So I'm an engine programmer...I like optimisation and tool creation. I'm at my happiest when making/doing things that makes gameplay programmers lives easier. That's mainly because I find the more gameplay aspects of games, well, tedious.
The problem with this mindset though is that ultimately it makes me a terrible engine programmer. I can't make the best game engines if I don't know how games work. Like I know how a game works in the logical sense of how a computer understands it but I don't understand the nuances of level design, timing, AI, suspense, re-playability, state, message dispatching, entity systems, stat balancing...the list is endless. Hats off to gameplay programmers; you are wizards to me.
That's why, I'm designating the next 12 months as the year of games (it was originally supposed to be a new years resolution but I always fail at those so I'm starting early to try and trick myself). I'm going to attempt to make a game every month; no matter how shitty or simple; I want to make a game that has a start, a middle and an end. I've already got some ideas like:
Slenderman clone in UE4 (I already half started this in 2020 and then got bored when I had to actually make the game)
Tetris
Solitaire
Pong
Space Invaders
Doom
Five Nights At Freddy's clone
Super Mario World clone (not the entire game...jesus like 1 or 2 levels)
Game Jam entry (probably Ludem Dare or Haunted PS1)
Bejewelled clone
Minecraft??
I want a good mix between styles, like shoot-em-up, platform, 3D, strategy, etc. Also I need them to be well documented so I don't get caught up in deciding what game mechanics to put in. I've noticed that if there is too much choice, I get overwhelmed and abandon the project. I think that's why I'm such a terrible gameplay programmer; the ability to do anything is too much and I just want very specific projects like; implement rotating images. Add animated gif support.
For the more classic games I'd like to just use C++ and DirectX or FLTK/SFML and then Unreal for the 3D games...I might even make slenderman in UE5 as I've not even opened that thing yet.
I'm saying 12 games because I feel that's more realistic, however if I feel like making something new every weekend I'm not going to stop myself. I'll update this post with games as I finish (or not finish them) and I'm excited to see how I've done by November 6th 2022.......
In this exercise I am using Visual Studio 2019 and a modified version of the std_lib_facilities header found here.
Chapter 22 // Exercise 6
For each language mentioned in this chapter, look at a popular textbook and see what is used as the first complete program. Write that program in all of the other languages. Warning: This could easily be a 100-program project.
Github:
Due to the warning I decided to do something different as I don't have that much time (and I get bored easily). So instead, I went back to Chapter 3 (had a nostalgia trip) and decided to implement Exercise 2:
"Write a program in C++ that converts from miles to kilometres".
This needs input, output and some mild arithmetic; perfect.
As for the languages; I spent a couple days doing the previous exercise and that was just Hello World programs so I chose 9 of the 20 languages I got running. 5 of them are languages I'm most likely to use (and most have VS support). The other 4 are "legacy" languages and completely outside my comfort zone.
1) C++
To start off here is the nice C++ console version:
This was trickier than I expected. Reading in from the console is not as nice as cin >>. Also I forgot that bool isn't a native type in C but was added in C99 via stdbool.h. I also spent a bit too much time faffing about with VS Code so I could build and run C code in that. Honestly doesn't feel worth it; will continue to use VS.
This was a task. First I had to google how to make functions in VB, then how to make variables, then how to write if else and compare.....This language is strange. It uses = for equality AND assignment disgusting. I also hate how everything is english yet cobol....
So I learnt that Python doesn't support const values and I found this answer from Stackoverflow amusing:
"No there is not. You cannot declare a variable or value as constant in Python. Just don't change it"
Just don't change it. If only it were that simple. It's also weird not having a main and everything is out in the open with no brackets. I hate loosely typed languages and languages that insist on not instead of !. I think I'm just set in my ways at this point.
The only good thing about Java is that it uses semi-colons; praise be to semi-colons and brackets. The importing of everything and creating NEW of everything annoys me constantly though. When I'm making apps it just feels like every other line is
This was truly the strangest so far...the function definition is so unnecessarily complicated. Also when multiplying a float (or real in Pascal) with another float, the point was always in the wrong place. I couldn't figure this out and frankly I don't care enough.
This one took me a good 40 minutes and I initially almost gave up as I could not for the life of me figure out how to get functions to work. I now see where Visual Basic comes from. It wasn't completely awful once I'd figured out the function definition and logical operators/loops. I can understand why no one wants to learn it anymore though...
