Comments on: Switching to Linux (and back?) http://thirdpartyninjas.com/blog/2006/12/05/switching-to-linux-and-back/ Subcontracting ninjas since 2006 Tue, 10 Apr 2012 17:53:41 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Jesse http://thirdpartyninjas.com/blog/2006/12/05/switching-to-linux-and-back/comment-page-1/#comment-20 Jesse Tue, 05 Dec 2006 19:15:24 +0000 http://thirdpartyninjas.com/blog/2006/12/05/switching-to-linux-and-back/#comment-20 I also found autotools to be quite gross when working with anything complicated. I mean, I love it when I can build and install apps that way, but it was a mess for me. Though I'll admit I gave up pretty easily. I looked at CMake, Perforce jam, and SCons, and they all seemed pretty good. SCons is what I'm currently using, and I'll probably continue using it for my cross-platform builds in the future. (I wonder if anybody has made a .vcproj to SConstruct converter. I've gotta look into that.) Thanks for the comment. :) I also found autotools to be quite gross when working with anything complicated. I mean, I love it when I can build and install apps that way, but it was a mess for me. Though I’ll admit I gave up pretty easily.

I looked at CMake, Perforce jam, and SCons, and they all seemed pretty good. SCons is what I’m currently using, and I’ll probably continue using it for my cross-platform builds in the future. (I wonder if anybody has made a .vcproj to SConstruct converter. I’ve gotta look into that.)

Thanks for the comment. :)

]]> By: GBGames http://thirdpartyninjas.com/blog/2006/12/05/switching-to-linux-and-back/comment-page-1/#comment-19 GBGames Tue, 05 Dec 2006 16:56:44 +0000 http://thirdpartyninjas.com/blog/2006/12/05/switching-to-linux-and-back/#comment-19 Games and developer tools seem to be the only things I hear people complain about. Most everything else is covered (except for some pieces of software needed for work that only exist because of that work). As for games, you can try using Wine, or you can start looking for other native games. happypenguin.org and linuxgames.com are two sites that post news about games available for GNU/Linux. Some are in development, some are finished, and some are new. Obviously you won't find as many games as you would on Windows, but it might help to open your eyes to what is out there. As for dev tools, I'm starting to encounter problems myself. You would think that an open source environment would allow for all sorts of great dev tools, but they are really only useful if you already know what you are doing. I think Microsoft's advantage is that it is pretty much one platform (for now), and so there is no concern about different implementations of Windows. They can provide all sorts of great tools that will "just work", whereas creating similar tools on GNU/Linux is harder to get them to "just work". For instance, if you want to distribute your code and get it running on not only the various versions of GNU/Linux but also BSD variants, cygwin, etc, you would use autotools. Well, I started learning about it, and it is really not that easy to use. I can get text-based games distributed, but once I started using graphics, I hit a roadblock. Tutorials just don't seem to exist, or at least nothing comprehensive. It's basically a pain. So my choice is to ignore it and learn something simpler like CMake, which means isolating myself from the platforms that don't use it, creating my own build system, isolating myself from most everyone who expects to just do ./configure && make && make install, or tough it out, slowing down development until I learn. Eventually I will get it, though. The adantages just seem too great, and once it is learned, I know it pretty much for life. But for now, it is a pain. I think development on Windows is also a pain, just a better-documented one. B-) Good luck! Games and developer tools seem to be the only things I hear people complain about. Most everything else is covered (except for some pieces of software needed for work that only exist because of that work).

As for games, you can try using Wine, or you can start looking for other native games. happypenguin.org and linuxgames.com are two sites that post news about games available for GNU/Linux. Some are in development, some are finished, and some are new. Obviously you won’t find as many games as you would on Windows, but it might help to open your eyes to what is out there.

As for dev tools, I’m starting to encounter problems myself. You would think that an open source environment would allow for all sorts of great dev tools, but they are really only useful if you already know what you are doing. I think Microsoft’s advantage is that it is pretty much one platform (for now), and so there is no concern about different implementations of Windows. They can provide all sorts of great tools that will “just work”, whereas creating similar tools on GNU/Linux is harder to get them to “just work”.

For instance, if you want to distribute your code and get it running on not only the various versions of GNU/Linux but also BSD variants, cygwin, etc, you would use autotools. Well, I started learning about it, and it is really not that easy to use. I can get text-based games distributed, but once I started using graphics, I hit a roadblock. Tutorials just don’t seem to exist, or at least nothing comprehensive. It’s basically a pain.

So my choice is to ignore it and learn something simpler like CMake, which means isolating myself from the platforms that don’t use it, creating my own build system, isolating myself from most everyone who expects to just do ./configure && make && make install, or tough it out, slowing down development until I learn. Eventually I will get it, though. The adantages just seem too great, and once it is learned, I know it pretty much for life.

But for now, it is a pain. I think development on Windows is also a pain, just a better-documented one. B-)

Good luck!

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