Re: API

[Hans Breuer <hans breuer org>]

At 23.09.2008 22:09, Michael Hennebry wrote:
> On Tue, 23 Sep 2008, Hans Breuer wrote:
>
> > At 23.09.2008 18:41, Michael Hennebry wrote:
> > > I gather that dia has an API,
> > Yes. See the sources: http://svn.gnome.org/viewvc/dia/trunk/
> > > that is a mechanism
> > > for producing diagrams from a user-written program,
> > Sorry, I don't follow your conclusion. Dia *is* a program to produce
> > diagrams. It can be extended with plug-ins written in C or Python.
>
> I thought that the engine could be used
> by something other than the GUI.
Their is no such separation in Dia, i.e. there is no "diagram engine" 
separate from the GUI.

> E.g., if I wanted a dia-gram of the ruler  function
the only ruler I'm aware of in Dia are the GUI elements provided by Gtk+

> or to space boxes with a formula,
only very simple functionality provide by app/

> I could write a program that would use the engine.
I think you should start looking at the sources. I'm afaid you are 
imagining a lot of things into Dia which simply is not there.
And it is not even intented to be there.

> Though diagrams are to look at, eyeballs and mice
> aren't always the best way to generate them.
Yes. But this is quite out of scope for what Dia is meant to be.
You may want to look at projects like http://www.graphviz.org/

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