Best Linux distro for Blitzmax?
BlitzMax Forums/BlitzMax Programming/Best Linux distro for Blitzmax?
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| This has probably been discussed before, but I could not find anything in the forums. What would be the best Linux distro for Blitzmax development? I really want to go with Ubunto though :) |
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| Then go with it! It's the distro I use and don't have a problem with it. |
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| XandrOS similar to Ubuntu in some points but easier for windows user with a windows like behavior. Its especially good if you have no interest in config hacking and recompilation of stuff to get BM working. |
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| And how much work do the people who want to play your game have to do? I'm more concerned about that, really |
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| The same as on windows ... drivers etc. But most linux users interested into gaming at all should have their systems running already on that level and actual distributions don't have that much problems with nvidia and ati graphics anymore. Don't think there are many Linux users that are not dev interested as it is still a must have if you want to have the least chance to solve problems. |
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| Ubuntu seems to be a capable distro. I've got it VMWare'd at the moment but will make it native when I next do a reinstall of Windows (about 4 months away). |
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| Yeah. Xandros or Ubuntu/Kubuntu are both very good 'Desktop Linux' distributiuons, but anything based off Debian should be fine. And how much work do the people who want to play your game have to do? I'm more concerned about that, really Depends on whether you know how to make a .deb package or not. If you don't, they might have their work cut out for them, if you do it's no sweat. |
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| I use ubuntu which I'm quite happy with http://autopackage.org/ is shaping up to be a nice cross linux way of installing stuff... |
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| Yes, Xandros is good. To run BMax, you must install with the Xandros Networkmanager some GCC Development tools. Its fast, faster than all other distributiuons I've test it, but not approximately like Win2k :P Desktop Linux sucks :P cu olli |
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| XandrOS is not debian based, it just supports dep files. Its CorelLinux based. |
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| XandrOS is not debian based, it just supports dep files. Its CorelLinux based. Clever. Which Linux distro is Corel Linux based on then? |
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| I know that CorelLinux has its root in Debian. But XandrOS evolved out of CorelLinux 1.0 which was released in Feb 2000, so I would not call it debian based as debian has evolved as well since then. A 6 year old root is by the speed of todays PC and software evolution 1-2 eternities back :-) XandrOS doesn't use APT to Debian repostries as well but to its own repostry and debian ones normally don't work out of the box, unlike Kubuntu / Ubuntu, that fully base on the Debian repostry. I think the easiest way to see that they have evolved in different directions the last years is the way they work and handle things ... XandrOS is very similar to Windows (the usage of Alt-Tab and Windows Key for example), which was part of CorelLinux that was even brought far further in XandrOS. I think XandrOS 4, which is said to be comming in the near future, will show the distinction even better. |
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| And people wonder why more people doesn't run Linux :) |
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| All those branches, and all those configurations, make me not want to even try to create linux apps or games. |
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| Same for me ... On windows, you at least have only 2 different OS (the NT based and the not further supported Win98/ME) with many PC configs. But on Linux you have any number of configurations with any number of pc so virtuelity an infinity^2 of potential problems ;) Supporting Apple and Windows seems to be enough, Linux was and will never be an interesting OS for closed source projects due to the decision makers mentality. |
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| interestingly according to a graph in New Scientist magazine theres as many people surfing the internet with Linux as with MacOs, so if its worth releasing for Mac its worth releasing for Linux too Linux was and will never be an interesting OS for closed source projects due to the decision makers mentality. There are no "decision makers" in Linux each distro maker goes they own direction, sometimes with a common consensus. The fact that the OS is open source has nothing to do with your own projects, there are plenty of closed source projects on Linux and plenty of people making money with Linux projects... |
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| The kernel makers have very much of control. And their plannings to prevent closed source drivers for example means no further support for optimized 3D card drivers. (They plan to remove the actually used method with an opensource file that can be used by the distro makers and that calls the precompiled driver then, which is the only reason, quite some driver even exists) Beside that: Especially this "every distro does as wanted" makes the system unusable for closed source, there is no standardized API for general purpose. this ends with much more hazzle to get something done and running on other systems than it is worth normally. *the homeuser market is already smaller than on the other 2 "mainOSes" even without splitting it into many several subgroups* Apple on the other side has a dedicated team that decides on the API and makes sure that it is standardized and its market is the fastest expanding market we have today for software. Especially for Indie software. I don't say that Linux is bad for server based stuff. But it is for sure not suitable for regular home user as normal desktop system in general. It just needs too much knowledge on "what" and "where". Take the BM usage ... won't know how many "new users" run into the problem, that they can't compile apps because they didn't know that they must chmod the bm directory first. |
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| SimplyMepis is the best I've used. Ubanto appeared to be a really basic set up and it had no dial networking support to speak of so i couldn't even dial out. Simply Mepis always doubles as a livecd.so the installation actually takes place in the linux os it's self which is really easy. |
