Programming

[deltafan 1]

OK, thanks. I think that's all I need for now. I should be able to figure it out from the tutorials and programming forums.

[Guest hfitz]

>First off, what program do I need to open .tgz and .tar.gz>files?A current version of an archiving/compression utility such as WinZIP, WinRAR (shareware), but there are many free ones out there, too. For example, something like InfoZIP, FreeZIP, PowerZIP. >Second of all, what programs do I need for programming C++ for>FlightGear?I thought I mentioned this already in my previous postings?You will mainly require a current C++ compiler, again there are many free ones out there. The compiler of choice for the FlightGear project would certainly be gcc, which is a multi platform compiler that can not only be used on a wide range of platforms, but which can also be used to cross compile source code (i.e. for targets different from the host). http://gcc.gnu.org>What other programs would be necessary to program code?Nowadays, compilers are often no longer shipped as single units, practically always you'll get a whole compiler suite which will already contain most if not all required tools. This is at least the case for compilers such as MSVC++, BorlandC++, gcc.Depending on your OS of choice, there's a whole variety of free tools out there. Particularly for Linux there are literally tens of thousands of GREAT tools out there.So, if you want to get started developing for FlightGear, it will initially probably not really matter what c++ compiler you use, as long as it's a current/standard-compliant one. The software requirements for a working development environment are really not that high. Indeed, in order to compile FlightGear you will mainly need a compiler and the current source code for all dependencies. If you want to get the latest sources from CVS repositories, you will also want to install a CVS client such as WinCVS or TortoiseCVS which would allow you to check out (=download) the latest stuff from CVS and update your local source trees.For Windows/Linux, a good, lightweight and FREE/opensource gcc-based IDE (integrated development environment/including a compiler!) is codeblocks: http://www.codeblocks.org less than 20MB a download and you'll have a complete development environment set up within minutes.Afterwards, you'll want to work through some of the previously mentioned C++ tutorials, introductions and references-at least as long as you truly intend to learn some C++ programming. If you then intend to compile FlightGear, you'll want to download the latest sources for its dependencies and set up new projects accordingly.Also, note that the CodeBlocks IDE project has a pretty active community (and forum!), so that you are likely to obtain help whenever necessary: http://forums.codeblocks.org/Additionally, the CodeBlocks IDE is pretty modular and has a wide range of plugins available, that way you will not need to install additional tools for things such as CVS/SVN access.

[Guest hfitz]

While there are not really any additional tools required, certain tools are certainly useful sooner or later (debugging, automatic source code documentation, source code analysis). Recommendations for most of such tools are also mentioned in the FlightGear WiKi, so you may want to spend some time checking out the information there. Apart from that your questions are probably a bit too development-specific for a forum such as this one, and may be better addressed on the FlightGear Developer mailing list, where people will be able to provide suggestions tailored to your requirements.

[deltafan 1]

I know you mentioned the compilers in your previous posts. This time, what I mean was specific complilers, like GCC that you mentioned which answered that question. But you said many compilers come in suites, is this the case of GCC? And then when I install the IDE, it will automatically intigrate with the GCC program/compiler?

[Guest hfitz]

>I know you mentioned the compilers in your previous posts.>This time, what I mean was specific complilers, like GCC that>you mentioned which answered that question. But you said many>compilers come in suites, is this the case of GCC? And then>when I install the IDE, it will automatically intigrate with>the GCC program/compiler?well, I may be wrong but I think if you spend another two minutes carefully re-reading my previous answers, you'll also find the answers to your last two questions-anyway: yes and yes. I was specifically referring to CodeBlocks, which already is an IDE (*I*ntegrated *D*evelopment *E*nvironment) in itself and optionally comes with gcc/MingW already pre-configured, which you could not only tell from my other two postings, but also by simply going to http://www.codeblocks.org and checking out the available resources (including the forum). I am saying this specifically because it is getting easy to get the impression that you may not be too much into reading in general? Which on the other hand is a pretty crucial skill for anybody who intends to learn programming. And without trying to offend you, sooner or later it's going to annoy people if they get back to your questions but you don't seem to read these very replies carefully enough.Seriously, there's nothing wrong about asking a question, but usually it's really extremely appreciated if people are generally able to make the impression that they are able to do some basic research (=learn to use google!) themselves or at least apply communicated knowledge properly. Otherwise, those people who may be willing to provide assistance, may quickly get the impression that their help is provided in vain. Again, don't get me wrong, I am primarily saying this to help you avoid making the same "mistakes" in other (virtual) places (like for example the codeblocks forum), too.In conclusion: download an IDE such as CodeBlocks or DevC++ that comes with a pre-configured C++ compiler (such as gcc) and you should have everything you need in order to learn C++ programming.

[deltafan 1]

Sorry, I have no previous programming experience at all, so please bear with me for one more question that you have answered:After downloading the CodeBlocks IDE with MINGW compiler, will I need to download everything under the MinGW Sources part of the download page?

[Guest hfitz]

>Sorry, I have no previous programming experience at all, so>please bear with me for one more question that you have>answered:Sure, I really don't mind it all that much-on the other hand your questions are really not that much about programming, but rather about reading what's written at www.codeblocks.org ;-)>After downloading the CodeBlocks IDE with MINGW compiler, will>I need to download everything under the MinGW Sources part of>the download page?I am not sure what you are referring to, but provided that you have downloaded the IDE installer that contains already gcc/MingW, there should be NO need to download anything else. But I am sure all you need to know is described at www.CodeBlocks.org

[Guest hfitz]

>Sorry, I have no previous programming experience at all, so>please bear with me for one more question that you have>answered:>>After downloading the CodeBlocks IDE with MINGW compiler, will>I need to download everything under the MinGW Sources part of>the download page?Just checked the downloads page: NO, you are referring to the source code of the IDE itself, which would only be required to rebuild the binary of the IDE, i.e. if you were interested in contributing to that project, then you would also download the source code, to be able to make modifications and recompile the sources.However, you will only require the download that's titled "Code::Blocks IDE, with MINGW compiler" for Win32, which is ~14MB in size.

[Guest hfitz]

So, just download and install the IDE, then set up a test project and compile a simple test program, for example://--------------------------#include int main(){using namespace std;cout << ":-)" <

[deltafan 1]

OK, thanks. I think that's all I need for now. I should be able to figure it out from the tutorials and programming forums.