Is Python-Ogre Dead???

oeginc

02-08-2012 19:42:59

I've spent numerous hours now trying to get Python-Ogre downloaded and installed on a Mac (OSX 10.6.8) with absolutely no luck. I've read numerous posts of others experiencing similar problems going all the way back to 2009. I checked Python-Ogre's website, they have no "Contact Me" information and links to their forums don't work. It seems like the Python-Ogre build script hasn't been updated in quite some time (it still downloads 3rd party packages from years ago, even though they've been updated recently)...

I'm going crazy here... Should I just give up on Python-Ogre all together, or does someone have updated information on the project that maybe I am missing...

dermont

02-08-2012 20:56:28

I've spent numerous hours now trying to get Python-Ogre downloaded and installed on a Mac (OSX 10.6.8) with absolutely no luck. I've read numerous posts of others experiencing similar problems going all the way back to 2009. I checked Python-Ogre's website, they have no "Contact Me" information and links to their forums don't work. It seems like the Python-Ogre build script hasn't been updated in quite some time (it still downloads 3rd party packages from years ago, even though they've been updated recently)...

I'm going crazy here... Should I just give up on Python-Ogre all together, or does someone have updated information on the project that maybe I am missing...


I think you probably already know the answer to your own question. As you already can see there have been no meaningful updates for nearly 2 years now, patches etc. uploaded to the tracker are ignored. You could maybe contact the developer Andy here or on the developers group for clarification. I don't think he has the time to maintain python-ogre.

https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgr ... developers

Having said that updating the 3rd party packages /wrapper code should be fairly straightforward if not extremely time consuming.

I kept the bullet wrapper pretty much up-to-date since someone showed an interest in it. I also posted my updates for 1.8 on the tracker, there were a couple of issues but since no one really showed any interest I didn't bother trying to track down the bugs.

Rather than wasting your time maybe you should take a look at Panda3D. I don't know anything about the Mac/OSX but if you want to post specific details of the problems you are facing maybe some can offer some advice.

oeginc

03-08-2012 07:56:06

Yeah, I had a feeling... I guess I was just hoping for someone to see my post and go "No! Wait... You're just in the wrong place, you need to go to ____.com for the latest"

LOL!

FYI - I've tried Panda3D already... I'm not sure I'm impressed. ;) I might just stick with Ogre C++, it seems faster than the python implementations... Much faster than I expected even.

dermont

03-08-2012 09:18:51


FYI - I've tried Panda3D already... I'm not sure I'm impressed. ;) I might just stick with Ogre C++, it seems faster than the python implementations... Much faster than I expected even.


Even if you decide to stick with Ogre C++, to me at least, python-ogre is an invaluable tool for prototyping etc.

I know Andy has put a lot of effort into ensuring that, where possible, there is a one-to-one mapping between the python modules and the underlying C++ libraries, so converting code between python and C++ is pretty easy.

In terms of speed the python implementation will always be slower. You could take a look at the BuildCython.py demo for examples of things that you could try.

Also looking at environment.py Ogre is built with default "RelWithDebInfo".

[0, "cmake . -DOGRE_INSTALL_PLUGINS_HEADERS=TRUE -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX:PATH=%s" % PREFIX, baseDir],

IIRC the build strips out the debug info but you could try adding-DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release to the build command.

Ok thanks for the feedback on Panda3D, I've never used it so I can't comment.


Yeah, I had a feeling... I guess I was just hoping for someone to see my post and go "No! Wait... You're just in the wrong place, you need to go to ____.com for the latest"

LOL!


Actually for most cases updating to later versions of the C++ libraries in most instances only involve some minor modifications to the build system and/or minor updates to the wrapper code.

Again this is testament to superb work that Andy has done all with extensibility in mind.
The real time consuming part is building, updating demos, tracking down bugs and testing across different platforms.

When it comes down to it he can't do everything himself and if people want python-ogre to continue they will have to step up to the plate.

As already stated if you post details of the specific problems you are encountering I will try to help.

Elrobo

08-08-2012 05:22:08

Well crud I was finally getting a good project going in python-ogre 1.7.1.
As someone who has never really touched c++ is there any info around for updating to the later versions of the c++ libraries?

Or is that the sort of thing I'd only be able to do if I knew c++ anyways and it's finally time to just suck it up and learn c++ ( I'm fine with reading the syntax when trying to get info to recreate in python-ogre, just never actually done anything with the language).

dermont

08-08-2012 06:11:13

Well crud I was finally getting a good project going in python-ogre 1.7.1.
As someone who has never really touched c++ is there any info around for updating to the later versions of the c++ libraries?

Or is that the sort of thing I'd only be able to do if I knew c++ anyways and it's finally time to just suck it up and learn c++ ( I'm fine with reading the syntax when trying to get info to recreate in python-ogre, just never actually done anything with the language).


As I said you would be better asking Andy for the true direction/status of the project, for all I know he is working on it in the background.

Even if you knew c++ it is not a trivial task trying to figure out the "code_generators" and figuring out what needs to be done to update python-ogre. Then there is building where compile errors are cryptic at best.

I'll try to get around to updating the c++ libraries python-ogre modules on Windows to 1.8 this weekend if no one else does. Since I'm still running Windows XP it will be limited to what is supported on XP e.g. no DirectX11.

Elrobo

08-08-2012 17:09:07

Thank you for any updates dermont.

I'll try and see what andy says. I know that currently what I have is fine for what I'm doing, I was just weighing out what I'll need to figure out in the future.

andy

09-08-2012 07:01:18

Well it's not completely dead but certainly I don't have the time to be an active participant.

In an effort to clean up some code I did improve the OSX integration and the updated code can be found at https://bitbucket.org/kiwisoft/python-ogre.

As an aside I've been investigating other wrapper options (pybindgen and SWIG) in an effort to simplify the process, however none of them have the complete functionality that you get from the Boost based wrapping currently used. Pybindgen needs lots of work however would probably generate the smallest code, while SWIG is a bit of a challenge due to the number of languages it supports however is interesting as I'm playing with Google's 'GO' language and it would make a nice gaming environment I think..

Andy

Elrobo

11-08-2012 06:04:49

Thanks for the update Andy, I hope that the stuff you're checking out leads to some neat stuff.

ensignavenger

09-03-2013 16:22:58

Andy- Have you considered Cython or Interrogate (used by Panda3D to generate their bindings)?

I would love to use Python-Ogre instead of Panda3D in my current project, but I do not have the C++ skills to help out with updating bindings. From doing a bit of poking around, it appears that Interrogate (http://www.panda3d.org/manual/index.php/Interrogate) is a pretty automated system. I haven't had a chance to experiment with it yet- hoping to do that over the next few weeks.

ensignavenger

11-03-2013 18:50:16

Andy, have you considered Cython or Interrogate (http://www.panda3d.org/manual/index.php/Interrogate) to build the wrappers? I am thinking about experimenting with Interrogate for a project I;m currently working on... my C++ skills are lacking, so I don't think I would be of much help with Python-Ogre using Boost.