Box2D
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An Introduction To Box2D

Posted by Amit. Comments: 2

The human brain works in amazing ways during class hours. Sparks of imagination fly as desperate measures are taken just to take your mind off a boring Maths or Software Engineering class (I find these the most boring. But the list is quite large :P ). So one fine sleepy afternoon hour, we decided to make a game and make an iPhone app out of it. Yeah we get these bizarre ideas every now and then. But then, making a game is interesting right? I mean, the pleasure you get when watching others play your game is something out of this world. How do I know? Good question. You got me :P

And so, over the next few days, we went to the lab and Google searched a bit on the topic. “Tutorial on how to make an HTML5 game” was one the first queries. We stumbled upon a great article by Net.tutsplus. Here’s the link:

http://net.tutsplus.com/tutorials/html-css-techniques/build-your-first-game-with-html5/

It explained in detail about how to make a game using JavaScript and the Canvas element in HTML5. The post opened with this:

What is Box2D?

Box2D is an open source and popular engine that simulates 2D physics for making games and applications. Primarily written in C++, it has been converted to numerous languages by community contributors.

Okayy.. so why do we need Box2D? You see, it’s very difficult to do the calculations needed to detect object collisions, and other scary Physics concepts if you have to develop a game from scratch. Box2D does all of these for us, and does it really well.

So what exactly is a Physics engine and what does it do?

A physics engine simulates the physics of objects to give them believable real-life movement.

And so, a guy called Erin Catto developed Box2D. Box2D is written completely in C++. Yeepp C++.

But it has been ported to many languages namely Java, JavaScript, Actionscript (Adobe Flash), C# etc.

So what’s so great about Box2D?

Ok you might be wondering – WTF is so great about Box2D? I have 2 words for you:

Angry Birds

This amazing game was built using the Box2D Physics Engine

Not just Angry birds. You must’ve seen Google Gravity right? That awesome place where you’ve seen the “fall” of Google ;)

Google gravity uses Box2D too

Still not impressed?

The stuff Box2D can do is really mind blowing. I’m not exaggerating, I swear!

Check this link out for some great demos.

http://gwtbox2d.appspot.com/

Conclusion

You can check out that net.tutsplus link I gave earlier to experiment with Box2D yourself. What? lazy to scroll? Okay:
http://net.tutsplus.com/tutorials/html-css-techniques/build-your-first-game-with-html5/

It shows you how to create a simple game using the Javascript port of Box2D. But I wasn’t satisfied. The Javascript port is not really updated. To play around with the actual C++ version of Box2D, stay tuned.. :)

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A Good Starting Point For HTML and CSS Learning

Posted by Amit. Comments: 0

Many of you might have thought of learning HTML and CSS, but gave up after getting overwhelmed by all the links, tutorials and videos that popped up after a Google search. If you don’t belong to that category, but want a brush up of your basic knowledge, then also read on. I found this great video, which explains everything on how to create a basic web page from scratch, using just notepad and a browser.

UPDATE: I found this great 30 days video course put up by Tuts+. Great work guys! And thanks for sharing this for free :)

http://learncss.tutsplus.com/

Give it a go right away ;)

HTML (HyperText Markup Language) is used for the basic mark-up and content of your Web page. CSS (Cascading Style Sheet) is used for styling it.

Getting Started with JavaScript

This is a little off topic, but I felt that learning JavaScript is essential along with HTML. Well you don’t have to sweat it off and learn everything in JS. But, try to grasp the working and syntax.

“JavaScript is implemented as part of a Web Browser in order to provide enhanced user interfaces and dynamic websites.” -Wikipedia

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Redesigning Work in Progress

Posted by Amit. Comments: 3

I’m revamping the whole website, in an attempt to make it more useful and visually satisfying.

The new site will incorporate all the latest web design technology including HTML5, CSS3 and WordPress 3.2.1 in the back end.

Stay tuned :)

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The CS Engineer

Posted by Amit. Comments: 1

Hello everyone! This is my first post. In this post, I will be pondering over my thoughts about Engineering.. particularly the field I opted for- “Computer Science and Engineering”. Let’s face it.. just  like all students, I hate the stuff they teach us at college. We are simply burdened with some useless crap which we have to store into our brain and reproduce them as it is on paper.  Come on.. think of it. Anyone who can sit down all night before an exam, storing the things they teach at college in the cache memory of their head ;) can get marks, and of course lead a better life since they are appreciated everywhere. Does it make any sense? Come on, we can’t fix extra cache memories and store random stuff (few can and no offense to them! :P )

This post is not something new. It just emphasizes things that you already are aware of.

The Current Situation

Right now, the situation is like this: useless subjects and topics have covered almost 75-80% of the syllabus. The rest of it is useful, but pretty well outdated.

Take for example, Maths. We dwell so deep into the subject, like Fourier series, advanced integration and stuff. Do we ever apply such Maths in real life? Of course, we do some amount of basic things like adding and multiplying. But we’ve got the calculator for that! (duh! we are one lazy lot). And then there comes Chemistry (thank God I don’t have to deal with it again). What was the use of studying that lame (no offense to people who love it) and boring and dry subject in the first year?

Useless subjects and topics cover almost 75-80% of the syllabus. The rest of it is outdated.

Grab practical knowledge yourselves

Take the effort to learn and understand new technologies

As a Computer Science Engineering student, we really need to keep ourselves updated in order to survive the battlefield. The teeny-weeny bit of useful stuff we get from college just won’t do. This line of thought led me to Mario. The platform game which everyone was addicted to, during the time of the cheap game systems we could plug on to a TV. The gold coins in the game are analogous to the practical knowledge  I referred to earlier. You get to collect some by just jumping. But if you really need to collect a lot of them, you need to take the effort of finding and going into a hidden chamber. ;)

What do I mean by ‘Practical’?

Practical knowledge to a Computer science student is learning and understanding the implementation of new technologies. This can be anything from Web designing, HTML, development of apps (this is a huge new field cropping up), Shell scripting – the Linux terminal commands, etc.

Anything that is productive and benefits you is Practical. Things that companies actually look for.

Follow your heart and try to find a field that suits you. Research a lot on it and try to implement it. Google is the best teacher. Try to start with something and then go on with it. Eventually, you will find something that really interests you. Be consistent – the dots will finally connect together. I actually started with Photoshop – designing Avatars at the forum of a Paid-to-click site. That’s how I started learning Photoshop. And then from there, I moved on to HTML/CSS coding. And then, all of a sudden, I had the urge to create a website. This story is quite long and so let’s stop here :P . So my point is, do something! If you already do, then great. Keep going ;)

Conclusion

This is not a post that hits and bashes up current education system. Well, there is no use in doing so either. It won’t change. So let’s change! Learn new stuff online, build up your knowledge set and show the world what you are capable of doing! So are you ready?