Converting emptool to C

Today I'm starting to convert the emptool source code to C. I'd just like to find out if anyone else has started such a project, so I know I'm not duplicating anyone else's efforts. My goal is to create a simple set of libraries that programmers can use to talk to the empeg. I'll probably need testers later on, too, since I only have a MK1 and two host systems to test.

I'll post back here as soon as I have some results!

You may consider waiting until 1.1 is released - a lot has changed and the 1.0 protocol is not forwardly compatible. I'm not entirely clear on what the problem is with the current C++ source, though. Why do you want to rewrite it in C?

Rob

The idea is that C is much easier to bind other languages to than C++, and I'd like to use the resulting libraries as a basis for a GUI uploader. Actually my first goal is merely to wrap libempeg_core, libempeg_protocol, and libempeg_net with a C interface. That's MUCH less work than actually converting all the code to C, less bug-prone, and will probably be enough to bind the libs to python and/or perl.

Hmm, OK, but for most GUI platforms it would seem likely that C++ would be the ideal language in which to write that front end. If you must work in C then I guess wrapping the existing protocol source would be the best approach, as this code is likely to change regularly.

Rob

Hmm.. youre probably right. Having taken a closer look at the code, it doesn't seem like wrapping it in C is really such a good idea anymore. I'll give the existing C++ stuff a try.

Project 1 for me is something I find myself needing more and more: A non-interactive emptool. Basically this will read a config file which describes the layout I want on the empeg, and then sync the empeg to this layout. I'll post the results here when I'm done.

This is definitely possible with the current C++ libraries.. The concept of interactivity is not specified at all in the protocol/net libraries. In fact, in the source release, you'll see that the only interactivity appears in car-support (basically the actual implementation of the emptool front-end).

ms

Surely you can bind Python and Perl to C++ libraries? How on earth do the Qt bindings work otherwise?

My goal is to create a simple set of libraries that programmers can use to talk to the empeg.

That was our goal too.

Peter