Before I buy DBpro I would Just Like to Know one thing...

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Duplex

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Posted: 16th Apr 2007 17:01

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Can you make other programs/apps other than just games?

E.G - Your own version of MS paint?

Dup

If only you were me... Then You'd understand.

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wildbill

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Posted: 16th Apr 2007 17:25

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Its a programming language, only limited by your skill and willingness to learn.

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Duplex

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Posted: 16th Apr 2007 18:02

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Is that a yes?

If only you were me... Then You'd understand.

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The Nerd

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Posted: 16th Apr 2007 18:14 Edited at: 16th Apr 2007 18:19

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Yes, you can other than just games. And you could make a paint program. Actually, that has already been done several times using DB. Even if you can make other tools with it, it is mostly made for game programming. If you were to make something as an IDE or something as MS Word(just as an example), you would be better served with another programming language etc. So I guess it depends on which kind of tools you would like to make. Not that you couldn't make it somehow, but it would be more of a question how efficient it would be if made in DB.

Ci-Con

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Duplex

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Posted: 16th Apr 2007 18:20

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I know I shouldnt be posting it here on the TGC forums but what programing tool should I use then If its not DBpro as I would like to get into programming make not game programming.

If only you were me... Then You'd understand.

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The Nerd

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Posted: 16th Apr 2007 18:22 Edited at: 16th Apr 2007 18:22

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Well, quick answer here again, hehe

As I said, it depend on which kind of tools you would like to make, as some sure could be made using DB. But if you're not interested in making games, you may want to look into another basic language. You're able to find a lot around the internet

Google is your friend there. Hehe. But if you could give me some examples of which tools you would like to make, I could give you a more accurate answer.

Ci-Con

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Duplex

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Posted: 16th Apr 2007 18:55

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I would Like to make my own version of paint, how would I do it DBpro, I've nabbed my bro's copy while he's out so I got to be quick, It's installing now.

If only you were me... Then You'd understand.

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Duplex

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Posted: 16th Apr 2007 18:58

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Would it be something like this?

+ Code Snippet

CLS RGB (255, 255, 255)
INK 0, 0
BOX 100, 5, 120, 25
ColorMenu()
DO
CheckMouse()
ChooseColor()
LOOP
FUNCTION ColorMenu()
    PRINT "1. Black"
    PRINT "2. Red"
    PRINT "3. Green"
    PRINT "4. Blue"
ENDFUNCTION
FUNCTION CheckMouse()
    IF MOUSECLICK() = 1
        DOT MOUSEX(), MOUSEY()
        BOX 100, 5, 120, 25
    ENDIF
ENDFUNCTION
FUNCTION ChooseColor()
    IF KEYSTATE(2) = 1
        INK RGB (0, 0, 0), 0
        BOX 100, 5, 120, 25
    ENDIF
    IF KEYSTATE(3) = 1
        INK RGB (255, 0, 0), 0
        BOX 100, 5, 120, 25
    ENDIF
    IF KEYSTATE(4) = 1
        INK RGB (0, 255, 0), 0
        BOX 100, 5, 120, 25
    ENDIF
    IF KEYSTATE(5) = 1
        INK RGB (0, 0, 255), 0
        BOX 100, 5, 120, 25
    ENDIF
ENDFUNCTION

If only you were me... Then You'd understand.

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The Nerd

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Posted: 16th Apr 2007 19:03

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Have a look here:
http://forum.thegamecreators.com/?m=forum_view&t=86188&b=6

and here:
http://www.dbp-site.com/challenges/paint-program

Hope that helps you

Just some examples, but if you want to make a paint program, you would be able to use DB.

Ci-Con

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Bozzy

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Posted: 16th Apr 2007 19:19

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Visual Basic 2005 Express is good for other than games... but if you wanted to make a Paint app then DBPro is perfectly good enough.

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TDK

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Posted: 16th Apr 2007 21:10

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I would recommend you take a look at Delphi - the personal version is free.

DB is primarily for making 3D DirectX games and as such, not much importance was given to 2D commands. You would probably find them a little slow and a bit lacking.

For example, the box draws a filled rectangle so if you want an outline box you have to write extra code. In the same way, the circle command won't give you a filled shape - you have to write a fill routine. Fill X,Y isn't there either!

It also doesn't natively have support for buttons, dialogs and saving different picture file formats.

So, for a decent paint app, Delphi addresses all of these issues.

TDK_Man

* TDK's Game Programming Forums - Open To All - DB & Team Request Boards *

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Duplex

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Posted: 16th Apr 2007 21:11

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Yh I've heard of that but cant find it anywhere. Do you know the website? I've search Microsoft.com but cant find it.

