I'm thinking about writing a game using DirectX, and I'm considering using IronRuby.
Is IronRuby stable enough to use in production?
Does IronRuby work well with DirectX?
Yes, it is ready for production. Version 1.0 is available since April 2010. Please use it and give us feedback (link text). Regarding DirectX compatibility - I haven't tried t owrite anything but from a quick look at the managed DirextX API there seems to be no reason why it won't work. Most of the .NET APIs that are usable from C# or VB.NET are accessible from IronRuby as well. There are a few exceptions, some APIs rely on static types, but that shouldn't be the case for DirectX. We are working on enabling those as well in future versions.
I'm sorry I cannot address the IronRuby part of your question, but for managed DirectX, you could check out API Code Pack, which provides a managed wrapper for DirectX.
This question has additional details on managed DirectX Does XNA effectively replace Managed Directx?
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I want to know if I can develop graphics application with DirectX using C#?
Personally I'd recommend using SlimDX as XNA is lacking a number of features that the newer DirectX versions provide. SlimDX is a simple wrapper of unmanaged DirectX.
Managed DirectX is no longer supported - it's been largely superceded by XNA, which mostly targets games but which I dare say could be used for other graphics-heavy apps. The XNA section of MSDN is probably your best starting point.
As Jon Skeet says Managed DirectX is no longer supported. XNA is a really good alternative however and as far as I can tell it's basically a .Net wrapper for DirectX. I've ported XNA applications to DirectX in the past and the only differences I noticed relating to graphics calls were very simple differences in syntax.
I have to do a project in Corba.I have absolutely zero knowledge of corba.Things that I've to do is first is to install a corba implementation on my PC.After that I have to develop a Photo Printing Portal in any programming language supported by Corba.After that I have to deploy my application on the supplied ORB.
Please suggest how should I go about doing this.
You did not mention any programming language.
In case it is C++, I highly recommend to read the book Advanced CORBA Programming with C++
It may be an idea to get Java on one side and C++ on another side talking with each other, using CORBA.
In addition to that #lothar recommends, you could install Eclipse and develop in Java. Java has CORBA support. JacORB has been used by some as more stable and reliable alternative but this was ten years ago and probably many Sun's CORBA bugs at that time are already fixed.
For C++, you can try ACE-TAO version. It has many examples in
ACE_wrappers/TAO/examples
Besides, there are many script supported Corba, such as R2Corba, omniORBpy.. I also have one Corba supported Tcl version which is not useful for you due to license restriction(But there is do some open source version).
I believe script corba is more appliable for your since less code is required..
If Delphi is the primary language for my development, what is the ideal complement to Delphi.
which should be my next step?
C# for .net and web development
Java
C++ for Know Win32 in depth.
Ruby
Perl
What is your recommendation?
I would recommend HTML, CSS and JavaScript. This sounds like a bit of a strange suggestion when asking for programming languages, but the Web is taking over. Delphi has had the TWebBrowser component since ages, and there are a few alternatives that offer even more features and ways to have HTML rendered onto the forms of your Delphi applications. I have found, when applied in a number of complex situations, it has saved me a lot of work and code.
(To be completely honest, though. I'm suggesting this because I'm trying to blend web-building with Delphi with the xxm project)
My recommendation is C #, but before Getting started with Delphi Prism, the learning curve will be so much easier. Learning a .Net language is going to greatly expand your horizons and types of applications you develop. .Net has a lot of technologies where you can deepen WPF, SilverLigth, WCF.
Delphi Win32 - > Delphi Prism -> C#
Python. It'll take what you've learned in Delphi and allow you to generalize it further.
In addition to Delphi, Embarcadero also sells the RAD C++ development environment.
It uses the same IDE as Delphi so you won't have mix yourself up by learn a new IDE, just a new language.
And you will be able to mix and match Delphi and C++ as you want in the same projects.
In fact, by purchasing (or upgrading to) Embarcadero RAD Studio, you'll get Delphi, C++Builder and Delphi Prism (the .NET tool) all in one.
So C++ seems like the most natural fit and a very logical choice.
And if you want .NET development, don't use C#. Use Delphi Prism.
I will look not for a language, but will think what application technologies to learn and what to develop next. IOW, I will continue with Delphi. Why I have to change it ?
