Re: [Gimp-developer] GSoC Questions

[Øyvind Kolås <pippin gimp org>]

On Wed, Mar 28, 2012 at 9:30 AM, peter sikking <peter mmiworks net> wrote:
> I certainly would hate to see it in any form (even experimentally)
> be integrated in GIMP before the (the start of) the actual main
> interaction is. doing this would send completely the wrong signal
> to the whole user community what non-linear working in GIMP is
> all about.
>
> however, if we think a bit further, we can see that the interaction
> that I am outlining in the blogpost is nothing more than an
> organised version of the boxes and hoses graph.
>
> starting work on that as a project would contribute to advancing
> GEGL integration in GIMP.

Doing that work is unsuited for a student right now  and we do desire
proper graph based editing for GEGL. We do really want a proper graph
based editor for GEGL graphs, whether it has to do with GIMP or not.
If we have one we would use it work debugging of the GEGL integration
in GIMP. It would also be a way to edit and create new GEGL operations
and filters that can be used by GIMP in the brave new world you
outline that haven't been fully specified yet. Such a graph editing
tool would be developed outside the GIMP tree first as a stand-alone
tool. If it works well it would likely become the new default binary
UI of GEGL itself - as well as become the core of a graph editing
widget that could be used within GIMP for doing advanced things that
are difficult to achieve in a hierarchical model (these are few, but
one of them is decomposing to a given color model, filtering the
components separately; and then recomposing the components.)

> I can only really hope, that he meant that in the way I outlined
> above. because the other way around it is a very good way to derail
> interaction work on GIMP.

When it comes to derailing, you should read up on the topic of Stop
Energy. We want and need people that are capable of prototyping and
experimenting with new and novel ways of doing interactions, be that
inside branches of GIMP or as external tools and prototypes built on
top GEGL. Researchers doing experimental UI prototypes have used GIMP
in the past, sometimes it results in research prototypes where the
interactions are interesting but the code is unusable, and sometimes
it can result in code that can be integrated in mainline GIMP. We
cannot enforce that globally all people pulling the future potential
of GIMP follow a waterfall development model.

/Øyvind K.
-- 
«The future is already here. It's just not very evenly distributed»
                                                 -- William Gibson