Bill,
GBA is probably the best non-pc platform to begin programming on. It is
powerful enough to do some incredible things, yet simple enough to be
mastered with out having a huge background in programming. Couple this with
one of the more active online programming communities and you have an
unparalleled system to learn on. As for the DS, if homebrew development is
possible on it in the near future you should take comfort in the fact that
it has a 2D system that is nearly identical to the GBA (with some subtle and
a few not so subtle differences) so your efforts will transfer almost
seamlessly to the new platform (and would be required even if you were to
start with the DS). I suspect that if we find means to run code on the DS,
much of the GBA community will migrate towards this new system, but as you
already made a hardware commitment to the GBA I would stick with it for a
while.

As for landmines:
1) If you are looking to learn how to write software on a game consol avoid
HAM.
2) If you are looking to produce a GBA game/demo without the bother of
details, embrace HAM.
3) There are many tutorials and resources for GBA development that should
get you off to a good start.
-the docs section on www.gbadev.org should point you to most of them, as
will the link section on www.devrs.com
4) If you decide HAM is not for you (a decision I applaud) start with
devkitarm from www.devkit.tk as apposed to the outdated devkitadv that many
still use.
5) Start simple, read other peoples source code, and ask lots of questions
(#gbadev on irc at effnet is a great place).
-jason

Jason Rogers
aka Dovoto
www.ThePernProject.com

----- Original Message -----
From: "Pete Gunter" <reno@...>
To: <gbadev@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Thursday, November 04, 2004 2:41 PM
Subject: Re: [gbadev] Intro and newbie question


>
>
> Hi Bill,
>
> In my opinion the GBA is a great platform for a hobbyist programmer, and
> a great way to improve your C programming skills.
>
> It's completely different to writing games for the PC, as there are no
> complex API's to learn, and it provides a great low-level look at games
> console architecture. There's plenty of information available on the
> internet, and a highly active community of more than helpfull
> enthusiasts. Plus as you've got a flash kit coming, you get the
> satisfaction of seeing your creations runnning on hardware.
>
> In short I think GBA development is more than a viable hobby, it's quite
> a fulfilling one too.
>
> Regards,
> -Pete Gunter
>
> Bill DeWitt wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> Hi,
>>
>> My name is Bill and my son just got his first GBA. I have been
>> doing some programming both in C and some game programming in
>> DarkBasic, but I am not a programmer by any means.
>>
>> I just wondered if GB proramming was a viable hobby. I see that
>> some of the tools have not really had much in the way of recent
>> development, it seems that Visual HAM may be on the back shelf, and
>> the advent of the DS may even put the whole GBA world in limbo.
>>
>> I sent off for the flash adapter kit and I downloaded some tools
>> and have been playing around with the emulators, but I don't want to
>> get too far into another field without knowing what landmines I might
>> find.
>>
>> Any conversation on the issue appreciated.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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