QBRADQ

Yea, those programs that "translate" it to ASM, they're called "Compilers". Again, this is why I recomend books to anyone that is learning C/C++. In the introduction to nearly every book on the subject, they explain what the compiler does, what the linker does, ect. ect. This is something every programmer should know. Anyway, back to the topic at hand. COBOL is indeed still widely used, particularly on custom-made UNIX mainframes. Heck, there's even an episode of Dilbert about thier mainframe and it's COBOL programming. However, most of the jobs dealing with those large COBOL code bases are already taken. Beyond that, the mainframes are being slowly but surely replaced. I would recomend that you get very good at C++. Explore all the possibilites of classes and templates. Learn as many data orgonization techniques as you can, such as linked lists, binary search trees, hierarcial object node systems and the like. Suplement that with learning new languages just for the fun of it. For example, pick up Python, even if you only use it for a week. Already done Python? OK, go with Pearl. Heck, just Google around and try to find some obscure language that on one uses, and use it for a week. The point I am trying to make here is that languages change at a rapid pace. The key to being a good programmer isn't knowing every language under the sun, it's simply to be a good programmer. Once you can code circles around your friends in any language, you'll be able to do the same in every language. Good luck! QBRADQ

Hello all! Well, I started programming in BASIC when I was 12. That lasted about a day, because I had no idea what I was doing. I had just heard from one of my teachers about QBASIC, and the fact that it was on all DOS boxes. About a month later me and my mother were walking through a book store. My mother loves to read, and always tried to encourage me to back in those days, but I wasn't very interested. Then, the Computer Programming section caught my eye. I looked through the books, and found a copy of "Sam's Teach Yourself C++ in 21 Days". It was fifty dollars at the time, and came with a really crudy old version of Borland's Turbo C, but I begged my mother for it anyway. I used Turbo C for about a day, got tired of it, found DevC++ (http://www.perfectname.com/domains/index.php?domain=bloodshedsoftware.com&), and off I went. No, I didn't learn C++ in three weeks. It took six years, and a dozen more books before I was proficent with it. Now I am 21, and know a whole host of languages both scripted and compiled. I am currently studying to be a network systems engineer and not a programmer as origionaly planned. My sister is a professional programer for Wal-Mart, so I've got to see what's involved. That's just not for me. However, my programming experiance is helping out wounderfuly. Not only that, it's by far the best hobby I have ever had. Ohh yea, I would like to mention that I did go back to BASIC when I was 18. For someone with a good knowlage of C++, a fundamental understanding of the BASIC syntax, and a good function listing for it, BASIC can be a very powerful little scripting language. Especialy when it comes to graphics. QBRADQ

Wow, it has been SO long since I messed with RunUO. It's a great program, but strickly against Origin's TOS. However, some of the best LAN parties I ever hosted involved a RunUO server, skill and stat gates, and lots of bloodshed.I really do wish I could help you with your problem, but alas, I cannot. Perhaps you should check out the RunUO forums. Last time I was there it was a hoppin' place.If not, you could try the EasyUO forums. It's a scripted input program for UO, but there are a lot of coders lurking around there that have a lot of experiance with RunUO.BTW, if you do see this reply, could you e-mail me with the IP of your server, or perhaps your URL? I'd love to stomp around for a while [EDIT]Oh, hey, I forgot to mention that you should check to make sure your server name, database name, table name, and all that is correct. Also check your function calls and make sure that your select and query calls are referancing the correct database connection.QBRADQ

For learning C++, I always recomend to use a well-written book. A good fundamental understanding of C++ is a very valuable thing to have, and a book is the best source for that. As far as an IDE to use, I recomend Microsoft Visual Studio if you want to pay for it. Version 6 is good, and is the one I use. The .NET edition is also good I supose, but I've never seriously used it. As for a free IDE, you definatly need to check out http://www.bloodshed.net/devcpp.html. This is a very good IDE capable of producing Windows GUI programes as well as a host of other types. The major thing that stumps people when they first start trying to program games in C++ is that they can't figure out how to do anything but text programs. C++ does not have a graphical inteface like a lot of other languages (usualy scripted languages BTW) have. DirectX (available from Microsoft) is a good graphical API to use. It also has APIs for input, sound, video, networking, and a hold bunch of other things. However, you will have to download a rather large SDK for it (around a quarter gig last time I checked). Also, it's only for Windows, so if you are developing for or on anything but Windows it's not an option. However, there is an alternative to DirectX. It's called OpenGL. OpenGL is a very powerful, proceedure-oriented graphical API. Best of all, you don't have to download anything to program with it. Just about any Windows header library that comes with an IDE will have the OpenGL headers and link libraries in there. OpenGL also has support for input and sound, however that support isn't as good as DirectX's. The debate between OpenGL and DirectX has ragged on for well over a decade now, but to be honest with you, they are both about equal in the graphics department. One is better at some things, and the other is better at other things. It all depends on what you know, and how you go about it. Personlay, when I am doing a graphical app (all of them just graphical demos, nothing too big) I use OpenGL for the graphics, and DirectX for the input and sound. There are also a lot of other graphical APIs out there that I havn't used, such as STL. There's a lot of them, try Googleing for (C++ "Graphical API"). Also, here's an excelent resource for game development: http://www.gamedev.net/page/index.html At one time there was also a site called "Flipcode" that was dedicated to hard-core game programming. They went down for a while last year or before, said they were working on a new site. I'm not sure if they are still around any more, but if they are, you could find them with Google. Good luck, and happy coding! QBRADQ

