There is only one OS, and it’s been obsolete for decades

Consider the three operating system families we are forced to choose from: Windows, Apple, Other (which I shall refer to as "Linux" despite it technically being more specific). All of these are built around the same foundational concepts, those of Unix. Android sits atop the Linux kernel, with iOS (as well as Mac OS) atop …

TAOMLP.pdf

Just over five years ago, I wrote a tutorial on programming, in machine code, on Windows. Why?? I have been wondering that myself! But seriously, the main reason was that I felt I'd had enough of exploring low-level coding, and wanted a guide that would bring me up to speed in the future, should I …

Nightfall Attempt 2: Java, JSFML, 2013

It is summertime in 2013. By now, I've read Design Patterns and other stuff on software architecture. I think the reason for this is that I bought the 4th edition of Game Coding Complete (GCC4), which makes reference to it. I've also been forced to let go of the bare-metal mentality a little by switching …

Re-inventing the Square Method Dictionary

So far, I have shown how modelling using objects or data structures in certain languages, like C++, is very different to doing so in more dynamic languages like JavaScript. The first thing that happens is that, because a method is either always present or never present for all instances of a class, it ceases to …

I have no m_mouth, and I must scream()

Previously, I laid out some background on static vs dynamic software artefacts. I finished on the note that there are significant and popular programming languages, which do not provide the ability to modify their own code, or at least do not make it easy—let's call this the static code property. When we use these languages, …

Static vs Dynamic

People often talk about static and dynamic typing, but types are quite a specific topic, and the static vs. dynamic continuum (not a dichotomy) is important across programming in general. Sometime, I will focus on types elsewhere, but not here. In fact, I would like to say it is tremendously important for its effect on …

A survey of Nightfall, around the Web

(Last Updated: 4 Feb 2024, added SuperEssence's project, added pics, fixed egregiously out-of-date info) (Also, all 5 databattle music tracks are now on YouTube!!) Thankfully, I'm not the only coder who has been suffering a case of terminal nostalgia for Spybotics: The Nightfall Incident. Those wonderful other people, though, are somewhat scattered around the search results; …

Nightfall, Attempt 1: C++, SFML, 2012

In 2012, I feel ready to have my first proper go at re-creating the Spybotics game. The experience is eye-opening. For the first time, I am properly required to organise large amounts of diverse code in some fashion, and let me tell you, I suck at it. True, I manage to get some tiles displayed …

My journey through programming, Part 1: Pre-history

I have several theories about how I started programming. I know that, in the beginning, my cousin started me off with Windows batch files, and I liked to write god-awful web pages in HTML and JavaScript using Notepad. I know for a fact that my motivation to begin was partly a young child's fear of …

From Game Dev to Lame Dev

I've played lots of games, but I hesitate to call myself a 'gamer' since I've never owned any consoles and barely played any PC games. What I am talking about is simply online flash games, mostly in my childhood. Despite their high quality, I wonder if there is an air of illegitimacy about it, which …