[Tux4kids-tuxtype-dev] Status of t4k_common, tuxmath, tuxtype

[David Bruce]

Hi - sent that one by mistake in midstream,

On Thu, Jan 20, 2011 at 1:49 PM, David Bruce <davidstuartbruce at gmail.com> wrote:
> I hope to release t4k_common-0.1.0 soon.  The minor version number is
> going up from "0" to "1" because several things have been migrated
> from tuxmath into the common library:
>
> 1. the GNU linebreak library and our "linewrap" code, formerly in
> tuxmath's linewrap.c.
> 2. our "replacement" functions for alphasort and scandir on platforms
> where these functions are lacking (Windows).
> 3. our wrapper functions for UTF-8<-->wchar_t conversion with iconv(),
> formerly in tuxmath's convert_utf.c.
> 4. Throttle(), a simple function to keep loops from eating all CPU.
>
> Also - one very important bug was that t4k_common-0.0.4 effectively
> had gettext deactivated, which has been fixed.
>
> These are all new additions to the t4k_common "API", which will allow
> the corresponding files to be removed from tuxmath (and soon tuxtype).
>
> This release seems to be about ready to go.  I did have some issues
> with the build systems (esp. cmake because I am less familiar with
> it), but they seem to be fixed now.  The cmake control files do seem
> kind of messy - they could use some attention from someone who knows
> cmake better than I do.
>
> I have not yet tested the new t4k_common in the mingw-cross-env
> crossbuild, which I hope to do today.
>

As soon as t4k_common-0.1.0 is released, I want to try to get another
tuxmath release out ASAP.  We added a ton of highly-visible
improvements during Google Code-In:
1.  Extensive revision of Factoroids - suffice to say that both the
gameplay and education have been greatly improved.  In the "old"
factoroids, the player had to type the number to be "shot" before each
shot, which was awkward to do while also steering the ship with the
arrow keys.  Now the player toggles between six different "prime
number guns", and excellent mouse control is also provided.  There are
three powerups to be earned for added fun.  Factoroids just needs a
little tidying before we release it to the public.
2.  Improvements in LAN system - detection of multiple servers on LAN
now works; the server can also be stopped  and restarted from within
tuxmath to change "lessons".  This still has at least one important
bug.
3. "Tooltips" visible for menu items (this code actually is in
t4k_common, mainly).
4. Better ShowMessage() function that wraps text appropriately.
5. "Multizap" in tuxmath comet game - if multiple comets have same
answer, they all get zapped and Tux celebrates appropriately.
6. Lots (literally dozens) of updated translations.
7. New background music contributed, not yet incorporated into game.

Finally - Tuxtype.  Not much has been done recently because we needed
to get t4k_common into shape.  However, it is now time to "port"
tuxtype to use t4k_common.  We did get a lot of updated translations
and themes, however.  Also, I received a patch to add right-to-left
display support to the Fish Cascade game for languages that require it
(e.g. Hebew, Arabic).  This patch has not yet been merged, IIRC.

Best,

David