The inspiration for this post comes from a comment that suggested a video series on compilers, toolchains, and build systems. My first thought was: “NO! Learning how to do the same thing over and over with different languages and frameworks is the bane of a software developer’s existence. I’m NOT doing that!”Besides, all build systems […]
Last week I gave you all a heads up that things were about to change here at KSD, and asked everyone to give me their input via a survey. Today I’m going to show you the results, and talk briefly about how that impacts the future.Results AnalysisSkill LevelsHere’s the pie chart showing the software development […]
I’ve just finished writing the next two chapters of The CMake Tutorial, meaning that it’s now about 73% done. I’m closing in on the finish line. It’s taken far longer to get to this point in part, because I seriously underestimated the amount of research needed. All that research will serve you well…Seriously, the amount […]
You’ve heard about CMake, and want to know how it works? Great! Here’s how it works at three different levels.The BasicsAt a surface level, CMake is a tool to build C/C++ software on multiple platforms using the same build script. So, you can take the same code, and build script, and build software that can […]
Change is afoot, and I need your help. Here’s the backstory…The BackstoryAt the bottom of the KSD website is the tagline: “We enjoy creating awesome stuff using software & electronics, and helping others to do the same.” I wrote that years ago, and it’s been more aspirational than reality.Sure, I’ve created some programming related books […]
I’ve long considered AI to be overhyped, and kind of annoying. All that AI generated content, from over the top articles, through to images that don’t look quite right (e.g., a sheep with 10 legs instead of 4). However, I’ve stumbled on an AI tool that has me genuinely impressed. Here’s why…AI Video Thumbnail analysisHere’s […]
Last time we had Scarfy cheerfully running around collecting coins. Clink clink clink! But, a problem was looming. Every coin/object was loading its own copy of the textures & sounds that it used. That’s a massive waste, especially when you’ve got a few hundred identical looking coins.It’s increasing loading times, massively inflating memory usage, and […]
I was recently asked what toolchains are, and how they relate to CMake. If you look up “toolchain” online, you’ll find definitions that make complete sense to those who already know what they are, but sound vague and complicated to everyone else. So, here’s a quick explanation…What is a Toolchain?This is best understood by example, […]
So, you want to program in C++ on Linux? Here’s how to set up your “dev. environment” quickly. It’s mostly easy, with one potential pitfall…GCC, CMake & VS CodeHere’s what we’re going to install: GCC – the C/C++ compiler that’s included with Linux CMake – the de-facto build system for C++ (you’ll find it almost […]
In the previous RayLib 2D Challenge episode, animated shiny gold coins were spinning nicely. They were loaded from disk using a texture atlas, so adding animated gems or other objects would be ridiculously easy. But, poor Scarfy couldn’t collect the coins, because the coin collection code hadn’t been written yet. All he could do was […]