It depends what you want to achieve. I've recently been learning Ruby and Rails (framework) do develop a website and it's been a fabulous learning experience. The wide community of OSS gems and plug-ins means I get a lot more done a lot faster than with Delphi. (And I've also found areas where Delphi beats Ruby too).
Whatever language you choose it should be something with a different 'personality'. What I mean by that is that languages like Deplhi, C++, BASIC and C# all come essentially from the same roots with very similar philosophies. Choose a language like Lisp, Ruby or Haskell which will teach you to think about your coding in a different way.
It just depends on what kind of applications you need/wish to target beside Win32 native ones Delphi targets.
C#: good if you need to use Windows managed features or need asp.net. IMHO, forget Mono.
Java: good if you need to target "managed" non Windows development, especially in some enterprise environments heavily Java based.
C++: if you need to go beyond some Delphi capabilities, and/or target non-Windows platforms natively. Plain C should not be ruled out, can be useful for some advanced develpoment, i.e. kernel development or drivers.
Ruby, Perl, PHP, Python, etc: each have their pro and cons for scripted applications. Ruby and PHP are IMHO better to target web applications when multiplatform is a need, while Perl is a good language to perform heavy text processing in a lot of differnt situations, and Python being a good general purpose tool.
I went from using Delphi pretty much exclusively to using Ruby on Rails, and love it. RoR is to web development what Delphi was to Windows development. It provides a language (Ruby), a framework (Rails) and a whole bunch of code generators to do the heavy lifting for you.
I started a blog some time ago called Delphi to Rails which kind of went through my own experiences making the switch. As much as I enjoyed Delphi, I enjoy Ruby way, way more. It's a strange language at first, but once you've figured out the basics it's super cool, and really fun to program in.
This is a pretty deep topic I guess, so any url's with insight info is also gladly accepted.
I've been working a lot with native directx, never managed. On the other hand, mostly when developing other type of applications that don't have any need for advanced gpu rendering I usually stick to managed code such as C#. Starting to favor C# more and more, I've been thinking about trying out some managed directx.
So my question is if there are any remarkable cons and pros of using managed directx. Of course I'm mostly interested in potential drawbacks.
If I don't answer I probably had to go. Then I'll make sure to answer first thing tomorrow!
I look forward to hear your replies.
Jonas
Managed DirectX has been deprecated by Microsoft. You can still use it but it's probably not your best choice any more. Alternatives include XNA, SlimDX and the new managed wrappers in the Windows API Code Pack.
Another alternative to the now deprecated "Managed DirectX" is SharpDx. This has been benchmarked against XNA, SlimDX and the windows API code pack with favourable results.
If you had a differential of either venturing into Delphi land or Qt land which would you choose? I know they are not totally comparable. I for one have Windows development experience with Builder C++ (almost Delphi) and MFC (almost Qt), with a bit more time working with Builder C++. Please take out the cross platform ability of Qt in your analysis.
I'm hoping for replies of people who have worked with both and how he or she would compare the framework, environment, etc.?
Thank you in advance for your replies.
If you are talking UI frameworks, then you should be comparing Qt with the VCL, not the IDE (Delphi in this case). I know I'm being a stickler, but Delphi is the IDE, Object-Pascal is the language, and VCL is the graphical framework.
That being said, I don't think there is anything that even comes close to matching the power and simplicity of the VCL. Qt is great, but it is no VCL.
Edit: This answer was written in 2008. It probably is no longer so apt, though probably it is not entirely useless. Take with salt.
I have used both and have ended up going the Qt route. These are the reasons:
Trolltech offer quick and one-to-one support via email
Qt innovates, and introduces powerful new features regularly
The Qt documentation is amazing, and in the rare cases where it isn't, you can read the source code
Having the source code for Qt also allows you to debug inside your base libraries, which has been a life saver for me on many an occasion
The API is very consistent and well designed. We have put new people on the project and within a month they show deep knowledge of the toolkit and can learn new classes very quickly
It has bindings to other languages, eg. Ruby and Python.
C++ is somewhat of a downside, eg. compile times, packaging, and a less integrated IDE. However Qt does make C++ feel more like a higher level language. QStrings take all the pain out of string handling for example. Thus the additional issues with C++ that you would normally face, eg. more buggy code, are less prevalent in my experience when using Qt.
Also, there are more libraries for Delphi than for Qt, but this is mitigated due to the fact you can just use a c or c++ library in a Qt project, and also because Qt is so fully featured you often don't have to look any further.
