Route Riter source code

[FrannDzs]

Hi guys, good morning.

I've uploaded the source code of Route Riter to GitHub, so everyone can review it and improve it:

Source Code

The reason is that I haven't found literally anyone talking about it, and it seems to me an excellent tool for further development/porting for Open Rails. what do you think?

Franco Paladini

[eolesen]

Per a post on Elvas, Mike Simpson's source code has been posted to GitHub, and this thread is re-opened for limited commentary....

https://github.com/FrannDzs/Route-Riter

[derekmorton]

Mike's last version was 7.6.26

from that other site

Development Plans

Prepare the Visual Basic 6.0 code for migration to Visual Basic .NET.

Apply for the Windows 7 logo, https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/win.../dd203105.aspx

Separate application and data tiers into a DLL separate from presentation.

Change the user interface to an inductive user interface, https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms997506.aspx

Fully parse the Microsoft Train Simulator files by adapting an XML parser, http://pugixml.org/


Installer



Download: Version 7.8.10

====================

Which is the version on github!!

[FrannDzs]

Mike's last version was 7.6.26

from that other site

Development Plans

Prepare the Visual Basic 6.0 code for migration to Visual Basic .NET.

Apply for the Windows 7 logo, https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/win.../dd203105.aspx

Separate application and data tiers into a DLL separate from presentation.

Change the user interface to an inductive user interface, https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms997506.aspx

Fully parse the Microsoft Train Simulator files by adapting an XML parser, http://pugixml.org/


Installer



Download: Version 7.8.10

Which is the version on github!!

If you download the repository and load the project you can see that there are 2 versions:

7.6.27 (MAIN BRANCH) which is Mike Simpson's.
7.7.6 which is the other Mr. J's.

That's all I could get.

If you compile the project from the main branch you will see that it is the RR version that needs JAVA to work. So I guess it's Mike Simpson's final version.

[EricF]

Mike's Java-based version is essentially the last reliably working version of RR. Security-focused changes in both Windows and Java have made it a little more fiddly to get it up and running, but it works as intended, and any issues with it are well-known and can be worked around.

The other version was an attempt to remove the need for Java, but opinions of its developer/caretaker aside, by all accounts it was never fully stable.

If there's to be any hope of modernizing the Route Riter code, it's likely to be best to start with the "stable" Java-based branch and work forward from there. It's not that it's a bad idea to move toward common Microsoft frameworks instead of Java, but those have advanced considerably since the last attempt was made.

[FrannDzs]

Mike's Java-based version is essentially the last reliably working version of RR. Security-focused changes in both Windows and Java have made it a little more fiddly to get it up and running, but it works as intended, and any issues with it are well-known and can be worked around.

The other version was an attempt to remove the need for Java, but opinions of its developer/caretaker aside, by all accounts it was never fully stable.

If there's to be any hope of modernizing the Route Riter code, it's likely to be best to start with the "stable" Java-based branch and work forward from there. It's not that it's a bad idea to move toward common Microsoft frameworks instead of Java, but those have advanced considerably since the last attempt was made.

Yes, I understand. I'm fine with any direction of the project/projects, as long as it's forward, though starting with the latest official version. I think the problem with Java was related to TSUtils, or am I wrong?

I recently spoke with Carl-Heinz Rave and he gave me some good news, I asked him about the TSUtils source code as I thought he was not working on it anymore, and he told me that maybe the old source code we use today will be released, there would be no problems with this, but that he is still developing it and the new code he would share later when he completes it. There are a lot of good changes coming, also addressing Open Rails features. Maybe in the next version of TSUtils this problem will disappear.

~I congratulate you for your blog, especially for the article "The Disruptiveness of Open Rails", you have brought the rags to the sun and I like what you wrote about it.

Fran

[EricF]

Yes, TSUtils is, if I recall correctly, the sole reason for the Java dependency. It will be interesting to see how updated TSUtils code and Route Riter might integrate.

And I appreciate the compliment!

[R. Steele]

...~I congratulate you for your blog, especially for the article "The Disruptiveness of Open Rails", you have brought the rags to the sun and I like what you wrote about it.

Fran

...And I appreciate the compliment!

Let me add another compliment Eric...I was not aware of that specific piece of writing until Fran mentioned it. Thanks Fran and also thanks Eric, very informative and interesting...and well written. The Roundhouse and blog are good resources to have around. Thanks for the time and effort.

Whenever I'm looking for a piece of software I always start with searching Open Source. Open Rails, IMO, is something of a moonshot for a train simulator...it has come a long way since the first discussions about developing the code that eventually became OR.

...and while I'm at it...Fran, you've started something very, very interesting...you have certainly put in some effort to contact and correspond with all the parties involved. Compliments for having the gumption to go for it...I'm hoping it will develop into a worthwhile piece of utility software for OR and OR routes...if that's the direction it takes.

[derekmorton]

Any time Open Rails source code is mentioned another name must come up as well.

This journey would not have started without Wayne Campbell.

[R. Steele]

Any time Open Rails source code is mentioned another name must come up as well.

This journey would not have started without Wayne Campbell.

Hear-hear.jpg HatTip.jpg to Wayne