Dia Language Bindings (was: Re: Graph::ASCII::Dia)

[Hans Breuer <hans breuer org>]

On 23.03.2006 14:39, Aaron Trevena wrote:
> On 23/03/06, Aaron Trevena <aaron trevena gmail com> wrote:
> > On 22/03/06, Hans Breuer <hans breuer org> wrote:
> > > > Thats one of the things I find annoying about dia - WTF should I learn
> > > > python and rewrite cpan modules just to call a script from dia - lame
> > > > lame lame.
> > > Very impressing and motivating words. Feel free to provide Perl bindings
> > > to Dia or do what ever you see fit ;)
> > Of course if there was a binding API to build on, rather than just
> > some nasty python hackery I might bother.
>
> Ah, I see Hans has already pointed out on list that he'd rather
> everybody learn python 
Not sure where I did do this but probably somewhere between my 'nasty
python hackery' and the 'lame, lame, lame' C-hacking ;)

What I meant was: Please don't expect me to help with any Perl specific
questions cause my little mind is too limited to deal with all it's
expressiveness :-)

Or maybe: instead of complaining about missing Perl, Basic, C# or
whatever bindings you may want to take a look at the *existing*
and maintained Python bindings. Or maybe not.

> that actually be helpful in anyway towards a language independant API.
My best guess on Dia's way for 'language independent API' or better 
bindability would be GObject:

"The Plugin will probably remain such limited as it is, at least until it
 (and first the Dia Object System) is converted to Gtk+2.0 especially the
 GObject system, because the current access does not allow to ref-count the
 objects, to easily back-propagate property changes, etc. ..."
[ http://mail.gnome.org/archives/dia-list/2001-July/msg00054.html ]

Sorry, it again talks about Python - cause the Dia Python bindings
predate GObject and Gtk+-2.0 and even the start of my contributions
to Dia.

> How about some useful information Hans (or anybody else), or do I have
> to have a hard time reading thru the Dia source code because you did.
Some more discussion was done in that same year (found from my local
backup; if only the gnome mail archive could become searchable again)

http://mail.gnome.org/archives/dia-list/2001-August/msg00101.html

And a year later
http://mail.gnome.org/archives/dia-list/2002-October/msg00027.html

I still have plans to do the full GObjectification of Dia's object
system, but given the average development speed of the last five
years it may as well take some more five years ...

Some very high level documentation of Dia Python is available
here: http://www.gnome.org/projects/dia/python.html
but I'm not sure if this would be of help to any other
language binding writer.

        Hans

-------- Hans "at" Breuer "dot" Org -----------
Tell me what you need, and I'll tell you how to
get along without it.                -- Dilbert