Dec 07

We’ve been making some substantial progress with SwiftPad. The vast amount of code that has been developed over the past few days has been more than enough to provide us with a steady footing for releasing the IRC-only version of SwiftPad within the next couple of weeks. Currently only a selective group of people have access to the client, but as the usability for the client is drastically improving we’ve decided to allow everybody to access the nightly-build of the client soon.

I know there are a fair share of people who have been checking this blog for updates, and I apologize that we haven’t had much of an opportunity to post about our progress in detail. The development process for SwiftPad is extremely time-consuming in itself (nearly 5 months in development), and taking the time to post all of the details would slow down that process. We’ve been concentrating on releasing this client as quickly as possible, but we also want to ensure that all of the code works flawlessly on your machine.

We welcome everyone to join #SwiftPad on the SwiftIRC network (irc.swiftirc.net) to discuss the development process and ask any questions that you may have concerning the client. We can’t wait until you can try it out to see how great it is for yourself.

Tune in; We should have another post within the next few days.

Nov 23

Today marked a significant step in SwiftPad’s development: with the recent release of .NET 4.0 Beta 2, we were able to upgrade the base framework without much more than the push of a button. Previously, the migration was made impossible by various errors in the Visual Studio 2010 Beta 1 installer. Apparently, my complaints were adequate incentive to weed out the bugs, as the beta 2 installation worked without a glitch.

SwiftPad development began with .NET 3.5. While the framework provided many powerful tools to speed up the development process, it was inadequate for the needs of such a complex application. Ultimately, we succumbed to the fact that we were not about to get what we needed entirely from the .NET Framework, settling on good old platform invokes. Platform invokes involve communicating directly with the operating system, bypassing any framework wrappers. While they support just about any function you could imagine, they have one major downfall: they are considered relatively low level. In terms of programming, the level indicates how close a technique or language is to the raw data that gets sent to a computer’s processor. The higher the level, the further away it is from what a computer can actually understand. The power of any given level is subjective to the techniques of the programmer and is often the target of debate. Choosing an appropriate language is a crucial step in the development of any application, and often shapes the resulting program more than any designer’s planning. Given the various criteria determined during the conceptual stage, I narrowed our selection of languages down to two options: C# and C++. The C family of languages provides a level of power unmatched by any other, in my personal opinion. The object-oriented nature of the family allows for the development of more than just a program, but an organized, well-structured work of art. C, the earliest member of the family, is the lowest level of the group, but is the least object-oriented. C++, the next in line chronologically and level-wise, is a bit more accommodating. It has the low-level efficiency of C, yet it provides powerful object-oriented features such as abstraction. However, after a great deal of thought, I eventually settled with C# for various reasons. C# has a stronger object model than C++, based entirely on event/object structure and doing away with C++’s remnants of a procedural past. These characteristics effect to a more extensible product, opening up opportunities for a futuristic level of customizability seen only in the newest and the greatest applications. It is also a managed language by nature, though it does support actively switching between unmanaged and managed code, much like VC++. Managed code is generally more reliable than its unmanaged counterpart, though a small amount of efficiency is lost as a result. Finally, C# has native support WPF, an absolutely stunning new technology. The significance of WPF is something that deserves its own article, but to make a long story short, it allows us to utilize shiny new technologies—such as Vista/7 Aero—in a fraction of the time that it would normally take, all the while opening up even more opportunities for customization and extensibility.

Needless to say, every language has its disadvantages as well as its advantages. In our case, C#’s major advantage is also its most significant disadvantage: its reliance on the .NET framework. In order to achieve some of the more advanced features, we inevitably needed to work with the operating system directly. Unfortunately, this is not quite as easy in C# as it is in C/++.

TO BE CONTINUED :o

Nov 23

Hey everyone. I’m going to discuss a bit about SwiftPad and what our overall intentions is going to be with the client. I appreciate you taking the time to read this article, and hopefully all future articles will be just as interesting. :-)

The primary goal of SwiftPad is to offer a convenient and easy means of communication between players. SwiftPad is designed such that all users, regardless of computer literacy, will be able to use it naturally during the first run. The simplicity and hidden complexity (currently in the alpha-stage and contains over 500,000 lines of code) of SwiftPad opens up a wide variety of options for us and I strongly believe that this will benefit communities who use the client

For example, SwiftPad would be an excellent option for small or large clans, as everyone within the group would be able to use it with ease. We’re basically aiming to make a client that everybody will be able to use without any difficulties – so far, we’ve been very successful in our alpha versions.

Most players enjoy chatting in a “clanhub” outside the game’s direct influence; some games do not even have an efficient means of communication other than forums. SwiftPad aims to ensure that all gamers will receive an opportunity to develop large, active chatting communities, while providing them with the necessary tools to make their gaming experience as efficient as possible–all at no cost to them. I could list several features why this is, but this is something that I will save for another blog post .

SwiftPad provides a secure means of communication via IRC, an open protocol, which allows players to chat in “channels” and “private messages.” This method of communication provides a safe environment convenient for gaming integration. To my personal knowledge, nobody else has ever attempted to create a as complex a program as SwiftPad designed to operate within the confines of IRC. This makes gaining popularity that much easier: SwiftPad has no competition, it uses secure chat means, and it is available on nearly all Windows-based computers at the click of a button.

SwiftPad should be rocking in no time with all sorts of addons. I cannot wait to tell you about all of the features created and what we have planned ahead…Prepare to be pleasantly surprised…

preload preload preload