Programming Question Any javascript developers out there? How often do you play Orbiter?

Zandy12

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I am currently enrolled on www.teamtreehouse.com, where I am studying to get my full stack javascript/web development techdegree. I just wanted to know if there are other orbitnauts out there that are specialized or are currently specializing in the web development field. How often do you play Orbiter? Do you make mods? Also I would like to ask anyone about your opinion on the future of web-based games. Thanks! :)
 

Urwumpe

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I think a lot of the applications are moving into the browser, but that is just my professional opinion as PLM specialist. Even having a CAD tool inside a browser sounds more and more feasible.

And sorry, I am no Javascript developer. I can do enough Javascript to survive, but I am currently doing:

  • Python (or better, a special proprietary subdialect of it)
  • C# / WPF
  • Windows batch file

in my professional projects and Inform7 at university (after work).

It is planned to develop a web-based version of a third-party software in one project to solve many problems we have with it (its written in VB, we need three different versions of the editor to do our daily tasks, we have only bad revision control, it only supports measurement hardware of one manufacturer). But I can't speak too specific about those projects. Its all the huge engineering industry in Germany right now. I do paid software development for 20 years now and know Orbiter for 14 years.

A can't play Orbiter right now because my GPU is broken and family has spending priority. But I used to play it very often and I still try to do Orbiter development as long as the computer does not crash.
 

MikeB

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I can't claim to be much of a developer any more, but I've done a bit of Javascript work. I play "with" Orbiter at least once a week, which I enjoy even though I'm not very accomplished.

I would like to try to use Javascript with the Orb::Connect add-on to develop web-based interfaces to Orbiter. I haven't spent enough effort on it to know if it's really feasible.
 

Marijn

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I've been working on a project for Orbiter using Google Apps Script. In that environment you use Javascript for both the client and server.

Basicly, the app is a replacement for the excel sheets I've been using over the years to plan flights in Orbiter, with special focus on the use XR type vessels and cargo missions. I wanted to calculate various aspects of the flight in very high detail without the need to do any copying and pasting in text files.

I've created a wrapper around the NASA trajectory browser which scrapes all the hidden good stuff and then transforms it into a flight plan which can be edited. It allows to select cargo containers, runs the rocket equation after each change to calculate the needed main and APU fuel, LOX and any external fuel containers if neccesary. Also, it automatically sets up the MFD's depending on the phase of the flight so you don't have to set these up each time you load a scenario. The cargo is loaded in a logical order, so the empty main fuel containers which are to be deployed first are sitting on top of the regular cargo containers.

When finished setting up the flight, it offers a download for an archive in the typical Orbiter add-on structure, so these files are to be unzipped in the main Orbiter folder. It contains the scenario file, the xrcfg file and more.

The app is not finished, but I will see if I can make it available for other users to have a look.
 

4throck

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Can't say I'm an expert but I do program when needed for websites.
Browser based helps because the user doesn't need to install anything.
And of course, your work can be accessed on mobile devices.

This also means that it's not suited to interact with Orbiter directly. It's doable, but you have lag issues.
Not much problem if you only wish to generate scenarios or configs. For those JS is fine.
 

Marijn

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...This also means that it's not suited to interact with Orbiter directly. It's doable, but you have lag issues.

I do not have any experience with it, but I think Node.js would work for direct interaction with Orbiter. Node.js is a JavaScript runtime built on Chrome's V8 JavaScript engine. You can interact with it as if it's a server in the cloud even though it is installed locally. They say it's very fast too.

I can't think of a use case right now, but perhaps it's worth a closer look.
 

4throck

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You should take a look at this:
[ame="https://www.orbithangar.com/searchid.php?ID=6435"]Orb::Connect::Web 3.19[/ame]

It works on your phone, but there's some lag, at least last time I tried. Perhaps it's faster now (better phone, better PC).
There's potential here for things like checklist verification. A browser is well suited for this. And you can check status, button presses, etc, etc.
Really depends on what you want to do.
 
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