Re: GUI was Re: why Ada is so unpopular ?

["Warren W. Gay VE3WWG" <warren@ve3wwg.tk>]

Marin David Condic wrote:

...
> Various owners of existing libraries of stuff are going "Ohhh! Pick Me! 
> Pick Meeeeee!!!!!" Not necessarily a bad idea - select some existing 
> library/GUI and start adapting it and adding on to it. But no vendor or 
> SIGAda body is standing up saying "O.K. We'll select XYZ and start 
> making it the 'Official' Ada library/GUI" Each of these existing 
> libraries has its followers and hence there's no clear-cut winner to 
> adopt. In the abscence of an existing winner, neither the vendors nor 
> SIGAda wants to stand up and dictate an answer, so there is perpetual 
> stalemate.
> 
> Various enthusiasts have suggested "Well let's go build one from 
> bottom-dead-center and *make* it the library of choice..." - a noble 
> ambition but one that *at best* would take a really long time to 
> accomplish so long as nobody is getting paid to do it. Even if it did 
> get built, there are no vendors standing in the wings saying "Yeah, 
> we'll go adopt it and distribute it..." - not unless it is already a 
> booming success (in which case, they'll gladly take it over to enhance 
> their product & make money from it.)
> 
> So while I could easily imagine some scenario in which a reasonably 
> portable GUI could be added to Ada - perhaps using XML as a supporting 
> technology - I just don't see the will to do so forming up anywhere that 
> would make it come about.
> 
> MDC

It also doesn't help that some projects are in turmoil at the
moment. For example, the XFree86 project was recently reported
on slashdot that it was disbanding. Meanwhile, there is another
group working on the Y protocol (which sounds interesting). As
you have said, there is much competition on the GUI front, that
builds on top of these protocols in the UNIX world.

So as an Open Sourced developer, you ideally _want_ to choose a
winner and something that isn't going to radically change. Change
requires you to constantly go back and revise previously completed
work (something I avoid, since I like to move onto newer things).

But as I see it presently, there is no clear winner for portable
GUIs. As mentioned, GtkAda seems to be the most logical choice
for Ada programmers.
-- 
Warren W. Gay VE3WWG
http://ve3wwg.tk