Heh, sorry I didn't see all those replies before I posted. Still getting used to the layout of these forums. Ok, first off, if you are going to learn a compiled language, C/C++ is a good starting point. It's a fairly complex language, but it's also one of the most powerful. It's also the industry standard for complex, compiled software. There is no need to learn C before you learn C++. Very few people code in C anymore. Most people that you will find that say C++ is slow and cumbersom, tell you not to use it, and profess to only code in C simply don't know what they are talking about. Most of them are in fact programming in C++, they just aren't using classes and template. Forget the web site idea, and pick yourself up a good book. Now I am all for learning over the web, in fact I have learned nearly every language that I program in from web resources. However, when learning C++ (especialy when learning it as a first language) it is very important that you learn the basics, and learn them very well. Simply put, when people aren't getting paid to write such technical stuff, the quality just isn't up to par. You can find many good books out there for novice programmers. The SAM's Teach Yourself in so many days / weeks series are usualy easy to understand, and well written. College texts are also very good books to learn from. Most of them are written for people taking a programming course as a pre-req for accounting or business something like that, so they are written to hold your hand as much as possible. Something to look for when purcessing a book is to make sure it comes with a compiler. Just about anything from Microsoft or Borland will suit just about any type of work well. However, if you insist on using the web to learn C++, here's a link to a good IDE (Intergrated Development Environment, basicaly a spiffy text editor with a compiler built-in): http://www.bloodshed.net/devcpp.html Not only is this IDE totaly free, it's also capable of making Windows graphical programs, something that not all compilers can do. Best of all, it gets updated a lot (usualy twice a year). Personaly, I use Microsoft Visual Studio 6, but it's a rather pricey piece of software the last time I checked (about five years ago). Well, I wish you the best of luck. Please keep in mind that learning a programming language is going to be frustraitting to say the least. Not to mention time-consumming and difficult. However, once you are fluent in C++ (or any complex language for that matter) you will be able to pick up just about any other language in a matter of a few days or weeks. For me, it took me nearly six years to become proficient with C++ (by that I mean that I can do anything I please with it, and not have to look stuff up in a book). I started when I was twelve BTW. A few months ago when I started learning Python, I picked up the syntax (read: gramar) in six hours of reading and testing. PHP, being so much like C, took only a few days before I started producing realling good code. Anyway, best of wishes to you. It's a long, hard road, but it is worth it in the end. Remeber, you can make a good amount of money as a professional programmer. Later QBRADQ

Interesting that this topic should be one of the first that I see. I am actualy in early development of a web-based, all text stratagey game (hopefuly it will be hosted here once it's ready for alpha testing). Basic adivse: PHP and MySQL are great for this type of application. Not only are they two very powerful pieces of (open source!) code, but they also play well together. From a design point-of-view (if you are going with server-side scripts and a database) is to throw the idea of events happening without user interaction out the window. For example, you're not going to be able to have the scripts preform any interaction with the database unless someone hits your site, and thus triggers the script to run. So, you need to think in terms of turn-based design, even if your game won't be "turn-based" per-se. Useful links: http://php.net/ - PHP processor for in-house testing, as well as the PHP manual (CHM format is very handy, with a compiled index). http://www.mysql.com/ - MySQL server for in-house testing, as well as the MySQL manual which contains complete documentation on the SQL syntax (both the standard implementation, and how the various versions of MySQL vary from the standard). httpd.apache.org - Apache web server, for in-house testing as well as version information. http://sourceforge.net/ - Source Forge is the place for open source software on the net. Not only can you find many applications there, you can also use it to colaborate with others on your project. You might even find an open-source web-based text game there for you to look at. The best advise I can give you is to set up a testing environment on your development system. Web server, PHP interpriter, database server, the works. And don't forget to get all of the major browsers to test your page on. No matter how good your page looks in Opera 11, it's not going to do you any good if Mozilla and I.E. fail to render half of it. Hope that helps, QBRADQ

