Re: GNUstep roadmap (was Re: [Suggestion] GNUstep-test for quality control)

[Philip Mötteli]

Am Mittwoch, 22.10.03, um 09:02 Uhr (Europe/Zurich) schrieb Rogelio 
M.Serrano Jr.:
> I agree. GNUstep is the way to go. Im looking at it as going beyond 
> unix.
Actually, you got exactly the point here: It's an API. It's the API 
called OpenStep. It's actually not a desktop, nor a filemanager, nor a 
project management tool, nor anthing else (though some programs are 
needed to be there, in order that this API makes sense, like 
pb-server). Because we it's "only" an API, we have it also on Windows.
All those programs are just here to revive the NeXTstep look&feel 
(which I like a lot!)

> For me gnustep is the whole environment.
Well that was actually not the definition of Gnustep. Though, me too, I 
liked the whole environment at the times, when NeXT was there. But in 
the meantime, this is not any more the leading one and only possible 
environment. What Apple offers with Xcode and Display-PDF is way more, 
as what NeXT offered (not to talk about ProjectCenter et al.).

> Its a new way to develop applications. Its more than the desktop.
It's not about the desktop at all actually. The desktop at the time was 
great, because it was so insanely integrated, by still having separate 
applications implemented by separate people.

> I believe that its the way to go.
Definitely. But why not integrate it in something existing? Especially, 
if we will never have the resources to catch up/copy with these 
existing things?
I mean, do you know, why NeXT invented the OpenStep API? It's exactly 
for this reason: To integrate their infamous great API into existing 
environments like MS-Windows and Sun-Solaris. They, exactly as Gnustep, 
didn't have the resources, to write all the drivers and other code and 
wrappers to make their system compatibel to the other world. So they 
standardized their API and implemented it on every important platform. 
That way, people who wrote software for NeXT could just recompile it 
for a chosen other platform and it runned. They reused, what others had 
already done.

> To make gnustep compatible with macosx is an immediate goal not the 
> long term one.
In my eyes we need that to attract more people. And the more people we 
have, the more complete the whole thing will be, which will in turn 
attract even more people, which will complete even more… It's a vicious 
circle.

> ProjectCenter is the main attraction for me and I beleve that it 
> cannot go on in a vaccum. We need a distro to keep it alive.
I would love having this opinion. I probably wouldn't be on MOSX any 
more. Perhaps I've seen to many other "ProjectCenter"s.

> It is already usable as it is now and i intend to use it as much i 
> could.
Have you used even the original one (NeXT's ProjectBuilder)? Even 
compared to this 10 years old progarm, I can't imagine using 
ProjectCenter all day long. I'm sorry.

> Even if it is not complete it can be used to create a coherent 
> featureful system.
I actually don't see, why you need ProjectCenter to create a 
featiureful system?

Re
Phil