[QuantumMekkanics]

Hello AlliedModders forum (again). My old account is MiloSx7 but I haven't been doing AMX for 8 years I can't remember the email or password for the life of me, sorry for creating new account :\

I just have one quick question for now, I'm looking at lots of .sma files right now and everyone makes global arrays that store all players data with [33]. Since there is max 32 players on server allowed, and arrays start from index 0, shouldn't they be defined with [31]?

I have been doing javascript for a very long time now, this looks more like functional programming but the rules should stay the same right? So, why [33]?

Thanks!

[Bugsy]

Because this allows you to pass the player id to the array, which is 1 to 32. This requires an array sized at 33 which gives you an array with indexes 0 to 32. The first array index of 0 is technically wasted memory. It's better practice to use MAX_PLAYERS + 1 to size the array, so it makes sense to others reading your code.

Try this and you will see why your thinking will not work:

PHP Code:

//31 will not work as it gives you 0-30
//32 will not work as it gives you 0-31
//33 works, giving you 0-32

new PlayerArray[ 31 ]; 
PlayerArray[ 32 ] = 5; 


[QuantumMekkanics]

Mhm, I get it now. So basically

PHP Code:

new array[33];

array[33] = 1; // invalid

array[0] = 1; // valid
// ...
array[32] = 1; // valid 


So when I want to loop it I should do

PHP Code:

#define MAX_PLAYERS 32

new array[MAX_PLAYERS + 1];

for (new id = 1; id < MAX_PLAYERS; id++) {
  array[id] = something;
} 


?

@edit: Sorry for going a little off topic but here goes nothing: Do you maybe know how to setup VScode to compile sma files? I've set up include paths correctly but can't seem to find anything online regarding compilation... Is it even possible? Thanks!!

[Bugsy]

Good, except it should be 'id <= maxplayers'. Remember, you want it to iterate 1 to 32, not 1 to 31.

PHP Code:

for (new id = 1; id <= MAX_PLAYERS; id++) 


I personally use AMX-X Studio, have used it since I started scripting in 2005. I believe you can configure other editors like Notepad++ to compile sma's. I think there are some tutorials floating around.

[fysiks]

Originally Posted by QuantumMekkanics PHP Code: #define MAX_PLAYERS 32 new array[MAX_PLAYERS + 1]; for (new id = 1; id < MAX_PLAYERS; id++) {   array[id] = something; }

Looping over all player slots is almost never needed and often a waste of resources. Most often, this is done by using get_players() to get various sets of players and then you would loop over only those players:

new iPlayers[MAX_PLAYERS + 1], iNumPlayers, id
get_players(iPlayers, iNumPlayers)

for( new i = 0, i < iNumPlayers, i++ )
{
	id = iPlayers[i]

	// Do stuff with 'id' here
}

Originally Posted by QuantumMekkanics @edit: Sorry for going a little off topic but here goes nothing: Do you maybe know how to setup VScode to compile sma files? I've set up include paths correctly but can't seem to find anything online regarding compilation... Is it even possible? Thanks!!

I use VS Code and I have the "AMXXPawn Language" extension by Klippy installed and it has a compiler configuration feature. However, I've never used it. I have my own external script that I use for compiling. If you are having issues with it you should post here.

[QuantumMekkanics]

Ah, I finally get it. When I am the only one on my server and client_print the ID in the chat I get 1. So 32rd players ID would be 32, and so

PHP Code:

new arr[32];
arr[32] = true // invalid 


By the way, I couldn't get VSCode to compile the .sma file, so I just did what you do fsyks and made a script to my desktop that compiles the code for me. At least I don't have to launch AMX Studio just to click the green compile button every time I want to compile

I've got one more question for you good folks, while building games in javascript I used array of objects, a lot. As far as I can tell there are no objects in pawn, so what trick can I do to achieve having something similar to array of objects which can store, for example, items name, damage, price, etc. I can have globals like

PHP Code:

itemnameName = "name";
itemnameDamage = 3;
itemnamePrice = 1;
// ... 


But that doesn't feel right and becomes spaghetti pretty quickly... I was thinking of having something like:

PHP Code:

#define ITEM_1 1;
itemNames[][] = {"name", "name2", ...};
itemDamages[][] = {2, 4, ...};

itemnames[ITEM_1];
itemDamages[ITEM_1]; 


But just wondering if there is some standard you prefer.

And lastly, whats the difference between using #define or just using new? Is it just preference or does one have an advantage over the other, and in which case?

Thanks!!

[fysiks]

#define vs variable is explained here.

Pawn is not object oriented and does not have the concept of structs. However, you can create a sort of struct as shown in an enum tutorial here (see the "Data Structures" section).

[QuantumMekkanics]

All right, thank you both very much.

That should be enough to get me started. If I have any more questions down the road I'll open a new thread, this one can be locked.

have a nice day! ^^