It targets free pascal only.

But don't let that stop you, as fp has added a lot of new language features like:

• implcit/explict conversions
• Value types can have methods, operators, and everything a class can have (except virtual methods, interface implementation)
• extension methods (again applies to value types as well as classes)
• c++ style operators (++,--,+=.*=, ect)
• operator overloading
• inlining code
• generics with constraints
• much improved reflection (they call it rtti)
• managed types (dynamic arrays, interfaces, dynamics)
• and a lot more

It also is native code which is great for interfacing with the open source software it is build on (sdl2, opengl, openssl, libxml). Direct memory pixel (use for sprite collision) or vertex buffer (vertex data is a pointer to a user defined data in memory) access is very easy.

Also it includes the Lazarus IDE which I briefly overview in this video, includes stepping into dlls C code where you can see what the other open source frameworks are doing:

http://www.baregame.org/#topic_using_lazarus

I've been working on project which recreates an XNA style game toolkit, except for every (soon!) platform.  I thought maybe this long holiday weekend some people somewhere might look at it and give me feedback (watch the video):

http://www.baregame.org/

The class library written around SDL 2.0 and optionally includes a compiler+IDE as well as recent binaries of SDL 2.0 for 32/64 bit Windows an Linux.

And when I say modern I mean the library features a lot of C# ness to it (even though it's not C#) ...

e.g.

TEventHandler<T> = procedure(Sender: TObject; var Args: T) of object;
IBitmap = interface(IClonable<IBitmap>)
TPointF = record public class operator Implicit(const Value: TPointI): TPointF;
TMatrix4x4 = record public class operator Multiply(const A: TMatrix4x4; const B: TVec3): TVec3; overload;

namespace Bare.System:

https://github.com/sysrpl/Bare.Game/blob/master/source/bare.game.pas

If you look at the site, please bear in mind i haven't had time to write up everything yet. Let me know what you think.

I also re-install about a year or every other year. I've had these problems constantly on a lot of machines, and most of the people at my work who I've discussed this with have similar experiences.

I guess I could screen record some videos on a few different machines if people don't believe me.

Anecdotal examples:

I just tried to copy some files (4580 to be exact) from my documents another folder and Windows just sat there displaying a "Caclulating File Copy Time" dialog for 10 minutes. I eventually gave up, opened a cmd prompt and type "copy * \path\to\put. Cmd did the copy in less than 20 seconds.

Yesterday I needed to delete about 500 files. Selecting all files in explorer then pressing Shift+Delete (to bypass the recycle bin), Windows stood on a "Preparing to Delete Files" dialog for 20 seconds. I pressed cancel, opened a cmd prompt and typed "delete *". It took 1 second to do the delete that way.

On my home media PC with Windows 8, every time I open my downloads folder (which has maybe 100 files), I have to wait 5-10 seconds while explorer considers showing me a list of files/folders (I have detail view on with filename, size, and date shown). If I navigate to a subfolder (a movie folder) and back up again, I have to wait another 5-10 seconds all over again. It's so damn annoying.

I think a lot of these slow problems are related to MS trying to make some digital files uncopyable (DRM causes slow file copies, rename, or deletes), which given the problems I had working with explorer since Vista was released, seems like a very big mistake by MS.

What are your thoughts/experience with slow explorer operations on Vista onwards?

11 hours ago, evildictait​or wrote

I must have missed that. Perhaps if you enumerated a couple of AAA games from 2012 or 2013 on any major platform (by which I mean PC, PS3, Wii, Xbox) that chose OpenGL that would help make your point that OpenGL is popular with games developers.

The question wasn't about what title/hardware was used last year, but what is coming in the road ahead.

PS4 moved PSGL, a Sony version of OpenGL ES, away from riding on top of LibGMC and implements their new version of PSGL natively. Wii U's graphics interface is a fully compliant OpenGL 4.1 system.

All the OSX, iPhone/iPad, Android games use OpenGL. The primary graphics programming interface for the upcoming Ouya and Steambox consoles is OpenGL, same with Raspberry Pi.

Value hired the original SDL author last year, and a pretty spiffy and new SDL 2.0 had its ABI locked on Friday. SDL 2.0 brings in a unified OpenGL system and now loads the appropriate OpenGL library for whatever platform you are targeting, as well as providing much improved OpenGL extension querying and loading support. Valve is actively porting their source engine powered titles, both new and old, to this new system while working with hardware makers and the SDL 2.0 team to improve everything all around.

Most all browsers have some support for WebGL, and people have found WebGL support in new versions of Microsoft's IE.

