Re: Scripting in Gnome

[Tim Peoples <tim toolman org>]

On Thu, 2004-01-29 at 19:08, John (J5) Palmieri wrote:
> 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


Along these lines, I've had an idea bouncing around in my head for
a few months now.  Somewhat of a marriage of glade (the xml format),
javascript, Gtk+/Gnome bindings and some sort of web service protocol
(xml-rpc or maybe soap/wsdl) into something I have initially called
"Gnomescript".  While I only have a cursory understanding of DBUS, it
definately looks like it fits in quite nicely.

I'll admit that I haven't put much work into it after my initial frenzy
of binding a few Gtk+ widgets into Mozilla's SpiderMonkey... mostly
because I was somewhat leary of whether such a beast was really
necessary or not (like was said elswhere, we already have Python and
 Perl and ....)

Originally, my idea was leaning more towards "remote applications"
somewhat like Mozilla's XUL but much more Gnome specific... but soon
expanded that to something more akin to VB on Windows (but without
all the ugly baggage the VB carries).  You'll have to admit that the
availability of VB on Windows in the early nineties somewhat helped
MS achieve their dominance on business desktops.

All that said, I still do have plans to pick this up again... that is,
unless I can be convinced that its not worth the effort (which may not
be all that hard to do).

Tim.

-- 
 _______________________________________________________________________
                                                      Timothy E. Peoples
                                                   Have Camel, Will Code
                                                         tim toolman org

           "Linux isn't going to go away."  --  Steve Ballmer