I've got my own framework I used to develop my games and only once have I ever included it with a game before, but I typically always include the source to my games along with the game. So my question is would you still find it useful or worth looking at if I include the source code to the game but not include any of the code for my framework. Making the code un-compilable without rewriting alot of it.

While were on the subject how often do you look at other peoples source code, not work related code of course.

Would it be helpful if I let you borrow my car, but with no gas in it, so you can't pull it out of the driveway? You'd have to walk 3 miles to the nearest gas station, and then back, before you'd ever get to drive it.

If I can't compile it, then what good is it? The only reason I'd want to see it is to mod it, port it, or fix a dumb bug, but if it can't compile than that goes out the window.
What good is uncompilable code? If you say, "to learn from", I would learn a whole bunch more by tweaking it than by reading it.

That's my opinion, anyway. I don't mind games that are closed source, and if a game comes with it's source, that's really cool too. But a game that only comes with half its source, with the other half not obtainable online somewhere, that's useless for me (but maybe not for others). Not that I read alot of people's sourcecode anyways.
If it's trade secrets or something, obfuscate the framework, or only include it as a pre-compiled library, that was I can still compile it.

I'll start by saying I don't look at people's code. I prefer papers describing the data structures or algorithms used to solve a problem rather than someone's implementation.

On that note though, it seems odd to me to release the source to a game with basically unimplemented functions. Do you have a library like a .dll included with the game? You'd be better off putting a up a paper online describing the framework and your design decisions. That is describe the interesting solutions you made to problems. It would probably be much more helpful.

I've got my own framework I used to develop my games and only once have I ever included it with a game before, but I typically always include the source to my games along with the game. So my question is would you still find it useful or worth looking at if I include the source code to the game but not include any of the code for my framework. Making the code un-compilable without rewriting alot of it.

While were on the subject how often do you look at other peoples source code, not work related code of course.

I feel like the framework/api would be more interesting to look at than the game's source.

Depends entirely on what exactly your framework does.

I feel like the framework/api would be more interesting to look at than the game's source.

That's probably very true. I guess I always thought of it being for beginners to see how things could be structured in a game. My games have never been that big, I have yet to code a game that surpasses the size of my framework, and since that is continually built up with every game, I doubt my personal projects ever will. I guess I just don't include the extra code for clarity sake, and I never really intended for people to be able to recompile my programs straight out of the box.

Depends entirely on what exactly your framework does.

Everything that isn't specifically game related, ie my framework includes my renderer, I/O handling, window encapsulation, and lots of little helpers like timers and integrators for things like loading my data types from XML files and so forth.

I'd have to agree, then, that omitting the framework makes things kind of useless.

It's like the car/gas analogy from earlier in the thread, except I'd reverse it. You're letting someone borrow the gas from your car, but refusing to let them actually get inside and drive it. Oh, and to make things more interesting, you're not allowed to remove the gas from the car either (because your game code is useless without the underlying framework).

I'd have to agree, then, that omitting the framework makes things kind of useless.

It's like the car/gas analogy from earlier in the thread, except I'd reverse it. You're letting someone borrow the gas from your car, but refusing to let them actually get inside and drive it. Oh, and to make things more interesting, you're not allowed to remove the gas from the car either (because your game code is useless without the underlying framework).

What if I let them ride in the trunk? Or act like I'm going to let them in the car but drive forward every time they go for the handle? , thanks for the feedback, sounds like it's all or nothing, so all it is.

I guess I always thought of it being for beginners to see how things could be structured in a game.

There might be some merit to it, but I think an article describing the structure, and more importantly explaining your choices for a particular design would be more helpful. You could still include or attach your code as an example.

[quote name='freeworld' timestamp='1301787921' post='4793635']
I guess I always thought of it being for beginners to see how things could be structured in a game.

There might be some merit to it, but I think an article describing the structure, and more importantly explaining your choices for a particular design would be more helpful. You could still include or attach your code as an example.
[/quote]

I agree with this. Source code in itself is next to useless to me, especially if you have included 'comments' that are along the lines of "Does all sorts of filtering and stuff" (Seriously, this was something that someone thought would be a useful comment.)

Either explain and be clear as to what you are doing, how you are doing it, and why it works, or piss off and don't put the code anywhere I might have to work with it.


(Yes, I'm more than a little bitter at an open source project I got roped into working on for a class.)