BBCSDL for Windows

[mtommasi]

Dear All,
I have been using BB4W for long time and I wish to use the new BBCSDL version in order to make cross-platform applications.
In particular I need to write an application that will be ported to a Raspberry Pi and I wish to develop and test it in the Windows environment first.
I have downloaded the BBCSDL zip folder for Windows and de-zipped on my desktop but I can't find any "install" program inside.
When running bbcsdl.exe I am getting a "Render targets not supported" message.
I am using "Window 7 home premium" on a "Intel Atom CPU D510 @ 1.66 GHz".
Can anybody help me to get to a "Hello world" program...?

Thank you in advance. Marcello

[guest]

When running bbcsdl.exe I am getting a "Render targets not supported" message.

That means your graphics card is not suitable. You may find that updating your graphics drivers will fix this (check the manufacturer's site because it may have later drivers than Windows Update) but if not you will be unable to run BBCSDL, sorry.

But in any case I should caution you that Windows is not an ideal OS on which to develop cross-platform applications. Issues such as filenames being case-insensitive mean that it's only too easy to write a program that will run in BBCSDL on Windows but not on Linux or Android.

Richard.

[mtommasi]

Thank you Richard. I will check that.
I understand that developing a BBCSDL application on Windows will not be exactly the same as for the target platform (Raspberry Pi).
I wish to start with a Win application and then do the same applicatiopn on the target platform once I will be familiar with the new environment that currently I don't know enough.
Now I have done the same download on a Win10 platform and it runs.
I have copied the unzipped folder into the "C:\ProgramFiles(x86)" directory and then run "bbcsdl.exe". The application starts (having selected "Richard's IDE"). When invoking "Help Topics" I am getting an error message "Line 0 Internal error 254" and then the application stops.
Have I done something wrong.

[guest]

When invoking "Help Topics" I am getting an error message "Line 0 Internal error 254" and then the application stops.

It works here, but all it does is to open the BB4W manual at the website, so you can achieve the same thing using your browser! There is no BBCSDL-specific help available - all along I've said that I want the help documentation to be contributed by users. If you need to use any SYS calls then the SDL 2.0 API is very well documented online, but otherwise you're on your own. Using BBCSDL is something a voyage of discovery, in the dark!

Richard.

[mtommasi]

I understand...!
I was concerned about the portability of "normal" BB4W code into BBCSDL.
Are all the BB4W keywords supported and work exactly the same way in BBCSDL..?
My current application uses some graphics and some system calls to set up a TCP/IP call to a server.
I wish to get in contact with other users who had the same portability issue from BB4W to Raspberry Pi
Does anybody have this experience before?

Best regards

Marcello

[guest]

Are all the BB4W keywords supported and work exactly the same way in BBCSDL..?

It's necessary to distinguish between keywords that activate 'internal' features (variables, arrays, structures, loops, conditional statements, numeric and string computations etc.) and those which activate 'external' features (input/output, graphics, sound, OS interface etc.). The former (at least in the case of x86 implementations such as Linux and Mac OS) run exactly the same code and should behave in precisely the same way as they do in BB4W.

The latter, of course, whilst being identical in their syntax may not give identical results; although I have made them as compatible as I reasonably can within the constraints imposed by SDL 2.0. For example if your program relies on 'pixel perfect' graphics don't expect it to look the same. Only a very few features are not currently implemented at all, including 'block swap' (PLOT 249/253), 'draw arc' (PLOT 160-167), 'plot segment' (PLOT 168-175) and all hardcopy (printer) features (VDU 1, VDU 2, *printerfont, *hardcopy etc.).

My current application uses some graphics and some system calls to set up a TCP/IP call to a server.

The BBCSDL version of socklib.bbc is highly compatible with the BB4W version, so if your TCP/IP calls are entirely via library functions I wouldn't anticipate any serious problems.

Richard.