Side Project, Porting C++ to Java

[rapidcoder]

Why would you want to write applets? Does anybody actually still do that nowadays?

This is still the only way to create really fast browser applications running fine in Windows/Linux/Mac without need of delivering your own dedicated plugin. Silverlight is close, although not that portable and not that fast on Linux.

You can think JS and HTML5 is a good replacement. Yeah, for simper things you are right. But not for applications demanding more power, e.g. simulation or gaming stuff. Even with recent huge improvements of JavaScript VMs like Google V8, JavaScript is still order of magnitude (think 10x - 30x) slower than Java or Silverlight. And in IE it is two orders of magnitude slower. There are few chances this will improve much in the future, because there are several things in JS that make it inherently hard to optimise. E.g. lack of integer arithmetic (all is float) or lack of static typing.

Additionally applets are the only way to deliver applications that can have full access to the client machine. You can't do that with JS nor Flash.

Actually there are lots of companies still using / developing applets, but you won't see them employed for simple stuff, where JS + HTML5 or Flash is enough. E.g. banks sometimes use Java applets for security.

Can you make applets or an equivalent in Scala or Lisp?

Yes, no problem with that. Scala supports them natively, just as Java, and for LISP just take Closure. It is LISPy enough. :D

[LB]

rapidcoder wrote:

Yes, no problem with that. Scala supports them natively, just as Java, and for LISP just take Closure. It is LISPy enough. :D

Cool! I'm guessing they're faster than Java, right? :D

[hanst99]

Scala doesn't have much of a speed difference compared to java.

[LB]

D:

[incremental]

Writing an APPLET is the only way I see of creating an easy-to-use interface for a program I wrote in C++. If I had my choice, I'd prefer to write it in c++. Not having the capacity to do such is the reason why I chose to try to change languages. From what I was told, it would be easier to port to java for an applet. The whole point of porting is to take the quickest route to getting my program on a functional interface. That essentially is the only thing I really need. The code I wrote suffices for what I want. All I need is an interface with a simple push-to-work synchronization.


TL;DR Need interface for program I wrote. C++ GUI too hard, Java GUI easier. Umad?

[incremental]

I've decided that what I'm trying to get help with is more of a concept idea and something more concrete may help solidify the type of help I need.

Follow the link to a crudely done paint file I created.

http://imgur.com/zMVGV

[hanst99]

C++ GUI too hard, Java GUI easier.

Not really. The only thing that's 'easier' about writing GUI's in Java is that Java already comes with a (two actually) GUI API.

[rapidcoder]

Scala doesn't have much of a speed difference compared to java

In theory it doesn't, but in practice it lets you code efficient algorithms easier and faster. It has more power for algorithmic optimisations, which are usually the ones that matter the most.

[incremental]

=( I just want to build a box with buttons =((

[chrisname]

Try a GUI toolkit such as WxWidgets.

[incremental]

Tried installing Widgets but its the most complicated installation process ever. I gave up on some stupid external program. If I cant do it on Eclipse or Visual Studio, I won't do it.

[hanst99]

Tried installing Widgets but its the most complicated installation process ever.

IIRC:

cmake
make
make install
done.

I don't think you can get much easier than that, except already providing precompiled binaries (which exist for Windows btw).

[incremental]

I'm just gonna mark this as solved and give up. Screw it.

[chrisname]

You won't get far with programming if you give up whenever things get a little bit hard.

[incremental]

All anyone in here has done is either talk about why applets are good or what program is for what. They've done nothing in helping me understand my problem. I'm sorry if what I'm asking is a hard concept for people to answer.


Also, there's a fine line between guiding someone to the answer and telling someone to figure it out themselves. You can't expect me to pick up a whole language. I wouldn't have learned C++ had I not had a professor walking me through the language. This is what I wanted. A walkthrough. A guide. Not, "Hey, this is the stuff you use. Do it yourself." To me that's the lazy route.

"Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish, feed him for a lifetime."

[hanst99]

They've done nothing in helping me understand my problem

You do realize that what you just quoted applies to what you're asking of us, do you?

telling someone to figure it out themselves.

I can say for myself that's what I've been doing. And I believe that's the only useful answer there is given the information that was provided. You didn't actually present a problem that could be solved, you just asked for a solution.

Just to clarify: You asked for a "walkthrough" but it wasn't clear at all what you actually wanted- port a C++ application to Java (like the title suggests)? Well, learn Java. There are plenty of tutorials out there for that. Write a GUI for your C++ application (which apparently is what you've been meaning to ask)? Well, guess what, there are plenty of tutorials on that too. If you're saying you already read those and still don't get it, well then clearly state what your concrete problem is.

[chrisname]

I said "try WxWidgets" intending you to install it and find a tutorial for yourself. I realise that you tried to install it but you didn't say why it wasn't working or what was happening when you tried to install it.

As well as WxWidgets, there is also Gtk+ (or Gtkmm for C++), Winfows API (low-level) and Qt (too big for your purposes). I thought WxWidgets would be best for you because it's high-level and uses C++ concepts (so it's easier to use than Gtk+ and the Windows API), and it's also lighter than Qt. Don't get me wrong, Qt is awesome, but it's a very big library.

C# is a nice, Java-like language (IMO it's better than Java) which has a built-in GUI (Windows Forms, which is built on top of the Windows API). You can also use Gtk# (recommended over Windows Forms because it allows your applications to run on Linux and Mac, plus I think it's easier and better). Gtk# is essentially Gtk+ ported to C#, but with massive improvements (it's a lot easier to use).

[hanst99]

IMO it's better than Java

I wouldn't disagree, although it does have it's own share of problems too (specifically, I remember C# being very verbose with lots and lots of keywords).

[LB]

hanst99 wrote:

cmake
make
make install

And what do you have to install in order to use those commands? ;p

EDIT: I know my question sounds stupid because it is obvious that you just have to download a binary of CMake. However, the OP may not know how to do that or how to use it once installed. I am simply pointing out that something simple is hard if you don't know how to do it. (Like math, people think it is hard but they just don't understand it)