Re: layers of abstraction, and how Gnome can win

[<bob thestuff net>]

Gtk is a toolkit of type A, so it can clame to be a gnome app since gnome
uses gtk.

On Sun, 10 Dec 2000, Alan Cox wrote:

> >  a) use an XP toolkit that does its own rendering, possibly
> >     emulating native looks
> >     (current openoffice, mozilla, Java/Swing)
> >  b) use an XP toolkit that wraps native widgets
> >     (old Netscape, Java/AWT, wxWindows)
> >  c) separate backend "engine" from frontend and rewrite the frontend
> >     for every target platform (though usually elements of a) and b)
> >     arise on an ad hoc basis)
> >     (AbiWord, some mp3 players, etc.)
> >
> > a) is the most maintainable because the functionality and behavior of
> > the app is 99% the same on all platforms. This is why people use it.
> > Its disadvantage is nonnative L&F.
>
> I must disagree. a) is the most unmaintainable of all. You will spend years of
> engineering time fruitlessly trying to fix all the annoying look and feel
> subtle behaviour differences. You will also never be able to say you are
> a Gnome app or a KDE app, which will longer term count against you when someone
> decides 'Gnome shall be our desktop'. Ask the folks who had beautiful motif
> clone guis but got thrown out of bids because they were not CDE even if they
> looked CDE and integrated
>
> Alan
>
>
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