Documentation

Spectre · Post by **Spectre** » Fri Aug 07, 2009 1:08 pm

Hello, ps2dev community!

So.... I've researched various source code, all of which successfully compiled & ran on my PS2. I've searched the net (forums included) for some sort of API/SDK documentation for further study, yet to no avail. Even on the main page, "http://docs.ps2dev.org/" seems to be broken.

Is there -- or are there plans for -- any documentation for any part of the sdk? I'm particularly interested in becoming more familiar with libgs. Based off of the samples, I've successfully developed an application which displays a 16bpp fullscreen background in 640x448, but I'm worried about pushing my luck without some form of organized reference. Such as, further understanding of the arguments for the gs_set* functions. The hard-coded integers found in the samples hardly serve as a proper learning curve, IMHO.

My goal is to eventually port a 2d tile scrolling engine, which I've originally developed for the iphone.
TIA, and happy coding!

Spectre · Post by **Spectre** » Fri Aug 07, 2009 2:43 pm

*doh!*
As it turns out, I forgot to check the sdk headers for more info. It's all practically spelled out, there.

J.F. · Post by **J.F.** » Fri Aug 07, 2009 3:25 pm

Yeah, like most homebrew SDKs, you look at the SDK source (particularly headers) and examples and existing apps using the SDK in lieu of actual docs.

methos3 · Post by **methos3** » Sat Aug 08, 2009 3:42 am

yes, the samples are greater than any doccumentation : )
and the headers too.
Another great source to look in is the one of uLaunchelf.

J.F. · Post by **J.F.** » Sat Aug 08, 2009 7:00 am

And SMS... LOADS of good code there.

Spectre · Post by **Spectre** » Sat Aug 08, 2009 12:52 pm

Several thanks for the info!

Is SMS an open source project? If so, would anyone be so kind to toss me a link to the latest sms source? I've seen what it can do, and would have to agree that it could teach me plenty. My guess is that uLaunchElf's source probably won't be all that useful to me until I gain more interest in the IOP. For now, my main focus is with simple 2D graphics (image layers, sprites, alphablending, doublebuffering, etc). After that, I intend to get into more advanced 2D (such as video playback), and then some simple 3D graphics.

Heheh, it's kinda crazy how many times a developer has to go through the same stages of development each time there's a new target platform and/or language. This is like, my seventh time relearning the basics. That's a lot of tetris games... =P

J.F. · Post by **J.F.** » Sun Aug 09, 2009 12:57 am

Yes, SMS is open source. It's in the ps2dev repos. Check out the ps2ware directory.

http://svn.ps2dev.org

yownas · Post by **yownas** » Wed Aug 12, 2009 7:35 pm

The source for SMS in the ps2dev-repo seems to be quite old. Is it possible to find a more up-to-date source somewhere?

parkerlindsey · Post by **parkerlindsey** » Mon Aug 31, 2009 4:59 pm

Hi Yownas

Yes, It is possible that you can find out it.
Google is best way for new version of SMS so it is very useful to you.

dlanor · Post by **dlanor** » Tue Sep 01, 2009 8:57 am

yownas wrote:The source for SMS in the ps2dev-repo seems to be quite old. Is it possible to find a more up-to-date source somewhere?

No. The current versions of SMS are not open-source.

Eugene Plotnikov decided not to release his sources anymore after some commercial company tried to exploit his work for their own gain, without even acknowledging his work and instead claiming it as their own.

Since then source has only been shared on special request, and usually only as code 'snippets' to aid another homebrew programmer with similar needs.

So you won't find open sources of modern SMS versions anywhere.

Best regards: dlanor

dlanor · Post by **dlanor** » Tue Sep 01, 2009 9:08 am

parkerlindsey wrote:Hi Yownas

Yes, It is possible that you can find out it.
Google is best way for new version of SMS so it is very useful to you.

No. If what you want is the latest version, then the best way is to visit Eugene Plotnikov's SMS home site, since that is where he makes the initial releases.

The link is "http://members.casema.nl/eugene_plotnikov/".

Best regards: dlanor

yownas · Post by **yownas** » Fri Sep 04, 2009 12:44 am

dlanor wrote:Eugene Plotnikov decided not to release his sources anymore after some commercial company tried to exploit his work for their own gain, without even acknowledging his work and instead claiming it as their own.

Thats sad. :( Someone tries to make money on someone elses expense and everyone loses.

I guess it is kind of off-topic, but did he contact EFF about it?

dlanor · Post by **dlanor** » Fri Sep 04, 2009 10:22 am

yownas wrote:Thats sad. :( Someone tries to make money on someone elses expense and everyone loses.

Yep, and it wasn't the first time, nor the last one either I think.

I guess it is kind of off-topic, but did he contact EFF about it?

I really don't know, but I doubt it. In most countries it is impossible to get any real action for cases like this, unless a huge amount of money is involved.

Best regards: dlanor