Then there is the new commitment from hardware vendors to actually improve OpenGL performance for their chips, since a lot of mobile devices use their chips and almost universally rely on OpenGL for games. There are new display managers under development and already working for Linux devices (and also Linux desktops) which are compatible with these improved drivers. Projects have been combined with these new display managers and SDL for big screen applications (XBMC, Steam Big Picture, OpenShot)

Finally, OpenGL actually provides much better performance in cases over Direct3D.

Live Demo Here

Xamarin also announced new free and individual developer versions.

Part of the sales pitch Xamarin offered in the past is the easy of use and much simplified code reduction their C# libraries provide above and beyond Objective-C and Java. This new version much improves their tooling, according to Xamarin.

My question to everyone here is, have you tried using C# or the Xamarin products to develop mobile applications for iPhone or Android? If so, what was your experience, and if not what has kept you from trying and using Xamarin mobile development tools?

I'll answer first: No I haven't tried Xamarin studio previously because their lowest price was $999 and I have a strong bias against paid developer tools having had experienced Borland Delphi.

1 hour ago, Ian2 wrote

The new WinRT stuff is just Silverlight by another name, and closer to the metal to boot. 

IMO it is just politics that it isn't called "Silverlight.RT" or some such.

Except WinRT apps don't work in a variety of browsers they only work on Windows 8, they cannot run along with the desktop, require submission and approval from Microsoft to run, and Microsoft takes 30% of any money generated from your app.

And as far a "closer to the metal" goes, you're the first person I've heard describe Windows 8 Metro apps as "closer to the metal".

Microsoft killed off Silverlight.net this week. The Silverlight gallery is gone along with the Silverlight blogs, and 90% of the video training series as Microsoft prepares to kill off Siverlight.

From the comments:

The biggest mistake Microsoft made was to stop developing VB6. Everything after that has been a failure.

I agree that Microsoft stopping development of VB6 was a huge mistake.

I figure the computer controlled part of that setup could be built using an arduino and one of the many cheap and small touch screen LCDs available today.

<!DOCTYPE HTML>
<html>
<body>
<script type="text/javascript">
// a few example easings

function linear(percent) { return percent; }
function easy(percent) { return percent * percent * (3.0 - 2.0 * percent); }

var negcospi = 1.61803398874989;

function snap(percent) {
    percent = percent * percent;
    percent = (percent * 1.4) - 0.2;
    return 0.5 - Math.cos(Math.PI * percent) / negcospi;
}

function time() {
  return new Date().getTime() / 1000;
}

// the animate routine

function animate(element, easing, duration, onanimate, ondone, start) {
  start = start == null ? time() : start;
  window.setTimeout(function() {
    var percent = (time() - start) / duration;
    var done = percent >= 1.0;
    if (done) {
        onanimate(element, 1.0);
        if (ondone) {
            ondone(element);
        }
    } else {
        onanimate(element, easing(percent));
        animate(element, easing, duration, onanimate, ondone, start);
    }
  }, 5);
}

// our onanimate callback and a play function

function move(element, percent) {
  element.style.left = 2000 * percent + "px";
}

function play() {
  animate(document.getElementById("red"), snap, 2.0, move);
}
</script>
<div id="red" style="background: red; position: relative; width: 100px; height: 100px;"></div>
<button onclick="play()">Play</button>
</body>
</html>

1 hour ago, dahat wrote

#Romnesia brought to you by the same man who was against gay marriage and the individual mandate before he was for them

So you are upset that Obama wasn't for marriage equality sooner, is that your complaint? How does supporting Republicans, who traditionally attack gays, advance that cause?

Obama said that raising the national debt by 4 trillion in 8 years was unpatriotic... but 5.5 trillion (so far) in less than 4

I'm not sure where that attribution is sourced, but I thought you'd like to know that there was this market collapse brought on by the last Republican administration which wrecked our economy. I know a lot of morons worship the altar of free market economics, but that's not how the world works. People with money and power game the system to recursively extend their control, and the Republicans are the party that caters to the rich who want more money and power.

and bravely took a stand against military engagements without congressional oversight... until he became the first President to violate the War Powers Act.

Yeah right. Hey I'm not a friend of Obama, but I think everyone agrees that Republicans are war hawks (chicken hawks). That is, they are more accepting of going to war, funding defense contractors, and are in greater favor of using our army/bombs/might to attack people across the globe. 

You're saying you don't like military engagements, so ... vote Republican? This makes zero sense.

