Considering jogl, having 2 questions b4

OpenGL Development JOGL Development
#1

hi,

I’m considering starting with jogl. But I have two questions:

  1. Do 2D games also benefit of hardware acceleration and to which extend compared to pure Java2D ? I’ve read that many 2D games are made using OpenGL support. So how much better is it?

  2. How do I distribute a game/program to an end-user when I use jogl? Of course the end-user has to have java installed. But I dont want to force him to install anything else (and I dont want to use webstart). I just want to give him a *.jar file and thats it. So is it possible to distribute jogl along with that *.jar file without any disadvantages for the end-user?

thanx,

          Usul
#2

JOGL relies on dynamic libraries. These have to be in a directory, not in a JAR.

One option would be that you put everything in your JAR, then let the app inside the JAR extract the libs from ‘itself’ to the current directory. After that, do your JOGL stuff which will automaticly find the libs.

While running the app, the JAR will be in read-only mode (VM locking it) but that shouldn’t be a problem.

#3

Almost forgot to mention that distribution of a JAR to the end-user is a disadvantage in itself. There is no guarantee java will be launched when double-clicking it.

JWS is a bit safer, and a bit more userfriendly.

Welcome to the wonderful (??) world of java-app distribution ::slight_smile:

#4

Most 2D games will benefit greately from hardware acceleration.

Comparing OpenGL to pure Java2D is difficult since it’s also uses hw acceleration in some situation. What is accelerated is not alway easy to know and depends on wich pipeline is used.

#5

The only cast-iron way to distribute a JOGL app to end users is to embed the entire JVM in your application and install the whole lot using a proper installer, say, Nullsoft’s excellent NSIS. Also take a look at JSmooth also which might be just what you need.

Cas :slight_smile:

#6

…and if that does not please you, take a look at Boostrap, which is a non-intrusive way of launching Java apps neatly on Windows platform:

http://www.g0dmode.com/javastuff/bootstrap-1.0.zip