I'd honestly rather program in straight up assembly than this monstrosity. It's ironic that the syntax was chosen for "readability" but ultimately it makes it more confusing. Also, calling a variable a 'picture' because you give the computer a 'picture of the value' is stupid.
This one I had to skip because it was just too different. I think Cobol has user defined functions but I couldn't figure out how to make one. Variables need to be declared up front in a "data bank" of some sorts which is almost identical to ASM.
I feel sorry for anyone who was forced to use this language professionally.
10) Simula87
And I also gave up on this one because I just couldn't anymore. The further I stray from C++, the more I want to jump off a cliff.
// Conclusion
This exercise was amazing and I highly recommend that you choose an exercise from Chapter 3 and implement it in other languages. It made me realise that Visual Studio is God, semi-colons must always end an expression and loosely typed languages should have a word with themselves (pun intended).
Attempting the exercise in Pascal, Fortran, Cobol and Simula was the most "enlightening" though. Bjarne said he made C++ for a "more enjoyable" programming experience; he wasn't lying. Programming in C++ is pure joy, not just in comparison to "legacy" languages but new ones as well. I can safely say that there is no other language I would rather program in and it's not because C++ was my first language but I genuinely believe it's the easiest and most straight forward language of them all.
Learn C++ first.
A huge shout out to TutorialsPoint though for their excellent overview of all the ancient languages.
[Preface] Ok so....not counting various revisions of languages (like C98, C11); I counted 29 (?) languages. Now I don't know if we're just supposed to write the hello world program or actually get it to compile and execute?...I'm guessing the latter. That means I have to figure out at least 27 ways to build a language and a lot of these aren't in use anymore....hooo boy.
This was extremely nostalgic and I had to pause for a moment as it took me back to January 2016 when I first saw "Hello, world!" in C++ and wondered "how the hell am I ever gonna remember what all this shit does?"
2) LISP
Lisp is quite honestly, disgusting, and I never want to look at it again.
Trying to get Fortran to build on Windows honestly went over my head. Apparently there is an Intel Fortran compiler for Visual Studio but I couldn't find it. I ended up using an online compiler again.
So this is where Python comes from? The Algol68 Hello, World is more efficient than the normal Algol but it took me a while to figure out how to add comments.
This is a strange one. It's kind of like pseudocode but it runs....the comments also need semi-colons at the end which is weird. It's like a combination of Fortran and Pascal syntactically.
Apparently this the language that they used to program compilers with! The very first Hello, World! was written in this language as well so doing this felt like some sort of programmers pilgrimage. The language was created by Martin Richards who rivals Bjarne himself for the most "programming language creator" website in the world:
Sometimes I feel like blogger is too much and I too should resort to plain HTML.
More fun facts, it was the first brace language! And introduced // for comments (which C rejected).
Unfortunately there is no online compiler for BCPL, however it was recently revised by Martin himself as recently as 10th October 2021! So for this one I ended up getting the most recent version of the compiler and then spent all Friday evening trying to get it to work. Narrator: it did not work.
Even using the pre-compiled applications wouldn't work and it would exit immediately with an error. I think it's something to do with the date as it thinks it's January 13th 2020. Excellent. Oh well. I learnt a lot about batch files in this one so there's that!
8) PL/1
The aptly named "Programming Language 1" language also doesn't have an online compiler; or any compiler for windows. Just Linux and something called z/OS. I'm not interested in going to great lengths to get these to work. I did look at the hello world sample on Wikipedia though and I hate it.
9) PASCAL
Pascal I've come across before. Chapter 18 Exercise 11 asks you to implement a skip list and I used a paper that used Pascal. It's not completely awful. Fortunately it has an online compiler.
Ah C, my old friend. Compiling C with Visual Studio is quite simple but at least you can just create a new C++ project, add C files to it and VS should compile with the C compiler if it sees .c extensions.
The wiki page is short for this one and I can't find much about it. It seems it fell out of favour and no one is really using it anymore.
13) MODULA
Niklaus Wirth really loved creating programming languages. Apparently Modula 3 had an online release in 2010 but the websites look really dodgy and I don't fancy downloading weird applications off websites to try and compile it.
14) OBERON
Niklaus Writh is back in this list for the 5th time! (I think). Oberon had a stable release last year however there's no online compiler apart from one that converts Oberon to Javascript?? I did find this amazing website though:
I must check out lolcode. It seems like the language for me.