"If you don't have any fresh ideas, then you use stale tactics to scare the voters. If you don't have a record to run on, then you paint your opponent as someone people should run from. You make a big election about small things."  – Barack Obama

Wow, talk about using the wrong context. What you quoted above was Obama describing the modus operandi of the Republicans who were criticizing him. You attempted to flip the meaning to the opposite. It's quite telling that you are so eager to disinform others.

http://doyouhaveromnesia.us

Materials and personal required:

1 security expert who can sweep the embassy for bugs
1 person of the same height and approximate weight as Julian Assange
1 highly skilled special effects makeup artist
1 car driver and car
1 diplomat and airplane prepped for an international flight

A brief description of the plan:

A person (the visitor) not looking at all like Julian Assange, but of his same height and approximate weight, regularly makes short daily "in and out" visits the Ecuadorian embassy in Britain. If the police routinely see the visitor entering and leaving the embassy everyday and allow him to come and go unmolested then one day the visitor stops showing up and Assange has escaped.

How it works:

All principles are given the details of the escape plan including, a special effects makeup artist, a visitor, a driver, a diplomat.

A security expert begins making regular trips to the Embassy to make sure it is free of ease dropping or spy equipment. Equipment which make have been secretly installed by the British authorities. Keeping the activities of individuals inside the Ecuadorian secret is important for any escape plan to work.

A person, the visitor, is to be interviewed selected based on secret confidence and his Julian Assange matching height and weight. A confidential make up artists meets with the visitor takes photos, does his studies, then visits the Ecuadorian embassy to do the same with Assange.

The visitor then begins to make regular, short daily visits to the Ecuadorian embassy, and unbeknownst to the police, acclimating them to his regular short visits. A week or so later the makeup artist begins making trips to the embassy where he stays overnight, again acclimating the police to his routine.

A duplicate pair of clothing purchased. One set is given to the visitor, the other is worn by the makeup artist underneath his clothing.

The day before the planned escape the makeup artist goes to the Embassy as usual. He begins the process of transforming Assange into the visitor. Care and time is taken to make certain Assange looks absolutely identical to the visitor.

Then next morning Assange changes into the duplicate set of clothing delivered by the makeup artist. The visitor arrives at the Embassy wearing the same outfit, looking identical to the transformed Assange. A final touch up to is made to Assange when he and the visitor are side by side, hidden in private inside the Embassy.

After a few minutes, per usual, the visitor leaves the embassy. But this time it is not the visitor, it is Assange disguised as the visitor.

Both the makeup artist and the real visitor remain hidden (out of sight of any windows) inside the embassy until Assange has arrived in Ecuador.

Assange in disguise walks down the street and is picked up by the driver. He is driven to a private airport with a plane and diplomat waiting. He boards the plane along with the diplomat, making the plane a diplomatic plane, and leaves Britain flying towards Ecuador.

How the plain might fail:

If the police stop and interview everyone entering and leaving, regardless of their visit frequency then this plan will not work. Assange will not be arrested, but it will be known to the principles that the plan cannot go forward and should be aborted.

If someone leaks the details of the plans to the British authorities then the plan will fail. The confidence of the principles and secrecy of the plan is paramount.

If the British employ spy techniques greater than those that can be resolved by the security expert, the plan may be revealed, possibly leading to the capture of Assange.

For those not familiar with XAF, I'll try to summarize what it is. XAF is a commercial business application framework sold/developed by DevExpress which integrates their suite of windows or web controls (you get to choice to build your app as a web app or windows forms app at any time). You write your application by typing out .NET ORM classes (they have a ton of keyboard macros to make this task ultra fast and correct), and XAF attempts to build an entire end to end application for you using modules such as security, reporting, charts, input validation, audit history and more ...

If it worked correctly the great things about it would be that a developer could write business classes and get a bunch of functionality right out of the shoe. Features such as user login, user profiles/back end user management, fairly fully featured ORM class level security, visual record filtering, google like record searching, grid sorting/grouping, pivot charts, validation of input and so on (and actually quite a lot more stuff) all provided to you, the developer, nearly automatically. And if it worked correctly the idea would be that all projects from everyone using XAF would share a well tested/performant codebase, and easy or nearly automatic drop in access to many business application features.

Unfortunately the problem with XAF is scalability (the web version struggles when you add 4 or more users), performance, complete lack of work flow, constantly outdated/poor documentation, and many other minor/major pains. 

In my opinion the concept behind XAF is the next logical and obvious step for most all business programming, but DevExpress is not capable of the daunting task that is fixing all the problems they create.

Well Microsoft has thought it over and decided styling Visual Studio to in some ways fit in better with the metro look is more important than our opinions. Read more here:

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/visualstudio/archive/2012/06/05/a-design-with-all-caps.aspx

My take: Visual Studio should be a friggin' IDE meant for programming ease and comfort. But I guess Microsoft sees it differently. They use updates to Visual Studio is to herd developers in the direction Microsoft wants them to follow i.e. Metro apps on the Microsoft app store.