If only you were me... Then You'd understand.

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Bozzy

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Posted: 16th Apr 2007 21:17

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Where do you get the free one from, it says its only from magazines here

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Duplex

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Posted: 16th Apr 2007 21:20

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Thanks For all the support1 I'm not used to it!

If only you were me... Then You'd understand.

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TDK

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Posted: 16th Apr 2007 21:44

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I just looked and Borland (not MS) seem to have stopped providing the free personal version of the latest Delphi as described here:

http://delphi.about.com/od/beginners/l/aa031202b.htm

However, as both the older Delphi 6 and 7 personal editions were both freely given away by Borland themselves, I can see no reason why you can't search for it and download it via bitTorrent as this would not be an illegal file.

Warning: Non-Personal versions of Delphi however are not legally downloadable, so make sure you only download the correct version.

TDK_Man

* TDK's Game Programming Forums - Open To All - DB & Team Request Boards *

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Duplex

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Posted: 16th Apr 2007 23:02

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When I said I seached The MS website I ment Visual Basic.

Sorry For confusion TDK

Dup

If only you were me... Then You'd understand.

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hyrichter

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Posted: 23rd Apr 2007 07:25

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Actually, you can now download the Delphi turbo versions for free.
http://www.turboexplorer.com

I also highly recommend Delphi as a language/tool for developing Windows applications.

Delphi 7 Personal is still available on Borland's server:
http://www.borland.pl/downloads/delphi_7_personal/Delphi7_Personal.zip

However, I'd recommend the newer Turbo Delphi.

Good performance is better than a good excuse.
CodeSurge -- DBP Editor for serious programmers.

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TDK

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Posted: 23rd Apr 2007 08:25

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Just had a quick look a the link hyrichter provided.

Personally, I wouldn't touch anything past V7 personal edition. In fact I'm more than happy with Delphi 5, but it's a matter of personal taste. If it rocks your boat, then go for it!

The prerequisites for installing Turbo are Microsoft.NET 1.1 runtime and SDK, the J# run-time, Internet Explorer 6.01, and MSXML.

I don't like Microsoft.NET or IE and won't have them on my machine. As such I'm not overly familiar with the .NET framework, but I was under the impression that anything you write with it requires the users of your programs to install it too (a hefty download) - or the software doesn't work. Is that correct?

At least Delphi 5, (and I believe 6 and 7) apps are stand-alone and don't need any extras installed - the exe's just run.

On the other hand I might be talking rubbish!

TDK_Man

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Veron

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Posted: 23rd Apr 2007 11:35

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If you're wanting to go the whole hog, go for learning C++. Although, I reccomend you learn DBP all the same, there is no limit on what you can make in it, the only limit is your coding ability.

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hyrichter

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Posted: 23rd Apr 2007 14:46

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TDK,
You only need all that other stuff to install the Delphi IDE. The .exes you create with it are just like with older versions, and are completely stand-alone. The limitation with the free Turbo Delphi is that you can't use any 3rd party components directly in the IDE, just only in your code. So, in this regard, if you were wanting to use lots of 3rd party components (which I do), you'd be better off with Delphi 7 Personal.

I used D7 personal for a while, but they really stripped down the IDE so it's a bit of a pain to do stuff with. I would actually recommend D6 personal over D7 personal, but I don't have a link to D6 personal anymore. The link I had to it no longer works.

Good performance is better than a good excuse.
CodeSurge -- DBP Editor for serious programmers.

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TDK

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Posted: 24th Apr 2007 06:02

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Ah OK.

A friend of mine was experimenting with the .Net version and I took one look at it and said "thanks, but no thanks"... just like he did about two weeks later as it happens.

I'm amazed he put up with it for two weeks actually!

We're now both quite happily churning stuff out with Delphi 5. I have all the components I need and I'm comfortable with the IDE.

There's absolutely nothing I couldn't write with V5 (limited only by my current programming abilities), so I have no reason to spend more money on V6 or V7.

You don't miss what you've never had, as the old saying goes...

TDK_Man

* TDK's Game Programming Forums - Open To All - DB & Team Request Boards *

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Lucy

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Posted: 25th Apr 2007 18:37

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Wow, so many people pushing Delphi... I haven't used a pascal based language in forever... Think the last time I used a Pascal of any sort was for making a DOS program. Actually a clone of the Doom DEHackEd tool for Hexen... but someone else did a better version because I sat on my thumbs.

No matter where you are... everyone is always connected.

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TDK

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Posted: 25th Apr 2007 20:19 Edited at: 25th Apr 2007 20:20

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I started coding in Pascal with the first version of Borland's Turbo Pascal many, many years ago...

TDK_Man

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