Hi there,
I have designed a new module that relies heavily on an imported Java class. I have read that the new version of Vassal will move to Javascript, instead of Java. Do I need to take steps to keep my code working, or will Java classes continue to be supported in future Vassal versions?
Thanks,
Arcuate.
Thus spake Arcuate via messages:
Hi there,
I have designed a new module that relies heavily on an imported Java
class. I have read that the new version of Vassal will move to
Javascript, instead of Java. Do I need to take steps to keep my code
working, or will Java classes continue to be supported in future Vassal
versions?
Thanks,
Arcuate.
Java code won’t be supported in VASSAL 4. However, unless you’re doing
something extremely complicated, it should be straightforward to port
your code when the time comes.
–
J.
Hi there,
It wasn’t all that straightforward to get it working in the first place, but I will have to wait and see, I guess.
I based my code on the Zapwars tutorial, but there was a lot of trial and error involved to find out what Vassal was doing behind the scenes. If Java code is made obsolete, could I please put in a request for a detailed tutorial on how to add custom content?
What was wrong with the Java approach?
Cheers,
Arcuate.
Thus spake Arcuate via messages:
Hi there,
It wasn’t all that straightforward to get it working in the first place,
but I will have to wait and see, I guess.I based my code on the Zapwars tutorial, but there was a lot of trial
and error involved to find out what Vassal was doing behind the scenes.
If Java code is made obsolete, could I please put in a request for a
detailed tutorial on how to add custom content?
Yes, that’s part of the plan.
What was wrong with the Java approach?
Java has become less and less suitable for us as time goes on. There
are loads of language aggravations (such as how pathologically bad it
is for dealing with binary data like images) as well as decades-old
bugs we’ve had to spend time working around. (If you asked me what was
the number one thing I’ve spent development time on in the past five
years, I’d have to say it was on workarounds for Java bugs and
limitations.) Among our most common tech support issues are problems
with users’ Java installations—which are problems that we neither
cause nor can prevent—and that too is a huge time suck for us. Based
on what I’ve seen, I have no faith in Oracle as a steward of Java, in
the short- or long-term. There’s also no prospect for having iOS or
Android clients if we stick with Java.
To reverse your question: What was right with the Java approach? My
answer would be “nothing”, at least for the past five years or so.
–
J.
Okay,
Thanks for the insight. I do like Java as a programming language, but in many ways I wish they would just leave it alone. The updates keep breaking things… And for some weird reason they never made it easy to generate exe files with Java.
And, like others here, I had issues getting Vassal to work with the latest Java update. When I rolled the update back, I broke Eclipse. I fixed Eclipse, and re-broke Vassal… Took me half a day to get them both happy with the Java path, and still don’t know what it was that eventually fixed the situation.
Looks like I will have to learn Javascript.
What is the approximate timetable for the changeover?
Cheers,
Arcuate.
Thus spake Arcuate via messages:
What is the approximate timetable for the changeover?
VASSAL 4 is going to receive my full attention once I’m finished with
the house I’m renovating. I can’t tell you how much longer that’s going
to take. I’ve thought I was two or three months from being finished for
about a year and a half now.
–
J.