Released: OpenXDK v0.04.1

OpenXDK v0.04.1

>> A new version of OpenXDK - the Open Source, Free, Legal Xbox Development Kit - has been released. From Edwardaux on openxdk.org:

* Well, I inadvertantly checked in some of the automake/autoconf files that contained some hardcoded paths to my local workspace. Sorry! Please update to the latest build.
* I also have added a binary package that contains just the cygwin-precompiled OpenXDK libraries and header files. Unzip it into /usr/local and you should be able to compile your own programs.
* Lastly, I added the ability to launch XBE files using either XLaunchXBE() or execve()) APIs. This gets us much closer to being able to write a dashboard of some sort. What is still outstanding is how to get a list of files. I am investigating using the POSIX opendir/readdir/etc API to do so (I might also provide an API that looks more like the Microsoft FindFirstFile... we'll see!).


Edwardaux also posted a quick update on what you can and can't do with OpenXDK on forums.xbox-scene.com:

* OpenXDK does not (and probably never will have) have the same API as the official XDK. The MS XDK is heavily based on DirectX, which I do not have the source code for, so I have to use something else.
* SDL (http://www.libsdl.org) is what I have chosen to base OpenXDK multimedia capabilities on. It has video, audio, joystick, events, threads, file, networking support as part of its API (note that only video, joystick and events have been implemented so far in OpenXDK, but that will change over time)
* I have only tested using Cygwin GCC on Windows 2000. I have *not* tested on Linux. However, having said that, I don't believe that it will be a huge step to move to being able to compile on Linux.
* The OpenXDK compilation process produces i386 Portable Executable (PE) files. These are Win32 applications that are post-processed by a utility called CXBE to convert to an XBE. To compile under Linux, you will need a GCC cross-compiler that produces i386 PE executables (not ELF). You will then need to run a Linux version of Caustik's CXBE to convert to an XBE (I have already received an email from someone who says they have ported CXBE to compile/run under Linux)
* OpenXDK does not currently have audio, networking or usb support (the first two are my number 1 priority)
* I am currently in the middle of integrating code that will allow OpenXDK to launch other XBE files. This functionality combined with the existing SDL capabilities should be enough to write an open dashboard.
* Lastly, please bear in mind that OpenXDK is a work in progress. It is missing some functionality, but it also has a bunch of good features that mean it is getting closer to being suitable for real XBOX development.