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Need help with which direction to take on Prepar3D addons development

spanky80

spanky80

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8
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us-california
Hi,

I am pretty much new to this forum.But I have been going through it for the past couple of days to find my answer.But I am pretty confused with which way to focus for my requirement.

My Background:
1. Arnd 10 years of java/web development
2. Have a basic working knowledge of C/C++ (on linux platform)which was done during my college days

I want to start working on an addon for FSX/Prepar3D which is going to run external to it.Its going to have a basic GUI(just like any application along with basic 2D drawing).I am confused about the following paths(which ones to take and focus on).

1. Qt approach
2. Win32 Api
3. Managed way (C#)

For the past 1 week I have been dabbling along with Win32 Api trying to understand it.I am seeking advice from Pro's out here to understand the best way to take so that I can focus on learning those skills.
 
Hi and welcome to FS Developer

When you say the Win32 API what language are you using?

For an external application that connects to the sim via SimConnect of FSUIPC then I think most of use will use a managed NET language like C# or VB.NET. C++ is used a lot as well. There are some applications in Java also. So you have a reasonable choice ;)
 
Hey Jon,

Thanks for your reply. I was planning to use C++/C.I need to connect to the PMDG SDK and extract flight data out of the sim. C++ is what I have been studying this week. Is that possible through Java? Or better to go through C# route.From what I understand is that applications like PSX 747 is made in Java and connects to FSX .So that gives me some confidence that it could be possible.But just getting the thoughts out..
 
Something more on the lines of FSXFlight is what I would like to implement..Have a middle layer tool on the simulator desktop which connects to PMDG SDK and outputs the data to ios.
So need to implement a basic UI with 2D graphics on the desktop tool and then output data over network connection to ios device.
 
Yes someone wrote a wrapper for Java. It used to be very hit and miss connecting to the sim with Java but it may be better now. You would need to test it.In the end provided you can get a reliable connection then it should not matter what language you use for the GUI app. I have used C# for years but that is just because it is my preferred language.....
 
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