using JP2x to run JNode on game console :-)

Submitted by Fabien D on Sun, 04/29/2007 - 14:18.

While searching for sdl/java bindings, I have just discovered the GP2X game console(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GP2X) and what sounds better its java equivalent jp2x.

Of course SDL itself is still in C and not suitable for JNode but jp2x rely on sdljava (previously named jsdl), which is a java layer on top of SDL. So, for JNode, we "only" have to implement the SDL part in pure java for JNode.

And since SDL rely on OpenGL for the 3D, we have to use the java layers on top of openGL mentionned in that topic : http://www.jnode.org/node/914#comment-2916. The final result is that we have a full pure java stack for JNode running on a game console. Easy isn't it ? Laughing out loud

‹ Tapping into large software base = C/C++ to Java compiler? Jnode build error ›

As the happy owner of a GP2X...

Submitted by pablod on Thu, 06/07/2007 - 05:29.

...I don't quite understand your post (sorry).

SDL issues aside, running JNode in the GP2X seems appealing to me, but the porting issues sound overwhelming... the GP2X has only 64M of RAM and from what I understand current JNode has memory consumption issues.

In a more practical matter, installing a hypothetical JNode/GP2X will imply wiping out the installation of Linux inside the console... something that I'm not very comfortable thinking about doing (and I consider myself of courageous type Eye-wink

Is there any particular page with information about porting JNode to different architectures...?

Browsing around...

Submitted by pablod on Thu, 06/07/2007 - 05:39.

This post has a very good discussion of porting JNode to ARM:

JNode on a Pocket PC?

I think you mean "as a games console" !

Submitted by Stephen Crawley on Sun, 04/29/2007 - 16:58.

From ny two second reading of the JSDL page, it looks like it is intended to provide a portable Java API for writing games software. If we implemented the software layer to map from JDSL to native JNode graphics, we could in theory run JSDL compatible games on JNode. In effect a JNode-based system could be used as a graphics console.

But your topic title seems to suggest running JNode on a graphics console. That is something very different.

BTW - I hope your smiley means that you are not serious about this. The JNode effort is already spread waaaaay too thin for us to be starting speculative new projects. (Speculative in the sense that we have no way of knowing that JSDL is 1) good enough for serious games development or 2) going to be taken up by anyone. We'd be taking a significant gamble in committing to JSDL at this stage.)

Hmm...

Submitted by Daniel Noll on Mon, 05/21/2007 - 05:16.

The OP clearly meant running it on the actual GP2X unit.

I somewhat like this second idea of supporting JSDL on actual desktop/kiosk units. But I also feel that Java's existing features for interactivity are already on par with, or better than, SDL's. So the only excuse for actually porting JSDL to Jnode would be if there happened to be any notable games which were developed on top of it, which wouldn't work unless the port was done.