Any “coders” here.

Not one?

More info...

What language? What OS?

Direct X

Think gaming interface.

More than likely use Boedner’s interface board.

I want this level of functionality but with a custom interface.

I can create the actual “graphic” icons but the code is the big part.

[link to joytokey.net (secure)]

That’s nice dear.

Try this one
[link to file.wikileaks.org (secure)]

Well that escalated quickly.

Not sure if I should be reading that.

I just want to play a video game.

Was there some good reason you dropped that here?

DirectX isn't a language, it's a graphics interface. Meaning there's DirectX libraries you can pull in to your project to make things. But this is seriously the REAL hard way of doing things. And your project would be dead before it got off the ground.

Microsoft offers Visual Studio for free, so you can download that. Personally I use C# but, you can use VB.Net. Creating a simple Winform is easy using Visual Studio and it handles most of the wire up for you which is nice. Also, if you are interested in doing 3d stuff. Microsoft offers Unity for free as well, that also integrates automagically with Visual Studio which is pretty sweet.

You can also use Java, but I really don't like how Java Interfaces work. But Java would be good if you're wanting to make something that would be cross OS. That's why most people use it. I'm not sure if Eclipse has put in a GUI editor into their IDE for java. When I was doing Java I would use Netbeans to build the visual interface and port the code into Eclipse. Eclipses intellisense works better IMO.

Last Edited by reversefiction on 11/08/2020 05:48 PM

You need to be more specific. So you want to write a software that maps gamepad buttons to keystrokes?

I'm familiar with C but don't have time to become proficient in it.

With the free MS stuff would I still be able to bundle it with said peripheral and sell it or will Bill rush in vaccinate me and claim he should get a piece of the pie?

Yes, but with a completely customized look specific to my peripheral.

The main reason is do to needing to use sliders but with the option to zone them to act like buttons, AND to tie it directly to my peripheral visually.

Here's an example.

[link to www.hardwareasylum.com (secure)]


But it's not a mouse.

C#, completely different language. The only thing remotely similar is the syntax. Beyond that, it is own animal. But it's actually rather easy to pick up on and learn. I would say it's probably the most well supported language out there when it comes to the community. Tons of blogs and tutorials that can help you develop whatever it is you want to develop.

So, I believe how the EULA works for free VS is you can write whatever software you want to with it. But the second you make it into a commercial product you have to pony up I think $500 for the IDE. And go from VS Community to VS professional. Which is fair. Visual Studio is really a wonderful piece of software, and it's worth every bit of the money we pay for it. Think of it more like, you're going to build a garage, but instead of having to buy all the materials up front. They give you all the materials up front, and once it's completed and your using it. You got to pay for it. But no, your code is your code, you have the copywrite on it. So, it's not like they'll seize your business or anything like that. They'll just sue you for just compensation for using their product to develop the code if you don't pay up. But, I've never really heard of them doing that. They also have a program called "Microsoft for Startups" which gives you access to all of the developer tools and even an Azure account for a certain period of time. And whatever you use you can pay off in installments to them once you become profitable.

I know, I hate Gates too. But he really hasn't been in the picture at Microsoft for a while. Lot's of stuff changed after Ballmer became CEO, and he brought the company into a more community oriented platform, that actually started giving stuff away under a full open source license. Which has actually worked rather well for them, and well for would be developers out there who are just trying to make a living.

It's a love hate relationship that I have with MS. But on the developer side of things, they seem to have their heads screwed on straight.

But if your a hobbiest with VS, you never have to pay for it. That's the cool part. And I think it works differently if you decide that you want to release your code under the OpenSource license. You'll have to check, but I don't think you have to pay them anything, cause you're not getting paid anything. Unless you ask for donations or something. Then you might have to pay them.

That all seems fair. I haven’t two nickels to rub together but if profitable I’d gladly pay 500.

Last Edited by Jeffersons Blackberry on 11/08/2020 06:34 PM

Now to download VS and start the learning curve.

Yeah, well the thing is. Is C# has been wildly successful for Microsoft. The only reason why Java is used more than C# is because Android uses Java. Microsoft came to it's senses around 2012, when it realized that if they want really wide adoption of their platform, they need to give a little on what was a horrible licensing policy. I would say though that probably out of all the websites you go to. Excluding any social media, that 50% of them are using Microsoft stack technologies. Microsoft has a huge market share in small to medium sized businesses, and even in larger businesses.

So, really it's worth their while to make it as easy as possible for people to pick up and start running with it.

I'm a programmer, that's what I do professionally. My livelihood is based off these technologies. And honestly, I got some gripes with MS stuff, but I have to say their stuff is the most consistent. And the least headache prone. Hell you learn it well enough, you can take that knowledge and go out and apply for a job as a programmer. There's a shortage of those right now, and the pay is good. I've met many people in the industry who started off as hobbiests, and it translated into a full time job. And these days, almost every company has an IT department, and the need for 1 programmer on staff. And chances are, they're using Microsoft technologies. Whether it's in their order processing systems or whatever. So there's that too.

Now all I want is this to run in the background with certain games. Stand alone or Steam. No need for any internet/cloud type stuff.

Just a tailor made interface to program the peripheral before launching game titles.

I would recommend an all Javascript stack:

GUI: React or Angular
Backend (if you're using a server): nodejs (use Typescript for class definitions)

OS: Target OS should be Linux/Ubuntu; you can develop on a Mac easily because the command line Mac OS uses VERY similar commands to your target environment.

I would say that's real steep for a beginner, and can be a nightmare to debug. Angular is great, and nodejs is great. But if he wants to run a peripheral application on the backend of a video game to control inputs. It's probably better to go with some compiled code.

I’m very appreciative of y’alls responses but I’m on diner duty.

I will be back to this later.

Thanks so much.

What peripheral?

I used C++ to create a GUI for a project. I'm just a hobbyist. I had to pull the libraries and learn how it worked. I'm sure any object orientated language would work though. Youtube is the devil but there's good information on coding anyway.

Unreal Engine 4, Visual Studio. After you get it all set up, the rest should be fairly easy.

Small break before dinner. And to answer your question.

It’s a s secret.

Did any of you look at the catz interface example?

I want that kind of GUI.

IMPORTANT.

Here’s the board I’m going to use for now.

[link to www.leobodnar.com]

Be back after dinner.

Hell, I cooked it.

I’m damned gonna eat it.