About C / C++ / C#: Endangering My Family?

C / C++ / C# In the Spotlight | More Topics |   from David Bolton One of the options on the MSN Messenger update that disabled is family Safety hence the title of this post. As you can see (below), it's interesting what gets installed. See below for details. Coming soon (delayed for various reasons), Slickedit 2009 review,C++ tutorial on text files, then I finally start on iPhone tutorials. Have a great week!   In the Spotlight Look What Got Installed! I try to keep the various bits of software on my PC fresh with new releases and the most recent one was MSN Messenger. I use it very sparingly but I think developers, certainly the ones I know have an obsession or at least a desire to keep all software up-to-date. The Messenger update displays a list of things it will install. All but Family Safety is ticked- presumably this means that I'm putting my family in danger right? It also installs Direct3D (for games I guess or media display) and SQL Server 3.1 CE. Adding to the DB2, MySQL and SQL Server 2005 developer I'm already running plus Sqlite! Any more I've missed out on? SQL Server 3.1 CE is based on SQL Server 2005 though the newest version you can get is SQL Server 3.5 CE. This is free and intended for use in mobiles or within desktop applications and for single users not multi. Also, it runs as a dll not a service like the free Express edition. It's curious that the messenger update uses version 3.1 instead of the 3.5 version listed on Microsoft's site. Does anyone know why? Link to Windows Tools and Utilities Library              More Topics Glossary of Programming Terms Never Programmed Before? Start Here Other Blogs You might find Interesting Welcome to the C Area with Articles about C Programming Welcome to the C++ Area with Articles about C++ Development C++ Programming Intro to OOP Getting into Game Development Back when I started in 1983 there was virtually no games industry to speak of so I was self taught which is fine if you have the time to learn everything. Now you can start by taking a degrees or alternatively jumping into open source development perhaps by getting involved in an open source games project. You don't have to be an expert, though obviously you must know C++ or C and be able to take on minor bug fixes and learn the ins and outs of compiling, debugging, using version control systems and doing commits. Or creating game art, sounds etc. Spend enough time and you'll get the experience you need to break into the industry. There are no shortage of projects to cut your teeth on either. For example consider Glest an award winning free 3D real-time strategy game written in C++/OpenGL, where you control the armies of two different factions: Tech versus Magic, warriors versus Mages. Getting to grips with it lets you work in C++ and pick up OpenGL, AI techniques, 3D animation, DirectSound/OpenA, using XML and writing mods. It's written as a game engine as well to make it easier to create other games from it. Or maybe you might consider OpenCity, a city development type game also in C++. There are plenty of others and in other programming languages but if you're learning C++ these look interesting. Link to C++ Games Code library   Visual Studio 2010 Beta 2 Now Out Generally I avoid betas because of the hassle of having to remove them when the final version comes out. I will make an exception with this as Visual Studio 2010 is shaping up to be a pretty big release and includes Silverlight object editing. Visual Studio 2010 is a WPF application for one thing which means zoomable, nicer looking windows. According to the Chief Architect Rico Mariani, performance has been enhanced enormously by getting rid of a lot of the old single threaded code and a new editor that is much faster. Also the help system (which I thought was not brilliant is VS 2008) has been totally revamped. The release date for the full VS 2010 is March 22 2010. If you are a MSDN subscriber you can download the beta 2 now and non MSDN can download it today or tomorrow from the same link. There is a lot of information on the Beta 2 home page.     Sponsored Links   Smartphone, Smarter Price Best Budget Smartphones In the market for a new smartphone? Some of the most popular handsets around -- including Blackberries and iPhones -- can be purchased for under $100.. C / C++ / C# Ads Allergy Causes Allergy Info Cleaning of Mold Throat Allergies Allergic Dog Advertisement     Visit Related About GuideSites: Search About      Sign up for more free newsletters on favorite topics. You are receiving this newsletter because you subscribed to the About C / C++ / C# newsletter as jarloszy2.profile@BLOGGER.COM. If you wish to change or remove your email address, please visit: http://www.about.com/nl/usgs.htm?nl=cplus&e=jarloszy2.profile@BLOGGER.COM About respects your privacy. Our Privacy Policy. Our Contact Information. 249 West 17th Street New York, NY, 10011 © 2008 About, Inc.

