Re: [hatari-devel] Hatari Front-End

["Steven Elliott" <patch1961@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hiya Bob!

Right now, I have all the settings on one HUGE screen (1457x848 pixels) 
(Attached as Option_Screen.jpg). It fit my screen when I first (and last) 
worked on it about 5 years ago (I was running 1600x1200 on a 19" CRT).  ; )

I am in the process of updating the app to use the current version of 
HAtari. I may break it up into a tabbed dialog. But first, I have to get it 
working again, as some objects depended on 32-bit Windows objects that 
aren't there (or are named/called differently) in 64-bit Windows. If you 
want the single-window version, I will send that as soon as I get it running 
again. Else, I will send it when I get it updated with a smoother interface. 
The SC1224 monitor effect is pretty cool.  It even resizes itself according 
to the different resolutions. ; )

Hmmm... while I'm sure the code could be (somewhat) easily converted to C 
(by an experienced C coder), I have no idea how the graphics would need to 
be done. Right now it uses Windows' Image controls, which allow automatic 
resizing.

I've also included a pic of the blank frame (SC1224.jpg) so you can get an 
idea of how it looks. In the running program that pic is built from pieces 
to allow for selective stretching of parts of the frame, so that certain 
other parts aren't distorted. The graphics are hand-painted by me from 
blurry photos of an actual SC1224 monitor. I plan on adding an SM124 monitor 
graphic for the monochrome modes. I originally owned both, and even had a 
Falcon 030 before I (stupidly) sold it all, after I got into PCs.

I would really love for this to become at least an optional part of the 
distribution. It adds a lot to the nostalgia quotient!

Let me know which option you would prefer to receive. Also, please let me 
know if you think I should keep the Options on one screen, as it is now (or 
maybe have it as an 'option' <g>). I actually liked having the options on 
one screen, which is why I worked so hard to make it that way, while trying 
to also keep it usable. Not sure yet how many more options the newer 
versions have... haven't compared them yet. The single screen style may 
require a decent contextual Help method, which could be done as tooltips, 
perhaps.


Thanks,
-Steve


-----Original Message----- 
From: Bob Carpenter
Sent: Sunday, August 10, 2014 11:05 PM
To: hatari-devel@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: [hatari-devel] Hatari Front-End

Steven,

Even though I use the OS X version of Hatari, I would be interested in 
seeing your front-end since I have the Windows version running in a virtual 
machine. Honestly, the non-Windows versions of Hatari have nice GUIs. Only 
the Windows version is stuck with the SDL interface because no Windows 
person has volunteered to write a Windows-specific interface.

In order to make this cross-platform, it would have to be written in a 
non-Microsoft language. Since Hatari is written in C, that would be the 
obvious choice. There are a few other options (Xojo - used to be RealBasic) 
but I could not really recommend that as an option.

As far as the SC1224 look, the first idea that occurred to me was if Hatari 
supported skins like I have seen in some other emulators. However, there has 
not been much interest in it. Based on how a lot of people use Hatari 
(debugging environment for their ST software), the lack of interest in 
skinning makes sense to me.

Even if your front-end is never cross-platform, it would be useful to Hatari 
Windows users who want a friendlier interface than what’s provided by SDL.


Bob C


On Aug 10, 2014, at 4:13 PM, Steven Elliott <patch1961@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> I have developed a Windows front-end for Hatari (using VB6) that has a 
> nice gui for Hatari's settings. But it's main feature is that it puts a 
> graphic frame around Hatari's window that makes it appear as an old SC1224 
> monitor. This was done for nostalgic reasons of my own. However, other 
> people I know have expressed interested in it. What I would like to know 
> is if anybody can steer me into how to make this a cross-platform app, 
> like Hatari itself is.
>
> The current extent of my programming knowledge is VB6 and VB.Net Windows 
> programming, although I started with Atari 8-bit Basic and went on to GFA 
> Basic for the ST. I also have a lot of experience using LiSP in AutoCAD, 
> but that is obviously not helful here.
>
> I would be grateful for any help here. Whether it is just some guidance on 
> what direction I need to go in or if anybody would actually be interested 
> in helping to make this thing cross-platform. I have never done any kind 
> of cross-platform development before, so I am a total newbie in that 
> regard.
>
>
> Thanks!
>
> -Steven Elliott

Attachment: SC1224 Window.jpg
Description: JPEG image

Attachment: Option_Screen.jpg
Description: JPEG image