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Open Source Java Microsoft Programming Software Games Technology

Microsoft Open Sources Parts of Minecraft's Java Code (kotaku.com.au) 79

Posted by BeauHD from the keep-it-coming dept.
Four years after Microsoft acquired Minecraft developer Mojang, the company has decided to open source some of Minecraft's Java code. According to Kotaku, Microsoft and Mojang released two parts of Minecraft's Java code in library form, so that "anyone can pick them up and use them in their own game," says Lead Engineer Nathan Adams. From the report: For now, there's just the two libraries: "Brigadier," a "command parser and dispatcher"; and "DataFixerUpper," designed for "incremental building, merging and optimization of data transformations ... [to convert] the game data for Minecraft: Java Edition between different versions of the game." While the news doesn't mean much for players, it will be a boon for interested programmers and developers, keen to see the guts of Minecraft. The plan is to open source more components in the future, though no time frame is specified. For now, if you want to check out Brigadier or DataFixerUpper, both can be found on Mojang's GitHub page.
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Microsoft Open Sources Parts of Minecraft's Java Code More

Microsoft Open Sources Parts of Minecraft's Java Code

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    • Re:Remember the promise to open the whole thing? (Score:5, Informative)

      by Anubis IV ( 1279820 ) on Sunday October 07, 2018 @01:20PM (#57441688)

      Have sales died? Last I heard, it was still going strong.

      • The "Super Duper 4K" upgrade that was announced nearly 2 years ago (okay, a year and a half) has been delayed repeatedly. Microsoft is attempting to keep people interested in the game while they continue to delay the only thing worth a damn that Minecraft fans are waiting for.

    • How about we get back to your snarky ass when "sales start dying"?

      They just announced that Minecraft now has 70M+ active players each week. If releasing the code was 100% based on Notch's statment, they would not even have released what they just did.

      • How about we get back to your snarky ass when "sales start dying"?

        Son, you have missed the whole point. And there was even already a response along the same lines, which was also rebuffed, which you also missed. Maybe this whole internets thing is not your bag.

        Notch gave up control to Microsoft instead of giving it up to the users. That means he can never fulfill his promise. That means it was bait and switch. HTH, HAND.

  • Minecraft sees so primitive and shallow compared to modded Minecraft.

    They should really back up a truck full of money to the mod community and get some of that code added to the main code base.

    The glacial pace of current development is stunting the game.

    There is a rich deep world of play out there in the modded community.

  • Isn't Java practically open source by design? What has kept the unwashed masses from decompiling already?

  • Poor craftsmanship (Score:4, Informative)

    by skoskav ( 1551805 ) on Sunday October 07, 2018 @01:43PM (#57441772)

    These code bases have a serious issue with readability and maintainability. They seem to frequently write massive [github.com] methods [github.com] with [github.com] deep [github.com] nesting [github.com], and not even leaving some API or class documentation for posterity.

    It's the kind of gobbledygook code that I only see from freshly-graduated programmers and in competitive coding puzzles. Mojang should spend a few days to set up some static code analyzing tool like SonarQube.

    • These code bases have a serious issue with readability and maintainability. They seem to frequently write massive methods with deep nesting, and not even leaving some API or class documentation for posterity.

      Notch wasn't much of a programmer, he was better at design. He left but the legacy of crap code persists. That's why there are several clones which are technically superior to minecraft. Unfortunately, almost nobody plays them, so if you want to play with large numbers of strangers you play minecraft anyway.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by DRJlaw ( 946416 )

      Mojang should spend a few days to set up some static code analyzing tool like SonarQube.

      Mojang should spend $150K/year to have you do it. Then remind you that after working on it for years you'll have made a few hundredths of a percent of what they did from "gobbledygook."

      • I'm not sure if you're aware of what static code analysis is, but it does not necessitate a re-write. Refactoring is something every developer should do, treating it like the Boy Scout Rule [deviq.com]. It's as much about cleaning up existing code as it is about not adding new litter.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by DRJlaw ( 946416 )

          I'm not sure if you're aware of what static code analysis is, but it does not necessitate a re-write. Refactoring is something every developer should do, treating it like the Boy Scout Rule [deviq.com]. It's as much about cleaning up existing code as it is about not adding new litter.

          I'm not sure if you understand that "not... a re-write" is quite inconsistent with "refactoring" and even "cleaning up existing code." You've run the gamut from nothing to ground-up reconstruction in the space of two sentences

          • I'm not sure if you understand that "not... a re-write" is quite inconsistent with "refactoring" and even "cleaning up existing code." You've run the gamut from nothing to ground-up reconstruction in the space of two sentences.

            It seems to me that you are arguing against a position I am not taking, and perhaps vice-versa. Your first post seemed to me to speak of spending years re-implementing their code base, and I disagreed with that approach, instead trying to clarify that the existing code can be progressively cleaned up with the guiding help of a static analyzer.

            Craftsmanship is only a principal goal for hobbiests. There are many other concerns and goals in most projects, and craftsmanship can validly be subordinated to them. Especially when you're writing a game and not a general purpose library.

            I would instead suggest that craftsmanship should be a discipline for engineers. Hobbyists in my experience tend to forgo tests, documentation and maintainability. A g

            • Re: (Score:2)

              by DRJlaw ( 946416 )

              Your first post seemed to me to speak of spending years re-implementing their code base, and I disagreed with that approach...

              No, it was another way of expressing this [slashdot.org], to someone who does not appear to have any comparable experience leading project with a wide audience, much less one that is commercially successful.

              ...instead trying to clarify that the existing code can be progressively cleaned up with the guiding help of a static analyzer.

              Oh... so the "It's the kind of gobbledygook code that I only see f

              • No, it was another way of expressing this [slashdot.org], to someone who does not appear to have any comparable experience leading project with a wide audience, much less one that is commercially successful.

                That AC is right in a way; Mojang should do what Mojang wants. But I still think you're gravely overestimating the cost in time and money of setting up e.g. SonarQube into the build pipeline. Granted, I haven't worked on games that sell 150+ million copies, but my experience as a senior developer in various projects and teams -- from security programs installed by ~10 million end-users, to games that at their height were played by ~500,000 yearly -- has taught me some lessons, ones that largely echoes one o

    • Wahhh. Cry to mommy.

  • Just in time for Oracle to screw it all up and start charging for Java licences.

  • Would have been even better to open source the whole thing! The Pi edition is obviously welcome but is so old as to be off-putting for young coders. It would be like offering a free version of FIFA soccer that only has goalkeepers.

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