From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Return-Path: Received: (qmail 15242 invoked by alias); 19 Nov 2003 17:25:47 -0000 Mailing-List: contact xconq7-help@sources.redhat.com; run by ezmlm Precedence: bulk List-Subscribe: List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: , Sender: xconq7-owner@sources.redhat.com Received: (qmail 15229 invoked from network); 19 Nov 2003 17:25:46 -0000 Received: from unknown (HELO garm.central.cmich.local) (141.209.15.48) by sources.redhat.com with SMTP; 19 Nov 2003 17:25:46 -0000 Received: from leon.phy.cmich.edu ([141.209.165.20]) by egate1.central.cmich.local with Microsoft SMTPSVC(5.0.2195.6713); Wed, 19 Nov 2003 12:25:22 -0500 Received: from localhost (unknown [127.0.0.1]) by leon.phy.cmich.edu (Postfix) with ESMTP id 6FD7B7001D; Wed, 19 Nov 2003 12:25:21 -0500 (EST) Date: Wed, 19 Nov 2003 17:58:00 -0000 From: Eric McDonald To: bboett@adlp.org Cc: xconq7@sources.redhat.com Subject: Re: OT Python stuff (was RE: Python in Xconq) In-Reply-To: <20031119153130.GM387@adlp.org> Message-ID: MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII X-OriginalArrivalTime: 19 Nov 2003 17:25:22.0369 (UTC) FILETIME=[1CA0BB10:01C3AEC2] X-SW-Source: 2003/txt/msg00796.txt.bz2 On Wed, 19 Nov 2003, Bruno Boettcher wrote: > > And a scripting language is seriously preferred, because it will permit > > so much more stuff. > yah :D And that can also be a problem. Think about the possibilities for cheating. And we would have to be more cautious about security too. > > If we add a scripting language, then I would submit that we write a > > simple porting script to convert GDL to that language, and drop GDL. > > IMHO, GDL is just a way to fill in data-structures, and any language can > > do that. > oh? that sounds like a nice idea? Here are a few more points: (1) Richard mentioned to me yesterday that each additional piece of external software that becomes an Xconq dependency is an additional annoyance. If you build tkconq then you need Tcl/Tk, and if you build sdlconq then you need SDL. Do we really want to say that we also need Perl (which is fairly ubiquitous on Linux, but not necessarily so on other platforms) or Python (which is admittedly a nice language, but still not as widespread as Perl, AFAICT)? (2) Richard also raised the idea of using Tcl as an Xconq scripting engine. This partially eliminates the concern just raised; however with the SDL interface this would still be regarded as an additonal dependency. (3) A full-blown scripting language can open many doors for cheating, as I mentioned above. (4) GDL actually does usefully serve an important niche: game designers who are uncomfortable with a larger language. If we replace GDL, then we are raising the entry barrier for some of those who wish to design game modules for Xconq. I am not against adding a scripting engine to Xconq based on external software, but I do urge caution and consideration.... Eric