameProducer.Net

How To Create Games Incredibly Fast
Extreme programming contains some principles that are good in prototyping: “make frequent small releases” and “leave optimization till last”. Both of these tips fit well for making prototypes or small games. I believe that making the core gameplay really fast - a prototype of a game - is a path to building games fast.



221
Found Deals and Discounts / Game du Jour
« on: January 04, 2007, 08:45 AM »
Following in the footsteps of Bits du Jour is Game du Jour

What is Game du Jour?

Game du Jour is the first “One Deal a Day” website for casual PC games. Every day of the week, GameDuJour.com sells one popular downloadable game at a steep discount. But the clock is ticking and each deal expires at the end of the day.

Visitors to GameDuJour.com can download today’s game, try it and buy it at a big discount until midnight Central Time. Then it’s a whole new game — the clock is reset and another game is available at a bargain price.

To foster relationships between gamers and spur communication, Game du Jour offers a community area in which anyone can join in the fun of discussing the current game and sharing tips and tricks.

Game du Jour, a Silicon Valley start-up founded by Dr. Philippe Piernot, is a marketing and distribution partner to game developers, giving those companies the opportunity for a rush of sales and heightened brand exposure during their products’ 24-hour lifecycle at GameDuJour.com.
What kind of games do you sell?

We sell casual games for Windows such as solitaire games (e.g. Freecell, Mahjong etc.), puzzle games (e.g. Sudoku, jigsaws etc.), card games (e.g. Poker, Hearts etc.), classic games (e.g. Chess, Checkers etc.) and arcade games (e.g. PacMan, Arkanoid etc.)

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222
Friday, January 12: ClipMate - This is how the clipboard should work!! Multiple clips, choose your own format, strip newlines, screen capture, autotext, and a lot more useful stuff. Be sure to check this one out - you won't be sorry!

Just a note to let you know that this excellent programs will be coming up next week. I highly recommend this program. I have been using it for over a year and don't know what I would do without it.

223
Accessibility Game Contest / Asteroids of Orion
« on: January 02, 2007, 12:30 AM »
I have submitted my entry for the contest. There are still many things I wanted to fix, but version 1.0.3 is what I have at this point. I hope you have as much fun playing it as I did making it.

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I am off to get some sleep. But when I awake I will begin work on the 1.1 update that I have in the works.

224
Asteroids of Orion - v1.0.0 - December 31, 2006

Final submission version for Accessibility Games Contest!
One-Click Game: Core gameplay, levels, menu, high score list.

WHAT IT DOES:

A one-click version of Asteroids, placing you in command of a
nuclear-armed, nuclear-propelled spacecraft!

Press the spacebar to fire a bomb; release the spacebar to detonate
the bomb.  The distance between the bomb and your ship determines the
amount of thrust the bomb provides to the ship.  The distance from the
bomb to the asteroids determines the damage done to the asteroids.

Remember: We guarantee that each of our spacecraft contains at
least
1.3 megatons of Nuclear Fun - or we'll return every Zongfrib
you paid!

SCREENSHOT:

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PREVIOUS RELEASES:
Asteroids of Orion - v0.91.00 - December 22, 2006

Initial contest release.
Contained only core gameplay.

225
As I work on my game I am curious what resources are out there for developers in search of sounds, music, graphics, icons, video, etc for their applications. I am only aware of a few.


What other websites out there are you folks aware of?

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