iDevGames

Ingemar Ragnemalm, best known for writing the Sprite Animation Toolkit (SAT) and the book ‘Tricks of the Mac Game Programming Gurus’ has released a new Mac OS X IDE called Lightweight IDE.

Lightweight IDE was written after the observation that IDEs have gotten more and more complex, to the result that it is a problem. The IDE is not always a help, it is a burden.

Lightweight IDE features include:

• Editor: Color coding, search/replace (multi-file, but that is a big buggy so far). Function pop-up menu. Include pop-up menu. Line number. Breakpoint bar.
• Debugger: Single-step with step in/over/out, breakpoints, limited viewing of variables. (Bugs: Plenty. You can’t set breakpoints while the program is running.)
• Compile: All you need is to have the main program open in the editor. Supports GCC, FPC, GPC and a minimal support of javac. Smart build of C/C++/Obj-C programs, analyzes #include files to remove the need of a project file. (FPC, GPC and Java have smart building built-in.) Separate “final build” option.
• Error reporting: Double-click to jump into source. Pop-up menu for hiding notes and warnings.
• Bundle building: Resource files (.nib, .rsrc, .icns or a whole folder) are copied if the name matches the main program.
• Settings for frameworks and paths. (Global only.)
• The resulting program is not hidden several levels down into a folder hierarchy, but appears in the same folder as the main program.

I believe that this IDE is ideal for teaching: No worries about a complex command lines, no project file, just open the main source and run. It is also good for all those small test hacks that you need to do all the time. I think it is getting good enough for bigger projects as well. Suitable for games? I think so.

Ingemar reports that this early release still has bugs to be fixed and issues with the GUI are visible. He is seeking testers that can find the bugs and report them back to him.

Related Links

• Lightweight IDE Home Page
• Sprite Animation Toolkit
• Free Pascal

Further Resources

• Evolution
• Creating iPhone Apps Without a Mac
• Objective Modula-2 for Cocoa
• From C++ to Objective-C
• From C++ to Objective-C Free Ebook Released