Project 7: GUI Object Oriented Languages

For this assignment we were instructed to read three web articles, Getting Started With the NetBeans IDE BlueJ Plugin, GUI Alternatives, and Visual Basic from Wikipedia, then explain which GUI language is best for developing a simple game.  In order for a developer to select the appropriate language or (GUI tool) from the many that are out there, he or she first has to have a good idea of what they are aiming to create. This is done is the design phase of a project. So for this assignment I assumed “simple game” to be something like tick-tack-toe or solitaire for a desktop vs. a phone.  Then, after reading the articles and learning more about BlueJ and Netbeans, I would choose to use Java with the BlueJ Netbeans plug-in IDE. For me, it is the best guided user interface (GUI) for developing a simple game.

           

BlueJ is an integrated development environment (IDE) that was specifically developed to teach students Java programming focusing on teaching the relationships between objects, classes, and methods, without bogging the new user down with learning a complicated IDE or having to learn syntax right off the bat. Netbeans is a professional IDE that is well received in the developer community. It works with other programming languages in addition to Java. These two programs teamed up together in 2006 in the Netbeans BlueJ Plug-in and seem like a great match.

According to the Getting Started With the NetBeans IDE BlueJ Plugin with the key benefits of this IDE are:

“The NetBeans IDE provides a wealth of features that make writing applications of all types and sizes faster and easier. These features include the following:

• Marking of syntax errors in the Source Editor before you compile
• A variety of navigation commands that enable you to navigate easily between code elements and files
• A GUI builder in which you visually design the user interfaces for Swing technology-based desktop applications
• Code templates that allow you to enter long code snippets with just a few keystrokes”

I like that one can drag and drop the design elements in a design view and then view the actual source code in the code view. I use Dreamweaver a lot for web design so that WYSIWYG aspect is familiar as well as it's use of palettes. Usually any limitations that are encountered in the design view can be over come by modifying the actual code.

A developer could probably use either of these to develop a simple game. There are extensions available for BlueJ such as 3D Environment Extension. With this extension, students are able to create an object and "drop" it into a graphical 3d environment. As for Netbeans, it is an IDE for professionals so it has plenty of GUI capabilities and complex tools for a simple game without the BlueJ plugin. The BlueJ plug-in just makes it easy for students to transition to Netbeans.

In the article GUI Alternatives, I was introduced to the aspect, separate GUI from logic. "As programs grow larger, it's essential to separate the GUI interface processing from the logic. This is easy to do by putting the interface and logic in separate classes. Some GUI generators below help accomplish this.” As I have mentioned many times before in my blog, many of these great tips that I learn are very simple and basic so I am glad when they (tips) are pointed out. Being new to the programming and developing world, simple well-known truths in the industry are unknown to me.  So I will tuck that bit of advice away for future reference when I start to write simple games. For now, I plan on downloading BlueJ to help me with my Java class.

References:
http://java.sun.com/developer/technicalArticles/tools/bluej/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_Basic

1.   http://leepoint.net/notes-java/GUI/misc/80gui-generator.html