jaydubya’s blog

I found an interesting article at gamespy.com which describes the evolution of programming languages and the effects they have had on video game development.  It discussed the advantages of object-oriented programming over assembly languages, and it went on to discuss possibilities for further improvements in programming languages.  One example that I was able to clearly understand involved parametric polymorphism.  Although I have absolutely no idea what this concept is, I was able to understand one of their examples.

The writer of this article provided the following example:

In order to add two arrays of integers A[10] and B[10] together with today’s available programming languages, one would write the following code,

int A[10], B[10], C[10];

for (int i = 0, i < 10, i++)

C[i] = A[i] + B[i];

The writer suggests, however, that a more intuitive way to express this would simply be

C = A + B;

The writer argues that future programming languages should accommodate this level of  abstraction in order to decrease programming errors and development time.  The “+” operator should not only be able to add integers, decimals and the like, it should, by the programming language’s definition, be able to successfully operate on arrays as well.

The writer goes on to describe other ways in which future programming languages will evolve and describes why these changes are crucial to the continued improvement of video game design.

I found an interesting article through Digg that describes the history and projected future of software development.  The article explains that in the 1980s an civil/mechanical engineering model called Waterfall was applied to software development, but it failed because it was too rigid and assumed that a perfect program could be coded in the first attempt.  The article suggests a different model called Agile Methods, which stresses simplicity, feedback, and adaptation.

The article also points out an interesting evolution in the way successful programs are written.  With today’s high power programming languages and huge associated libraries, two or three highly talented programmers can out code a large group of mediocre programmers.  The article suggests that because of this, talented programmers can expect increasing salaries and job opportunities in the near future, whereas the average programmer may have to look for jobs elsewhere.  The article also suggests that software development off-shoring will not see any substantial increases in the near future.

I have been playing the videogame Halo for over 6 years now.  Whether it be Halo, Halo 2, or Halo 3, the game has always been a social tool for my friends and I.  Some of my most vivid high school memories were made playing Halo at my friend Jeff’s house at 3 in the morning.  Halo 3, released just a few weeks ago, has brought all the multiplayer fun and excitement of the previous games back, and then some.

A new addition to the multiplayer game found in Halo 3 is the Forge.  The Forge is a very powerful map editor.  It allows a person to place objects anywhere within the confines of a given map.  This leads to a nearly endless set of scenarios for multiplayer gaming.  The most impressive aspect of the Forge, however, is that it allows map and item manipulation while a game is already taking place.  This could be utilized in many different unique and entertaining ways.  For instance, for a two person team, one person could do the running and gunning while the other delivers him weapons and creates obstacles against the other team.  I have already heard many other funny stories regarding the Forge.  One person gathered all the explosives in a map together and created a chain reaction that just about incinerated everything on that map.

The Forge is a testament to the ability of today’s programmers.  Witnessing the power of programs and applications such as the Forge gets me excited about programming and the possibilities available to a person with a firm knowledge of it.  It’s nice to witness the effects of good programming in the things I experience.  It reminds me that someday I may very well be putting to use some of the disciplines I learn here at college.

I stumbled across this post through digg, and I thought everyone would get a kick out of it.  Some people can make some really wacky things in their spare time.  My personal favorite: the monitor arch.