About C / C++ / C#: New Technology Keeps Coming

C / C++ / C# In the Spotlight | More Topics |   from David Bolton I love my iPhone because it gives me reasonable internet access on the move. Recent innovations such as PowerMat for recharging cell phones, or the Dyson Air multiplier (a desktop fan without blades) show that innovation still continues in the world. But in the programming world have we run out of ideas? Where are the new innovative coding techniques like OOP or radically new programming languages that may replace Java and C#? What used to be exciting seems to be no longer novel. Have a good week!   In the Spotlight A Future Desktop Manager 10/GUI A designer/visionary called R. Clayton Miller has imagined a possible touch based Window Manager and created an excellent 8 minute video demonstrating its features. It clearly draws inspiration from the iPhone multi touch system and uses 2, 3 or 4 fingers to interact on a large multi-touch pad with newly opened application windows sliding in from the edge and being maintained in a movable scrollable and stretchable "Dock" with an edge of each Application (like the top bar of a Windows App only vertical) being visible. Technically there seems no reason why this couldn't be done and on Touch tablets (such as the one that is believed to be in development by Apple) would appear to be an excellent fit. Developing for touch events is already established in iPhone software and Windows 7 has multi-touch capability. Thankfully we are now moving away from a "Minority Report" future type of touch screen where people touch a vertical touch pad (or move arms in a vertical space) to a more sensible ergonomically arm-supported and less arm straining future of horizontal touch pads. Anything to avoid my nightmare visions of future software applications being used in offices with users either shouting instructions to computers (deafening!) or suffering major RSI while holding their arms up in front of them for hours on end. As developers we sometimes have to think of these things!              More Topics Code Library for C, C++ and C# Development Projects from Initial Design to Completed Code Reviews of Software - Tools, Compilers, Editors etc Book Reviews Top Tools, Utilities and Resources About C, C++ and C# C++ for Beginners Are Programming Exams/Qualifications worth the cost? I am somewhat cynical about the various qualifications having lasted 28 years in IT with just a university degree. The exams tend to be more non-programming IT related and in some cases only apply for a few years. I'm thinking Microsoft in that case though whether that's true for the programming qualification I don't know. In the UK you can call yourself a software engineer without a certificate. Some countries and US states require that you have one. Would a degree in Computer Science count? A reader wrote and asked if I could recommend any qualifications and the only two that sprang to mind were Microsoft and Brainbench. I am sure there are others and I'd love to hear from anyone who has taken one. Did it help get you your job? Back in the 80s when home computing first appeared, many programmers were self taught at home and turned that into a job; I got a few jobs on the strength of what I'd learned, not what I was taught. By the 90s things had settled down and then the web came and there was another few years of turmoil. Those turmoil years are when qualifications counted least because technology was changing faster than they could keep up. So apart from college degrees, I still remain a bit skeptical. Link to Link to C++ Tutorials   Sumatra Open Source PDF Reader for Windows Developer Krzysztof Kowalczyk has taken the mupdf library and added code to render the pdf as a bitmap to create and then display it on the screen. Written in C, Sumatra provides a lightweight PDF viewer compared to Adobe's own reader which seems to update itself every time I use it. There's a request list as long as your arm but the developer (who leads a team of five developers) prefers to focus on simplicity than bloating it with lost of features. It's easy to use and small, so that makes it easier to understand the C code. As always, if you see a bug or a feature you'd like to add, fetch the source code and join in. Link to Windows C Code Library     Sponsored Links   Get Ready for Halloween Pumpkin Photos These scary-good jack-o-lanterns include everything from Homer Simpson to the Cat in the Hat to a pumpkin decked out like a hamburger. Check out the photos or submit your own! C / C++ / C# Ads C C++ C Language C++ Examples C++ Code C++ Source Advertisement     Visit Related About GuideSites: Search About      Sign up for more free newsletters on favorite topics. You are receiving this newsletter because you subscribed to the About C / C++ / C# newsletter as jarloszy2.profile@BLOGGER.COM. If you wish to change or remove your email address, please visit: http://www.about.com/nl/usgs.htm?nl=cplus&e=jarloszy2.profile@BLOGGER.COM About respects your privacy. Our Privacy Policy. Our Contact Information. 249 West 17th Street New York, NY, 10011 © 2008 About, Inc.

