Chapter 3.2 C++, Java, and Scripting Languages hacked by jeffery

2 C++ C used to be the most popular language for games Today, C++ is a popular language for game development

3 C++: Strengths Performance Control over low-level functionality (memory management, etc) Can switch to assembly or C when necessary Good interface with OS + hardware

4 C++: Strengths vis-a-vis C High-level, object-oriented High-level language features are essential for making today's complex games Inheritance, polymorphism, templates, and exceptions... Strongly typed, has improved reliability compared w/ C

5 C++: Strengths C Heritage the primary high-level language that is backwards-compatible with C Has APIs and compiler support in all platforms Folks know it

6 C++: Strengths Libraries STL (Standard Template Library) Comprehensive set of standard libraries Boost: widely used library with wide variety of functionality Qt, Rabin, let's not forget Qt SDL, Ogre, etc. Many commercial libraries available

7 C++: Weaknesses Too low-level Still forces programmers to deal with low- level issues Too error-prone Attention to low-level details is overkill for high-level features or tools Blog after Blog, game developers write their own scripting language atop it.

8 C++: Weaknesses Too complicated Because of its C heritage, C++ is very complicated Long learning curve to become competent with the language

9 C++: Weaknesses Lacking features No reflection or introspection features No method of object serialization No native support for message passing

10 C++: Weaknesses Slow iteration C++ is fully compiled into binary format from source code Compiling large numbers of files is very slow This will only become more of a problem as games become more complex

11 C++: When to Use It? When performance is crucial If your current code base is mostly C and C++ If you have a lot of in-house expertise in C++ Avoid using it for high-level code, such as tools

12 Java and C# for Game Development Why use Java/C#? Simplifies many C++ features Adds several useful high-level features (Java: Easy to develop for multiple platforms) Good library support

13 Java/C# for Game Development Performance Notably weaker than C/C++ Has improved in the last few years: still not up to C++ level, but very close Just-In-Time compiling and HotSpot optimizations, etc. Now has high-performance libraries Also has access to native functionality

14 Java/C# for Game Development Platforms Well suited to downloadable and browser- based games Dominates development on mobile, handheld platforms, e.g. Android Possible to use in full PC games Not used (much?) in consoles

15 Java in Game Development Commercial games using Java Downloadable games like those from PopCap Games: Mummy Maze, etc Online card games PC games using Java as a scripting language: Vampire: The Masquerade, Star Wars Galaxies PC games fully written in Java: You Don't Know Jack, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire

16 C# in Game Development Some prominent server-side and mono- based uses, e.g. SecondLife XNA Game Studio Express Free for students/hobbyists

17 Scripting Languages + VHLLs Why use scripting languages and very high level languages? Ease and speed of development Short iteration time Code becomes a game asset Offer additional features and are customizable

18 Scripting Languages Drawbacks Slow performance Limited tool support Dynamic typing makes it difficult to catch errors Awkward interface with the rest of the game Difficult to implement well

19 Scripting Languages Popular scripting languages Python, Ruby, Lisp/Scheme,... Javascript, Actionscript, etc. Custom scripting languages UnrealScript, QuakeC, NWNScript

20 Scripting Languages How to choose a scripting language What features do you need? What performance requirements? What debugging facilities does the language have? On what platforms does it need to run? What resources and expertise are available?

21 VM as Game Engine Game engines are typically extended with scripting languages Games are written in a mix of systems- level (C/C++), app-level (Java/C#), and interpreted code What would VMs need in order to replace game engines??