15) TURBO PASCAL
Ok so Turbo Pascal isn't actually a language; it's a compiler/IDE for Pascal??
16) DELPHI
Delphi also isn't a language; its an IDE and another Pascal compiler.
17) ADA Not the bitch in the red dress, a programming language. Another Pascal-like language with what wikipedia says "extremely strong typing", not just strong but "extremely".
So this is the predecessor to BCPL? It seems to be maintained which is cool however it's only for Linux and even the Windows version wants you to have a Linux subsystem so no thank you.
20) B
I feel like when I'm on Wikipedia looking at pages for the Jurassic age with all these ancient languages and "predecessors"/"ancestors" talk. B is very similar to C and someone made a working compiler for it but it's janky. Also, just use C. I learnt that B was implemented and then C immediately came out. I've read a few comments around saying how small B is and "any good programmer should be able to implement it". Sounds like a good exercise.
21) SMALLTALK
Another object-orientated language derived from Simula. Wikipedia says its an entirely reflective system which is interesting and could be worth learning to understand how Unreal Engines Reflection system works (it uses reflection for the editor/blueprints). The hello world is a one liner in this project and looks completely unlike an object-orientated language.
An object oriented language that ended up influencing Java and Microsoft Java and is still in use today! You have to make a class and then do things with that class...a true Java Parent....disgusting. Also, if you google eiffel stuff it almost always brings up pictures of the eiffel tower.
In all seriousness though I actually didn't mind this one? I think it's because it was extremely easy to set up and run thanks to Visual Studio. I kind of like how it looks as well, plus it comes with a console window....Also, Excel uses a form of VB, maybe I'll finally become an Excel wizard?
Oh Python...how I detest you. We had a brief module in the first year of Uni where we had to create a networked version of noughts and crosses using Python. I hate Python. However back then, Visual Studio had only begun to toy with the idea of adding Python support so I had to use the Python thing; Idle (which I also hate). Now VS has full Python support and makes this Hello World a painless 1 liner.
I was weirdly looking forward to this one as everyone online seems to think PHP is the anti-christ or something. Yeah it looks a bit strange but have they ever used Lisp??? To be honest I don't understand the fuss with this language? It's basically just HTML with added functionality.
I also detest Java with a passion however I am strongly team Android and as such use Android Studio quite often. Even though I hate it, I'd say it's my second most-used language and thanks to learning C++ first I didn't really even need to learn Java. I just google what I need to know as I go along. I used an online compiler for this as it's a nightmare installing IntelliJ IDEA and Android Studio takes 5 years to boot.
Sometimes I'm not sure which I hate more Java or C#. I have to use C# at work sometimes (as all our tools are written in it) and I hate it. Sure, it's fast to get things working and you see results quickly but the language is not for me. It does have an edge over Java though because I can use Visual Studio.
And last (and certainly least) is Javascript where everything is THIS and VAR. Like PHP, this is just another way to add functionality to HTML. Due to its C++ style syntax I find it easier to understand than PHP but I don't like using it. I think it's safe to say I don't like any form of web programming.
And with that I'm done! I managed to compile and run 20/27 languages which is pretty cool and it gave me a real insight into language similarities/differences. It also made me seriously appreciate Visual Studio more than I already do. I think at this point I'm too far down the VS rabbit-hole and giving it up would feel like losing something dear to me.
I don't think using Online Compilers is cheating though; setting up language environments is tough and honestly one of the worst aspects of programming; I think that's why VS wins for me and a deciding factor over which languages I choose in the future.
I thought about not doing these written exercises, however the entire chapter is about learning about history so you don't make the same mistakes/understand what came before and how that influences the present.
I actually enjoyed looking up all these random people. Well not all of them are random (I'd heard of most of the computer scientists) but the non-scientists were more interesting.
Chapter 22 // Exercise 1
Define programming.
Github: N/A
I would say programming is the art of making a computer do what you want.
Chapter 22 // Exercise 2
Define programming language.
Github: N/A
Using page 807, a programming language is many but most notably a tool for making the computer do what you want. There are many different languages that do different things but having standards for those languages allows effective communication between programmers. I used to be a flight attendant for Emirates. The global aviation language is English; when flying, relaying instructions etc., it is imperative you speak English so everyone is on the same page.
Chapter 22 // Exercise 3
Go through the book and look at chapter vignettes. Which were from computer scientists? Write one paragraph summarising what each of those scientists contributed.