It would be a strange situation where I would choose Delphi over Qt for a new project.
I would pick Delphi. Of course you ask any pascalholic and he is sure to answer just the same. ;)
Qt again is fine, but the VCL just feels more polished. But then that could be my years of working with it so it just feels right. My experience with Qt was limited to a short lived project that ended up being rewritten in Delphi after it was determined that cross platform was not really needed thanks to the power of GoGlobal which can make any win32 app a web application, and therefore run on any platform.
It really depends on your needs and experience. I have worked with both (though have to say that the last Delphi version I really worked with was Delphi 6, and I'm currently working with Qt 4.4).
The language
C++ pros:
C++ is more "standard", e.g. you will find more code, libraries, examples etc., and you may freely use the STL and boost, while Object Pascal is more of an exotic language
Qt compiles on different platforms and compilers (Kylix is based on Qt, BTW)
Object Pascal pros:
some dynamic properties are build right into the language, no ugly workarounds like the MOC are needed
the compiler is highly optimized for the language and indeed very fast
the language is less complex than C++ and therefore less error prone
The IDE
Qt pros:
Strictly spoken, there is no IDE for Qt besides the Designer, but it integrates nicely into your preferred IDE (at least Visual Studio and Eclipse)
the designer does a better job with layouts than Delphi forms (Note: this is based on
Delphi 6 experience and may not be true with current versions)
Delphi pros:
The IDE is really polished and easy to use now, and it beats Visual Studio clearly IMO (I have no experience with Eclipse)
there is no point 2... but if I had to assign the buzzword "integrated" I would assign it to the Delphi IDE
The framework
I will leave a comparison to others, as I don't know the newest VCL good enough. I have some remarks:
both frameworks cover most of the needed functionality
both have the source code available, which is a must IMO
both have a more or less consistent structure - I prefer Qt, but this depends on your preferences (remark: I would never say that Qt is almost MFC - I have used MFC for a long time, and both Qt and Delphi - and .NET, for that matter - are way better)
the VCL has more DB-oriented functionality, especially the connection with the visual components
Qt has more painting (2D / 3D / OpenGL) oriented functionality
Other reasons that speak for Qt IMO are the very good support and the licensing, but that depends on your needs. There are large communities for both frameworks,
A big difference between Delphi and Qt is the Qt signal/slots system, which makes it really easy to create N-to-N relationship between objects and avoid tight coupling.
I don't think such a thing exists in Delphi (at least there was no such thing when I used to use it).
I just started experimenting with Qt/C++/Qt Creator and I must admit I was surprised that this "little cute bastard" was just below my nose for some many years and I pay attention to it just now.
It (the framework) looks neat, feature-complete (even was stuff that .NET lacks such as inbuld XQuery support).
Seems that most of the Qt applications written are dealing with 2D/3D/Games.
I believe the downsides are only: having to know C++ and the lack of DevExpress goodies like QuantumGrid.
I am seriously considering porting one of my simple applications (a picture viewer like ThumbsView).
And it REALLY runs from same codebase. FOR REAL!
Forget about Kylix, Mono, Lazarus, Free Pascal. This Qt thing beats them all in 10 times.
Qt Creator is far from IDE. But I hope in the future they will add a more powerfull debugger, code insight and refactoring (at least the "Rename" one) and more meaningful compiler errors.
I would seriously recommend to someone without experience in Pascal/C++ to take the Qt learning curve.
I would pick Delphi, but that is probably because I have programmed it before. It seems there are still a number of companies which use it, and almost everyone who has 8+ years expierence has encountered it somewhere. It seems that most programmers can relate to using it or at least learning Pascal. Not to mention the fact that newer languages (C#) are based on it (at least partially).
Pick Delphi if your concern are native Win32 speed, a first class RAD environment and executable size. Pick QT if you need a truly cross-platform framework coupled with a now-flexible licensing policy and don't mind slightly bloated code.
I ported an old Delphi program under QT/C++, and I must say that QT is the framework that comes closest to VCL in terms of ease of use and power (IMHO)
I'd choose delphi. Only because I have more experience with it. I don't think that there is other reasonabl criterias.
Qt is cross-platform, Delphi not much if we count Kylix. Lazarus is cross-platform, but not quite feature-complete yet.