Hello all. Just posted my introduction, and I figured I'd tell the story of the all-caps Q-Man as I have been called. Before I begin, I would like to point out that the handle is the name "Brad" surrounded by 'Q's.First, allow me to get rid of all the myths about my handle that have arrisen over the years.1) It has nothing to do with Star Trek (although I am a fan), nor the "Q Continum" featured in many episodes of TNG (The Next Generation).2) It has nothing to do with the movie or television series "Sliders" (although I have seen many episodes), nor the character "Quinn", often refered to as "Q-Ball".3) It has nothing to do with billiards (although I do play regularly), nor the Cue-Ball.Ok, so here's the story:Way back when, before the dawn of Broad Band, back in the infancey of online gamming (1995 in fact) there was a game called Quake (the origional Quake, not this pansy new stuff that's come out). I started playing Quake on the MPlayer network the first day I had internet access, and assumed the handle "Red Light Special". Being a boy of twelve, the implied meaning of that handle was lost on me. However, I was soon informed by my origional clan-mates of what it ment.So, I decided to change it. Now, the clan I was in at the time used all caps handles, something I now dislike. Also, they had a policy that you had to have special characters sourounding your name. Later I would find out that these special characters (printed in funky colors in the Quake engine) were infact the non-standard ASCII characters (128-255), but at the time I couldn't figure it out.Ok, here's where the 'Q's come in. In the Quake engine, the capitol letter 'Q' was printed like the Quake logo. So, failing to figure out the extended ASCII characters, I went with 'Q's sorounding my name.I went on to play QuakeWorld deathmatch, and eventualy Team Fortress (again, the origional Team Fortress mod for the origional Quake engine, non of this HalfLife stuff) for the next five years on a competitive level. Durring that time, I was involved in over half a dozen clans, yet kept the handle.So, here it is, the tenth aniversery of my handle. I have gone by a few other handles for the sake of anonimity from time to time, but QBRADQ is always the one representing the clan, owning a LAN party, posting in forums, or e-mailing my friends and family. Not only do all of my friends know the name QBRADQ, I even have a few pieces of clothing with the handle printed on it. I have even toyed with the idea of having it trademarked, and may yet do it.Yes, it's fair to say that I love my handle. I have never seen another on the web using it. Once at a LAN party that I hosted, one of my friends changed thier handle durring a game of Counter Strike to QBUNNYQ (KillerBunny being his normal handle). I was so offended, yet so flattered at the same time, I had no idea what to do. However, had it not been a friend that did it, I would have been just plain offended.It's MY handle, GOT IT!?He, I just really love my handle. In a day and age when practicaly nothing can uniquley identify a person anymore, my handle allows people from Spain and Russia to pike me out of six-and-a-half billion people, and that really is something special.</rant>QBRADQ

Hello all.My name is Brad, as you might be able to figure out from my handle. I currently hold an MCP for Windows 2000 Pro., and I am currently studying for a Security+ certification as well as MCSA and MCSE. I have ten years of personal programming experiance, mainly in compiled languages (specificaly C++). Over the past year, I have been getting fairly heavy into scripted languages and web applications.My areas of greatest experiance are as follows:Compiled Languages-> C/C++Windows program development-> C/C++ raw API (I.E., no MFC)Network program development-> Async WinSOCK-> Input / Output Completion Ports with WinSOCK-> Both TCP/IP and UDP communicationsGraphical interfaces-> Windows API and GDI-> Home-brew GUIs using graphical APIsInput systems-> Windows device interfaces-> DirectX (4.0 - 9.1a) DirectInput module-> OpenGL input device interface (limited)Graphical APIs (2D and 3D)-> OpenGL 1.4 + extensions (through summer 2003)-> DirectX (5.0 - 9.1a) DirectDraw and Direct3D modulesAnd here are some areas with which I have more limited experiance:x86 Assembly6502 Assembly-> Nintendo Entertainment System (NES, ) graphical and input registersARM 7 Assembly-> Game Body Advanced (GBA, ) graphical registersCompiled languages-> Java-> FORTRAN (very limited)-> COBALScripted languages-> Quick BASIC (4.5 - 7.0)-> Java Script-> Python (I LOVE PYTHON!)-> PHP-> Windows BASIC scripting (it's called VB script, but it's really not)-> ASP (very limited)-> eScriptAnd here are some code bases that I am familiar with:HalfLife 1 Client DLLQuake3 Client/Server control DLLEh, enough of all that. Currently I am working on a PHP web-based stratagey game along the lines of the old Archmage and Archspace. That's actualy how I came to be here, if you take my meaning. I was looking around for a place to host the site durring the alpha testing phase, and stumbled onto this place. This brings me to my next point.You guys will host my content, without ads, and all I have to do is post on your forums? HA! Oh my, now that is funny! That's my two favorite things all rolled into one: free bandwidth and storage, and forums. Yup, I've got a feeling this will be a good place for me. I don't really like the Microsoft news groups (even the ones that you have to be certified and registered for) because all they like to do there is talk shop. Plus it's mainly over-paid people trying to get others to look up the info they need, rather than Googleing it or searching the Microsoft website for it.Well, I think that's enough of an intro. I'll probly be trolling the programming and web-related forums here, as that's my areas of interest. Ohh, and I'll appologize right now for the spelling. It's been my weak point since the fifth grade :DL8t3r f00li3oZ <-- Making fun of 1337 speekQBRADQ