Re: Caanvas and friends (was Re: gdkrgb widget up to date?)

[Havoc Pennington <rhp zirx pair com>]

On Tue, 27 Apr 1999, Erik Walthinsen wrote:
> So ezpaint is a library on top of the canvas?  The example code didn't
> tell me much, funtionality-wise...  If you could describe how it fits in
> with the canvas, or point me to some docs, I can see what I have time to
> do.
>

It is a library that implements canvas items you can edit. Such as
resizable boxes, draggable lines, and so on. 

Check out the TODO/README/etc. that's in there. I'm not sure which one
explains the purpose of the thing. 
 
> Yeah, I need to find out about the gdome stuff, bonobo, etc.  Especially
> if I'm going to make a pagemaker-ish program, being able to embed
> arbitrary documents of varying types right into the thing would be
> immensely useful.
> 

IMO it would be a mistake to fool with Bonobo until you're fairly far into
the project.  You need gdome from the start if you're using it as your
internal data representation, which is not a bad idea. However, you must
design to permit multiple "views" on one document, then you can add Bonobo
later.

Since this is a huge program it will be very important to remain focused;
I suggest EZPaint because it will be a good way to learn canvas/gdome in a
much less complicated context. Then you will know how to best design and
write the larger app, plus you will already have a useful portion of it
finished. If you go into a huge project like a pagemaker clone with no
knowledge of the canvas or gdome, etc., you are doomed. (I know they say
throw one away, but this would be more like throw two or three away. :-)

I would also suggest: gdome and bonobo are still in flux, and not really
"finished." It would be better to finish them up in a limited context such
as the one already planned - EZPaint/Achtung - and then move on to the
other applications. Otherwise, you are building lots of stuff on a shaky
foundation, and it will be inefficient.

Speaking from experience. :-)

FWIW,
Havoc