About C / C++ / C#: Time seems to be speeding up!

C / C++ / C# In the Spotlight | More Topics |   from David Bolton Or maybe its just that my brain is slowing down. Despite following the principles of Getting Things Done and trying to organize my time, I never seem to have enough time for everything. Even days at work fly past so at least I enjoy it! Programming Challenge 27 was marked, results below and thanks to all who entered. Have a great week!   In the Spotlight An Interesting App Design Contest Can you design an application? If you've the spare time and an eye for innovation, you have a month to design and enter an app for an innovation contest. The app can run on anything (and be in any language) so it can be a client application, web-based application, Java application, Facebook App, iPhone App, Android etc. There are two categories: Apps that illuminate with data how innovation and entrepreneurial activity are at work across America. Apps that will help the members of the Innovation Movement advance policy goals that support innovation. The only catch, you have to join the Innovation movement but it is free. You can submit more than one app. but can only win once. The prize for first place is $10K and a ticket to CES with hotel room. 2nd place gets $5,000 and 3rd get $3,500. It appears open to anyone not just in the USA but check the rules. You might also find useful data on data.gov. Link to Programming Contests and Challenges              More Topics Welcome to the C Area with Articles about C Programming Welcome to the C++ Area with Articles about C++ Development Welcome to the C Sharp Area with Articles about C Sharp Development Learn about Commercial Software Development All about Games Programming Intro to OOP Programming Challenges Visual Component Framework for Windows C++ The Visual Component Framework is for developing applications for Windows in C++. It comprises several modules and has support for Thread, Mutexes, Semaphores, Files, Streaming data, error logging, string utility functions, and other basic services. I.e. much of the stuff you might write yourself. What's possibly more interesting is that it provides it's own GUI classes including tree controls, list controls, check box and radio controls, push buttons, single line and multi line text controls, and many others. In other words it's an alternative to MFC. Another feature that I liked is that it's not tied to one Compiler- GCC or Visual Studio both work, though I must confess to not having used GCC for Windows development much. I'm reorganizing the Code libraries slightly and putting Windows code into its own folder. This is the first one to go there but I'll move existing stuff in a day or two. Link to Windows C++ Code Library   Programming Challenge 27 Marked Congrats to Pedro Graca of Portugal for his very fast code. Four of the six entrants managed to pack 58 cities into the test map provided. Link to Programming Challenge Twenty Seven Pack Cities onto a map     Sponsored Links   Planning Your First Cruise Which Cruise is Right for You? Do you want to lounge by a pool or hike? Dress up for dinner or go casual? Answering these 10 questions will help you pick the perfect cruise vacation. C / C++ / C# Ads Healthy Recipes TV Fall 2009 C# Tutorials C# Control Recipes Kids Advertisement     Visit Related About GuideSites: Search About      Sign up for more free newsletters on favorite topics. You are receiving this newsletter because you subscribed to the About C / C++ / C# newsletter as jarloszy2.profile@BLOGGER.COM. If you wish to change or remove your email address, please visit: http://www.about.com/nl/usgs.htm?nl=cplus&e=jarloszy2.profile@BLOGGER.COM About respects your privacy. Our Privacy Policy. Our Contact Information. 249 West 17th Street New York, NY, 10011 © 2008 About, Inc.

