Re: Scripting in Gnome

["John (J5) Palmieri" <johnp martianrock com>]

On Thu, 2004-01-29 at 19:04, Sean Middleditch wrote:
> On Wed, 2004-01-28 at 18:33 +0000, Jamie McCracken wrote:
> > How about supporting scripting so that apps could be built using just
> > scripts in XML (similar to mozilla's XUL)? Its also a great way to
> > extend finctionality on say Gnome panel (Eg being able to have say 
> > OnMouseOver events and such like). 
> > 
> > Would be great to have a GnomeScript app that takes in a script language
> > definition/specification as an xml file and allows this new language to 
> > be used for such scripting.
> 
> What would be *really* nice is a desktop-wide object model (be it DOM or
> something else) and proliferation of this among apps, so you can do
> those absolutely incredible things you can do with COM/AppleScript.
> 
> It's simply impossible to do some of the things on GNOME that you can do
> with, say, Windows in terms of "remote control."
> 
> We already have most (all?) of the pieces of the puzzle, there just
> isn't wide-spread movement to get them into apps.  :(

Isn't this a job for DBUS?  I mean a lot of work needs to be done on the
application side but having a set of interfaces with DBUS as the
transport is a lot more flexible then a strict DOM that needs to be
centrally designed.  I think what you will see on the desktop is more
completeness on the lower levels with respect to kernel/desktop
communication and then a move to focus on more application/desktop
communication.  Not that these will happen serially but I believe that
DBUS will be perfected during the former process.  I think you are
mostly right that the pieces are all there though they need to go
through more testing.  Actually in some places on the desktop it is
already happening, for example with the Evolution Data Server.  What
needs to happen is a standardization of the process on getting elements
"desktop aware" or something to that effect.  I think a lot of people
are expecting revolutionary changes and in reality we are more in an
evolutionary process.  The pieces are there, and more come every day but
if you keep up with the whole open development thing, very little will
seem to change.  You will just wake up one day and be using a program
that happens to script to a desktop interface and it will feel like it
has been that way forever.  Of course it can't hurt to have an
enthusiastic individual jump in and accelerate the process.  Just my
take on things :-)

--
J5