Re: Java Versus gtk

["John J. Boyer" <director chpi org>]

Gus,

Thanks for a very good summary. It's evident there are lits of opinions. 
After reading all the answers here I've decided to stich with C and gtk++.

As for C++ being better for Opject-oriented programming than C, I figure 
I've been doing object-oriented programming all my life and just didn't 
know it.

John


On Tue, 17 Feb 2004, Gus Koppel wrote:

> "John J. Boyer" wrote:
>
> > I'm considering a project which will run on multiple platforms. To
> > begin with, it should run on both Windows and Linux. Now I know about
> > the development package from Dropline and mingw. Since Java will also
> > run on multiple platforms, what are the advantages and disadvantages
> > of using Java versus gtk+?
>
> Let me try to put it in a tabular way (to be viewed using a non-
> proportional font):
>
> +-------------------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
> | Item                          | GTK+      | QT        | Java/Swing|
> +-------------------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
> | Native language               | C         | C++       | Java      |
> | Language bindings             | Various   | Various   | Various   |
> | Related desktop project       | Gnome     | KDE       | -         |
> | Main platforms                | UnxWinMac | UnxWinMac | UnxWinMac |
> | Integrated Developm. Envirs.  | -         | o         | +         |
> | Sourcecode portability        | +         | +         | +         |
> | Binary portability            | -         | -         | +         |
> | Object oriented programming   | +         | +         | +         |
> | Execution speed               | +         | +         | -         |
> | Resource consumpt./requirem.  | +         | +         | -         |
> | Non-GUI-related function sets | +         | +         | +         |
> | Complexity / ease to learn    | +         | o         | o         |
> | License                       | LGPL      | QPL/Troll | Sun       |
> | License costs                 | +         | + / -     | +         |
> | Freedom offered by license    | +         | - / -     | +         |
> +-------------------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+
>
> Some of the ratings may be arguable. "+" means favourably, "-" means
> detrimental, "o" means in between. I think the table should be mostly
> accurate though I don't guarantee for it. Corrections or important
> extensions are welcome. Anyway, it may assist in making a decision
> which toolkit / language is best suited for the given needs.
>
> Importance or relevance of the factors may be different for you, so
> don't just count "+"s and "-"s. I.e., if high execution speed or lower
> resource consumption is of any importance to you, then Java is mostly
> out of the game already. If on the other hand "comfortable" developping
> is more important to you than the resulting execution performance, GTK+
> may lose, due to its lack of a full featured IDE. However, this doesn't
> mean that no full featured applications can be written for GTK+. Many
> people (like me) actually prefer using some more basic tools over one
> mega-IDE application.
>
> Java is the only language that provides portability on its binaries
> and not only the source code. However, don't overestimate this factor.
> It's of little importance for end users since most users likely use one
> architecture at a time only. For the developer, lack of binary
> portability basically just means an extra compilation per platform, but
> no further significant development effort (if properly programmed). If
> you intend to write non-GPL-like software (closed source and / or
> commercial) then the licenses are important as well.
> _______________________________________________
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-- 
John J. Boyer; Executive Director, Chief Software Developer
Computers to Help People, Inc.
http://www.chpi.org
825 East Johnson; Madison, WI 53703