About C / C++ / C#: And a Minor adjustment to Challenge 28

C / C++ / C# In the Spotlight | More Topics |   from David Bolton Challenge 28 proves challenging in getting it right. As one commenter had pointed out, trucks could be given infinite speed so they are now 50 MPH. I updated the challenge during the week so take a look. Challenge 27 had six entries that are now being marked with results later today or Wednesday at the latest. Have a great week!   In the Spotlight Common Pearls of Programming Wisdom O'Reilly are the publishers of some of my favorite books (and now Microsoft Press following a recent deal) but even more interesting is a Creative Commons open source list of Programming Wisdom tips that they've setup. "97 Things Every Programmer Should Know" is a wiki that anyone can join and edit though unlike Wikipedia you are only expected to edit your own contributions. These should be US spelling between 400 and 500 words in length. There's actually 98 listed at the time of writing. That is quite a bit of reading to get through so don't do it all at once! Link to Useful Online resources              More Topics Reviews of Software - Tools, Compilers, Editors etc Book Reviews Top Tools, Utilities and Resources Glossary of Programming Terms Never Programmed Before? Start Here C++ for Beginners C++ Programming An Astounding Demo I make no apologies for mentioning Puls because I think it's a really impressive bit of programming (in assembly) and it was originally written in C. It uses no 3D libraries or hardware acceleration. Puls is a Binary-search raycasting of an animated 3D scene and is just 256 bytes long. You can watch a demo video of it if you don't want to run a dos cmd line program on your PC. There are also Windows versions but they're normal size exes! Jan Kadlec (aka Řrřola), the developer of Puls has published a lot of useful C code for graphical transformations and even a simple Wolfenstein type game. Back in the 1980s there existed a demo scene where programmers produced scores of highly impressive demos of what they could get a computer to do. It was usually but not always a CBM-64. I never took part in that scene but did manage to get 24 hardware sprites on screen in a game at once (the hardware only supported 8 sprites but you could set an interrupt to occur down the screen on a scan line and reposition them). There is still a demo scene now and most of it is in assembler, hence usually off-topic for here but irrespective of programming language, you can't but be amazed by Puls and it's worth reading a detailed explanation of how Puls works written by Michael Birken whose site you might also enjoy for this ASCII game written in C#. Link to C# Game Code Library   OpenGL C++ Visualization Library Developed by Michele Bosi, this is a portable library (Linux, Max OS X and Windows) for creating 2D or 3D graphics using OpenGL. Essentially it's a thin layer on top of OpenGL from C++. This (from the Spinning cube example) gives you an idea of how its used.   void initEvent()   {     mCubeTransform = new vl::Transform;     vl::VisualizationLibrary::rendering()->as<vl::Rendering>()->transform()->addChild( mCubeTransform.get() ) ;     vl::ref<vl::Geometry> cube = vlut::makeBox( vl::vec3(0,0,0), 10, 10, 10 ) ;     cube->computeNormals() ;     vl::ref<vl::Effect> effect = new vl::Effect;     effect->shader()->enable(vl::EN_DEPTH_TEST) ;     effect->shader()->setRenderState( new vl::Light(0) ) ;     effect->shader()->enable(vl::EN_LIGHTING) ;     effect->shader()->gocMaterial()->setDiffuse( vlut::crimson ) ;     // install our scene manager,     vl::ref<vl::SceneManagerActorTree> scene_manager = new vl::SceneManagerActorTree;     vl::VisualizationLibrary::rendering()->as<vl::Rendering>()->sceneManagers()->push_back (scene_manager.get()) ;     scene_manager->tree()->addActor( cube.get(), effect.get(), mCubeTransform.get() ) ;   } Link to C++ Code Library     Sponsored Links   Cell Phone Picker Find the Best Cell Phone for You Simply answer a few easy questions about size, price and features, and you'll receive a personalized list of the five phones that best match your requirements. C / C++ / C# Ads Sample Programming C# Tree Windows Source Code Programming Visual Gui Programming Advertisement     Visit Related About GuideSites: Search About      Sign up for more free newsletters on favorite topics. You are receiving this newsletter because you subscribed to the About C / C++ / C# newsletter as jarloszy2.profile@BLOGGER.COM. If you wish to change or remove your email address, please visit: http://www.about.com/nl/usgs.htm?nl=cplus&e=jarloszy2.profile@BLOGGER.COM About respects your privacy. Our Privacy Policy. Our Contact Information. 249 West 17th Street New York, NY, 10011 © 2008 About, Inc.