Graal API
 

The external scripted windows were supposed to eliminate the need for external tools. Stefan first predicted their release around Christmas. It is now September and they still haven't been released. At this point I'm not confident the external scripted windows will be released this year.

As a solution I propose a Graal API. This would appear in the form of a DLL file with the required C/C++ headers and library for dynamic linking. The DLL file would provide two general functions: script parsing and server communication.

For the script parsing, there would be one input function ParseScript(const char *script). The DLL file would allow you to specify callback functions that would be called during script parsing so your program would know when to load a tileset, gmap, or anything else that the level editor should be doing.

For the server communication, it would be pretty much similar to SendText() and OnRecieveText(). I don't think that needs anymore elaboration.

I believe this would take much less effort for Stefan to create than the whole external scripted windows. If it had been done back during Christmas we'd already have an up-to-date level editor with support for layers and GS2 and 32-bit PNG's.

const char* :\

I am not really sure what you are asking for, here. Do you essentially want the entire script engine and also the network code in a standalone dll? Would you not kind of need the rest of the Graal engine as well to actually do anything with the parsed script?

:rolleyes:
No, for level editing the dll would just have a parser that would notify your program when it should be doing something. The networking part would simply be what is available in the RC.This API would not support offline testing or anything like that. When used with level editor, it would simply be giving you a way to parse a script present in the level so that you can know when to load tiledefs or a gmap like with the current level editor.

I'm suffering here without power or internet (currently using WiFi in random church parking lot) and ya'll aren't even nice enough to reply to my thread. D:

Poor Inverness <3

i feel your pain, once i had two weeks with only my itouch using wifi on random places...

I fixed a bug in your proposed API and you are not even nice enough to not rolleye at it :\

Yeah I do not really see this suggesting being all that useful. :(

It doesn't have to be a constant to work, which is why it wasn't there the first time. The parsed script most likely won't be a literal.
This would help people develop their own tools on their own time rather than waiting a year for Stefan to release external scripted controls.

I've wanted an excuse to make a program in Python.

It has to be constant to work with pointers to constant characters. It does not have to be non-constant to work, so it should be constant. Requiring that the character array is mutable is ridiculous (you would be unable to pass data from std::strings).

There is plenty of room for people to make their own tools without that dll, and the things you get out of it probably do not justify the effort involved.

Graal does not want people to write their own programs that mess with the protocol, so you are not ever going to get a dll that lets you talk to the server. (Perhaps you could set up something with the web-ish GS2 stuff? No idea, I never used it)

You could probably write your own minimalistic parser for gmaps and tiledefs or whatever in scripts, since if they are not hardcoded, and instead dynamic, you probably would not want them to be applied in an editor anyway. But I really doubt that the reason that no one made a third party level editor yet is that people would have to configure gmaps and tiledefs themselves.

Thats a good point actually, I will remember it.
The DLL would take less effort than the external scripted windows, which is why I proposed it.
The functionality the DLL would provide for RC would be equivilent to the SendText() and OnRecieveText() functions.Me neither, sounds like something to look in to.

Bump.

I want to make an RC using wxPython, Inverness wants an API.

It's not likely to happen. Sorry.

I know, but nobody can say that I wasn't willing to help Graal when I start complaining about something.

You could work on gonstruct instead! That does not require non-free DLLs!

If I decide to make a level editor it will be using wxPython, which makes it platform independent.

gonstruct is platform-independent as well. :mad:

Pfft, it's in C++, Python is more productive.

And I prefer wxWidgets over GTK+

Yeah but at the end of the day you just have a bunch of python...

... that makes a level editor for Graal.

Then get on it already!!

Seriously a lot more people need to write their own third party thingies.

Fanboy and proud!