If you write a full program for kicks lets say a game. How much time on average does it take to port the game to Linux and Mac. Game is written C++ With OpenGL.
If you write a full program for kicks lets say a game. How much time on average does it take to port the game to Linux and Mac. Game is written C++ With OpenGL.
In order to port a game like this it would require replacing all of the glue code between opengl and the api along with the native api calls. The platform specific stuff typically deals with threads, timers and datatypes, though there are probably more.
Considerably less time than if you'd used say DirectX
If you've only used ANSI-C++, STL and OpenGL, then chances are the effort would be pretty minimal.
If you dance barefoot on the broken glass of undefined behaviour, you've got to expect the occasional cut.
If at first you don't succeed, try writing your phone number on the exam paper.
Let's say... it took you a month to write the program in the first place... Lets say you used mostly standard-portable C++, and multiplatform libraries... Let's say you already have experience writing OpenGL programs for the MAC and Linux. It should take you less than a week to port to each of the new platforms.
Let's say you don't have experience with the MAC & Linux programming tools... It's probably going to take a month for each platform.
Most commercial programs contain quite a bit of system-specific code. You've probably noticed that 90% of the programs at the computer store are available for only one platform, and those that are available for multiple platforms. This is a hint about how difficult it is to write large (or port) programs for multiple platforms.
It's just another programming skill which you acquire along the way.
Having written a program for X and ported to Y, you'll discover a lot of new information.
With such experience, writing another program for X and porting to Y will be a much easier exercise
If you dance barefoot on the broken glass of undefined behaviour, you've got to expect the occasional cut.
If at first you don't succeed, try writing your phone number on the exam paper.
