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JavaScript Comes To Minecraft
mikejuk writes "JavaScript is the language of the client and it is becoming the language of the server. Now it seems set to be the language of Minecraft. ScriptCraft is a Minecraft mod that can be added to the game to allow the player to use JavaScript commands. Walter Higgins ported the Rhino JVM implementation of JavaScript in a few spare weeks over Xmas. Some additional JavaScript classes allow the construction of blocks making it possible to automate construction. It also provides a 'turtle like' drone class that makes it easier to move in 3D. It makes use of a fluent API to create a domain specific language for movement. As its creator says: 'Ultimately I think the ScriptCraft mod could be used to take building in Minecraft to a whole new level. With a full-blown language at the Player's disposal, it should be possible to create not just castles and forts but entire road networks and cities.' Most importantly of all, it not only pushes the boundary of Minecraft, it also provides a way to get kids who are already hooked on Minecraft to start learning JavaScript."
RTFS. Just because Java and JavaScript appear in the same paragraph doesn't mean someone is equating the two. This is a JavaScript engine coded in Java, hooked up to Minecraft.
Not sure how this is a groundbreaking achievement. ComputerCraft already provides a LUA interpreter and turtles, and has a lot more documentation. There's also RedPower's Control module, that gives you an emulated 6502-based 8 bit computer. A FORTH boot disk can be crafted in-game, or you can edit your save files to bring in either an BASIC boot disk or your own assembler code. (Previous /.coverage of the 6502 emulator blocks)
#include <signature.h>
No, not in this case. You must not be very familiar with java and its runtime. Java is DESIGNED to be extremely portable and is in fact one of the biggest reasons it was able to rise up and compete with C++ originally. I have ported many programs in java from a Windows Eclipse environment to a Linux native compiler and both of them produce virtually the same files, the compiled files actually ran on both environments without a recompile pretty much every time that I remember.
C++ on the other had can be a BEAST to try and port even trivial programs between Windows and Linux, and in my early college days proved to be a pain in the ass because we standardized all of our programs compilations to the gcc and g++ Linux compilers while I was used to doing a lot of my coding using either Borland or Visual Studios on a Windows machine (Visual Studios has its own weird flavors as it is, but even more generic compilers had nasty results).