[CF-Devel] Java Crossfire Client

[Mark Wedel]

Uwe Kubosch wrote:

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      Hi all!
     
     
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      So, being an experienced Java programmer I want to revive the Java client.  I've 
     
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      talked to Philip Brown, and gotten the latest source code, and I have fired it 
     
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      up, and IT WORKS, although without graphics, yet.  :)
     
     

  On the bright side, you can probably look at the java editor to see/grab some 
of its display code.


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      What I'd like to know is, is the Java client source in the main CVS repository?  
     
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      I couldn't find it...  :)
     
     

  Last I knew, Phil was giving out source to some people, but the source wasn't 
meant for public access.  You should probably check with Phil and see what 
conditions he has given you the source.  If he has changed his mind and is OK 
with the source being public and it being put under the GPL, you could put it in 
CVS (I am pretty sure it is sourceforge's policy that it only allows products 
under GPL type licenses, and doesn't generally want to host products that may be 
under sort of open licenses but not GPL, to prevent confusion and possible 
liability)



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      Can I expect any help in fixing the java client?  What I need the most help with 
     
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      is protocol issues and high level concepts and overall design of CF 
     
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      client/server.  The actual programming I can do myself, although it's always more 
     
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      fun being a group :)
     
     

  I can't comment on what other people may or may not do.  There certainly seems 
to be at least a few other java programmers around.  But it may not even be 
appropriate to give them copies of the source without Phil's permission.  It is 
difficult to help out in a product if you don't have source, except for 
theoretical or how this works.

  Hopefully, the protocol itself is reasonably well documented in the 
crossfire/doc/Developers/protocol file.  I would only worry about supporting the 
newer version of each command - the old ones are documented for compatiblity. 
The exception to this is the map commands - the map1 command (or more precisely, 
a minor extension called the map1a which is almost exactly the same) is what I 
am adding the combined image support to.  The map2 command will probably go away 
in the crossfire release - I know MT uses it in the CF:D project, but its format 
is slightly different there, so won't be compatible anyways.

  You may also want to look at the unix/C client.  Either to make a windows 
client (using the windows port of GTK), or just for the protocol logic it has in 
place - the conversion of its decode/encode logic to java should be pretty easy.

  I always try to answer questions posed to the developers list, whatever they 
may be.