Github: N/A
Well I'm not writing a paragraph...later on he wants 10-20 page reports on C++....ain't nobody got time for that.
Chapter 2 - Brian Kernighan; Canadian computer scientist that contributed to the development of Unix and C (and many other things).
Chapter 4 - Gerald Weinberg; American computer scientist who specialised in the psychology and anthropology of computer software development.
Chapter 5 - Maurice Wilkes; British computer scientist who designed and helped build the Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Calculator (one of the earliest stored program computers) and invented microprogramming.
Chapter 6 - Kristen Nygaard; Norwegian computer scientist who is the co-inventor of object-oriented programming and Simula.
Chapter 13 - Alan Perlis? This chapter says traditional however google says Alan Perlis but it isn't sure. Anyway he was an American computer Scientist and was the first recipient of the Turing Award.
Chapter 17 - Alex Stepanov is a Russian-American computer programmer best known as the primary designer and implementer of the C++ Standard template library.
Chapter 20 - Douglas McIlroy is an American (?) mathematician, engineer and programmer. He participated in the design of many influential languages (including C++) and is still a professor at the age of 89.
Chapter 21 - Trygve Reenskaug is a Norwegian computer scientist who formulated the model-view-controller patter for graphical user interface software design.
Chapter 22 - Alan Perlis. See Chapter 13 description.
Chapter 26 - Donald Knuth is an American computer scientist and called "the father of analysis of algorithms).
Chapter 27 - Dennis Ritchie was an American computer scientist and co-creator of the C programming language (amongst many other things).
Chapter 22 // Exercise 4
Go through the book and look at chapter vignettes. Which ones were not from computer scientists? Identify the country of origin and field of work in each.
Github: N/A
Chapter 0 (Switzerland?) - Swiss army proverb . I google this and it came up with many other books also using this quote in their chapter vignettes but couldn't actually find a source for it.
Chapter 1 (USA) - R A Heinlein is a Science Fiction author and this quote is from the "Competent man". Apparently a competent human should be able to do such things as "build a wall", "pitch manure", "solve equations, "butcher a hog", "die gallantly" amongst other things....
Chapter 3 (France) - Louis Pasteur was a French chemist and microbiologist renowned for discoveries of the principles of vaccination, fermentation and pasteurisation...I actually found this very interesting. I guess Pasteur is where the word pasteurisation comes from.
Chapter 7 (USA?) - First recorded use was Dallas Morning News in 1976 apparently.
Chapter 8 (USA?) - It says "traditional" in the book but google attributes this quote to Marion J. Levy Jr who was an American sociologist noted for his work on modernisation theory.
Chapter 9 (Denmark) - Peit Hein was a Danish polymath. He also invented the Soma cube and the board game Hex.
Chapter 10 (USA) - Richard Feynman was an American theoretical physicist known for many things made out of big words. He looks more like a Hollywood actor than a scientist.
Chapter 11 (Germany) - Albert Einstein was a German theoretical physicist who practically invented all physics (I'm exaggerating but he made a lot of contributions). I had no idea that he died in 1955, I thought it was much later.
Chapter 12 (USA) - Calvin and Hobbes was a daily American comic strip that I had never heard of until researching this. I literally put "Calvin's dad" into google and it knew exactly what I was talking about. Google says it's cited as "the last great comic newspaper". Clearly they had never heard of Garfield.
Chapter 14 (Roman Republic) - A Roman author, architect and civil/military engineer during the 1st century BC.
Chapter 18 (?) - Caveat Emptor is apparently a Latin phrase that means "let the buyer beware".
Chapter 15 (France) - His actual name is Francois-Marie Arouet (quite possible one the Frenchest names I've encountered) and was born 1694. He was an French "enlightenment" writer. I'm guessing that's not to do with new age stuff but more philosophy.
Chapter 16 (USA) - Nicholas Negroponte is a Greek-American architect and stupidly rich.
Chapter 19 (UK) - Winston Churchill was the Prime Minister of the UK from 1940 till 1945.
Chapter 23 (USA) - Errol Morris is an American film director known for documentaries.
Chapter 24 (USA) - Henry Louis Mencken was an American Journalist.
Oh this took an hour of just pure ctrl+c ctrl+v slight edit. I'm not surprised the creators of FLTK created Fluid, creating forms is tedious. But I powered through and I'm happy with the result.
I did it! I managed not to procrastinate as much with this chapter and got it done in just under a month. With that I'm finally onto a chapter I've been looking forward to.
