Intro & Question [Project structure vs File system structure]

falo

Hi all. I've been playing around with Gideros and came across something I wanted to find out more about so figured it was a good opportunity to say hi before asking my question. I'm an ex-developer based in London who doesn't get to write any software at work any more so have turned to mobile development to keep my hand in and learn some new things. Unfortunately I don't get a lot of time to invest into this so haven't been as active as I might like. Made a small puzzle game for Android devices using libgdx towards the end of last year and so have been looking for something different to try for my next project - Gideros seems perfect as there's little overhead needed to get me up and running and I get to learn something new (lua).

Anyway, my question was around project structure. As far as I can tell from my first foray into Gideros Studio, there is no direct link between the Gideros project structure and the file system. Folders created in Gideros are virtual and any physical (filesystem) files / folders are just references so can live anywhere relative to the project root (not necessarily below it).

OK, so far so good. So I guess my question is twofold:
1. Is there an easy way to enforce a project structure <-> filesystem structure relationship? i.e. I always want to have my project exactly reflect how it appears on disk without having to manually sync. If I create a folder in gideros I'd like to see a directory created on the fs and if I import a file / create a file I want to see a copy in my project folder on the fs.
2. To the more general audience, do people think this distinction between the project and filesystem is important? I'd be interested in use cases that people have where they leverage this situation.

atilim

Hi falo,

Welcome here

You're exactly right, there is no direct link between Gideros project structure and the file system. The main reason of this distinction is to be able to organize the structure and include/exclude the files for different projects. I mean you can have different projects for different platforms like:
- mygame-iphone.gproj
- mygame-android.gproj
- mygame-ipad.gproj
at the same directory. And each project can include/exclude the files they want. For example, you may remove the lowres images for iPad project to reduce the application size.

And (currently) there is no easy way for question 1

MikeHart

Welcome falo,

Personally I love this virtual file structure and don't miss a real one. And I am not sure if you could do that with lua files anyway.

Cheers
Michael

falo

Cheers chaps. Don't know why I hadn't even considered the multiple project idea to include / exclude files. That answers my next query about how best to approach multiple size resources without over-stuffing the app size

ar2rsawseen

Well, call me newbie, but I try to keep extrenal classes, images, sounds in different folders and I try to keep my Filesystem structure same as Gideros structure.
Other common files (one file per scene) are in root folder.
That doesn't exclude using multiple projects on same files

MikeHart

Cheers chaps. Don't know why I hadn't even considered the multiple project idea to include / exclude files. That answers my next query about how best to approach multiple size resources without over-stuffing the app size

And because of this ability, I think it could clash with the approach you would like to see.

gorkem

@mikehart do you have any videos for Neon Command? Would love to watch.

MikeHart

I try to find a free screen cast tool. Guess I have to tape it with a real camera.

strancali

http://www.screencast-o-matic.com/ there you go mike

MikeHart

Cool and thanx, I will give it a try.

ar2rsawseen

I usually use http://www.screenr.com/, no installation, hd quality and free up to 5 min

MikeHart

I usually use http://www.screenr.com/, no installation, hd quality and free up to 5 min

Didn't you had a problem with it, that someone from here couldn't watch it because of a missing codec?

strancali

screencast-o-matic is really cool, I like it better than screenr

ar2rsawseen

Yes someone had problem, but you can easily publish it to your youtube account, or download video file itself and publish anywhere you want.

But screen-o-matic seems to be quite similar, tried it just now, so either one is good.

henrytao

Any status update for this question? I feel quite annoy when project structure and file system structure are not the same.

SinisterSoft

The current system is (much) better for doing multiple variations on the same project.

keszegh

@ar2rsawseen, it's funny to see you post that in the past:
"Well, call me newbie..."

ar2rsawseen

) we all once were

henrytao

Hi guys, this is one of the solution to support gideros file system. You need to install nodejs and gideros node command.
Check it out http://github.com/henrytao-me/gideros

ar2rsawseen

Awesome solution @henrytao