[Kde-games-devel] Possible GSoC project

[Ian Wadham]

On Tue, 25 Mar 2008 08:33 am, Guy Van den Broeck wrote:
> 2008/3/24, Ian Wadham <ianw2 at optusnet.com.au>:
> > But what I ask is whether it is realistic for Guy to expect to
> > complete very much within the time-frame of a GSoC project?
> > Might you be biting off more than you can chew, Guy? 
>
> That depends. If I have to rewrite all the server logic in C++ then yes,
> that would be too much.
> If I can write a thin client for the Java server (possibly hosted on GGZ
> Gaming Zone?) then there's no problem and I can even throw in some
> basic AI for a single player mode. My Master's thesis is about poker AI.
>
Hope this catches you before you head off.  I think a thin KDE client
is the way to go and could be a good addition to KDE Games, provided
you can find a host for the Java server.  KDE 4 is just beginning to
encourage other languages, such as Python, from what I can gather,
so C++ would probably be the best way to go.  I cannot speak for KDE
nor KDE Games and have no part in evaluating GSoC proposals, but
I wish you all the best with yours.

> > BTW do KDE applications really *have* to be written in C++?  Whether
> > they have to or not, I know from personal experience that it is quite a
> > lot of work to KDE-ize an application.
>
> This indeed is a key issue. I can write a thin client in C++ but if we need
> to bundle the server then Java needs to be supported.
>
I cannot imagine that the server would have to be KDE-ized.  After all,
we have other apps that hook in to non-KDE servers.  I guess the protocol
would have to be fully documented, if it is not already.

When I say "KDE-ize", I am thinking mainly about using the Qt and KDE
libraries, avoiding bringing in new library dependencies as far as possible,
and then following all the standards and guidelines in KDE Techbase
http://techbase.kde.org/ regarding GUIs, dialogs, internationalization,
translation, etc. that make KDE multi-O/S, multi-platform and multi-
lingual --- or just getting "inspiration" from an existing KDE Game ... :-)

> > I would really like to see a revival of poker in KDE 4, but I think it is
> > more than a short-term project.
> I appreciate your honest evaluation. I only want to do this if the
> community supports it, and if they do, I want to work very hard to achieve
> the goals. CSPoker is a long-term project for me and that will hopefully
> include a KDE port.
>
It is possible, if KPoker returns from .../playground, that it could
co-exist peacefully with your CSPoker KDE client for a while.  There is
not a lot of overlap or duplication at present.  Maybe a merger of
functionality could eventually occur.

But don't tread on Andi Beckermann's toes.  He is one of the
founders of the KDE Games group and co-author of one of my "bibles",
"Open Source Game Development", by Martin Heni and Andreas
Beckermann, Charles River Media, 2006.

If Andi is willing and has the time, I could not think of a better person
to be your GSoC mentor.

All the best, Ian W.