Graham:
I heartily agree. C is not an adequate tool for applications. Miguel
stated in an interview not too long ago that he wants GNOME
development to go to Mono. In my opinion that is going to be a
requirement for GNOME to keep up. I just can't image doing an
application in C (or C++) these days. Qt (KDE) is actually usable
based on what I've seen of it but I'll still choose Java for
applications. If I were interested in windows I'd be using .NET which
is MS branded Java. But the smart coders are going to START with a
cross-platform, cross-desktop tool in the first place and won't be
asking Novell (or any other Linux distro) which desktop to write their
application for.
CD
On 5/3/06, Graham Anderson
On Wednesday 03 May 2006 15:20, Chuck Davis wrote:
I have a difficult time imagining a developer so stupid s/he had to ask Novell for a suggestion regarding which desktop development tools to use. Indeed, I can't even conceive of the possibility. Is there really someone at Novell so out of touch with reality that s/he is giving such statements in interviews? No wonder they've put the GNOME fanbois in charge there!
Yes but then theres the problem developers face when looking at all these supposedly business ready desktops using gnome. Writing a desktop application in C on a C based toolit for a GUI application is many a developers nightmare. In my opinion it's crazy to expect, or even imagine, the army of application developers out there to write C for desktop applications on Linux.
In fact after a quick bit of research, i could not fine a single University in the UK that teaches desktop application development in C. *Every* University here teaches desktop application developement in C++, Java or C# What does that tell you about the problem ;)
It's hardly any wonder the majority of application developers I speak to prefer Qt and writing for KDE. This is also why de Icaza wants GNOME to move to C#/mono so that it has a more suitable language base for development. If the MS haters can get past their blinkered hatred for a moment they would see this is not such a bad idea, at least for GNOME anyway. The problems they face with this are rather large though, an immature language infrastructure not the least bit withstanding.
The simple fact is, if you want to have momentum on the desktop then it's all about the application developers and the tools they have available, *nothing* else matters. I hate to say this but even microsoft understood this :( That's why for now at least I don't see momentum for the GNOME desktop and why KDE will continure to forge ahead in the lead with application development.
While SLED may be a great product, I have no doubt it's usefullness is limited by the lack of application developers able ( and willing! ) to write using the confusing mess that is GTK/GDK/PANGO/Glib. I rather suspect Novell knows this and it why they have clearly stated it is aimed at the 'knowledge' office worker who just needs office apps / browser / email.
People considering deploying a linux desktop would do well to consider this...
Regards,
Graham
P.S. Just use KDE
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