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| On windows, you at least have only 2 different OS (the NT based and the not further supported Win98/ME) with many PC configs. You forgot .Net and Winx64. Maybe whatever half-breed API Vista is going to be running aswell. Windows is also POSIX compliant, so you may want to count that one too. Also there is a significant difference between writting for NT4 or NT5+ (Win2000/XP). Beside that: Especially this "every distro does as wanted" makes the system unusable for closed source, there is no standardized API for general purpose. Yes there are, there are several. Just like on all other platforms. But it is for sure not suitable for regular home user as normal desktop system in general. My granny uses Linux. Apple on the other side has a dedicated team that decides on the API and makes sure that it is standardized Bollocks. Every new version of MacOSX has so far broken exsisting code. Apple don't have a dedicated team working on 'the API', they don't even HAVE a unilateral, uniform API (which I'm sure is what you mean when you say standardized). They have 4: Toolbox, Carbon, Cocoa and POSIX. Supposedly they also have a fifth (like Cygwin, except for Macs) that allows you to compile/run Linux applications. |
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| Windows: I was talking of actual Versions. Means 2k/XP as one side and Win98/ME as the other. WinX64 is only a recompiled XP Pro, so no further hassle. Vista isn't a different thing as well, as MS decided not to take .NET as core API as it was first planed. Haven't had much problems getting stuff running so far on build 5308, only the MaxIDE looks a little strange as the menubar are different on the new "eye candy" system :) And that version definitely isn't up to the speed of XP especially with media stuff. Speed optimation is just starting now. Your granny does not use Games or needs real drivers :-) As long as that is not needed, Linux or even Zeta is a usefull solution as you can simply prevent them from doing crap :) But for real usage, especially one that needs hardware capability as BM does due to its OpenGL core, you have a hard time on most systems. thats what I meant ... Apple: everything before X.3 is of no interest, BM does not run on it anymore. The following editions so far seem to try to stay consistent, beside the universal binary thing. But that does not really break anything, just makes MacTel users not the target audience for the moment. By standardized I meant that some OS parts and functionality can be taken as granted in any case. Even if OSX has different APIs, it is still a granted set of functionality. On Linux, the user needs to install additional packages if he does not have it and even that only, if the package does not break or interfere with another package already installed. There is nothing on the graphical surface, you can take for granted. |
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| The kernel makers have very much of control. And their plannings to prevent closed source drivers for example means no further support for optimized 3D card drivers. (They plan to remove the actually used method with an opensource file that can be used by the distro makers and that calls the precompiled driver then, which is the only reason, quite some driver even exists) Got a link for this? |
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| Will see if I can find the english link to it. But I've found at least a link that is related to it. http://lkml.org/lkml/2006/2/3/143 or http://kerneltrap.org/node/1735 The basic problem is: Kernel is GPL but closed source drivers are violating that. So the step they are planning is to prevent non-gpl drivers from work anymore. Many driver maker already warned them that they won't get any further support which would make Linux the same freak OS it was before it got some real support. |
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| and in any case *if* it did happen (prevention of closed source drivers) which I *very* much doubt, there would be 100s of hacks out to get round it... All said and done the full source is available for the kernel so what your saying is simply just not a problem Installing accelerated X drivers on Linux now is so trival that most peoples grans probably do have accelerated X drivers already installed the whole idea of autopackage is that it will pull in whatever packages are needed for your software to run I have run Linux apps created with Bmax on a number of different distros on a number of different peoples machines in all cases they ran fine without the need for extra packages to be installed... |
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| The basic problem is: Kernel is GPL but closed source drivers are violating that. So the step they are planning is to prevent non-gpl drivers from work anymore. Many driver maker already warned them that they won't get any further support which would make Linux the same freak OS it was before it got some real support. That's not the problem at all and they are not planning anything. Oh and so you know, this was a topic of discussion about 3 years ago. Might be time to get over it now. The problem relates to what are considered derivative works of the Kernel. According to Torvalds, if a driver module requires a Kernel patch to work, then it is intimate with the Kernel and therefore would very likely be derivative. In most other cases though, loadable Kernel modules would NOT be considered derivative. This is especially true of most 3rd party drivers ported from other systems, since as ports by definition they cannot be considered as derived from the Linux kernel. Basically the issue is that certain GPL zealots choose to interpret the licence and exclusions in the Kernel source in particular ways, which do not seem to mirror the intent of Linus himself (who has stated he does not wish to make judgements on such gray areas as this.) At any rate the issue is likely to remain legally untested (and probably not enforceable) so I doubt we will ever see anything come of it. There are also many ways around the issue if it was pressed. This is indeed how NVidia have chosen to work with the Kernel, although because their drivers are derived from Windows versions it's not even necessary for them. |
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| We will see if they remove the actual way it is done (through a opensource file that calls the precompiled driver). |
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| Dude you don't get it. It didn't happen three years ago and it's not going to happen now. That debate predates the 2.6 kernel most distros ship with by default now. Find a better reason not to like Linux. |
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