[Pipet Devel] Fun with ORBs

[J.W. Bizzaro]

jarl van katwijk wrote:
> 
> Aaarg. What did you say? Thought you liked gnome as much as I did
> 
> > Gnome is a DESKTOP system and Piper is NOT.\
> 
> Disagree. Gnome has desktop libraries, which can or can not be used. But gnome
> is much more as just a desktop layer.
> Checkout their http://developer.gnome.org/doc/API/api-toc.html
> 
> Not making use of gnome's features will be like not using posix features of the
> libc, just in case we might want to port Piper to Win32. I think using
> 'default' unix libraries that happen to give the best should be used.  I think
> gnome (+all other emerging library dependancies) give too much functionality to
> drop it. But ok, maybe when everybody will hate my gnome advocacy, but what if
> we would drop gnome, what will than be the basis of Piper? Drop glib? Or even
> gcc maybe?

Wait a minute, Jarl! :-)

(1) I'm sure I like Gnome as much as you do.  Anyone on the Loci list can
attest to my devotion to Gnome and the GNU ideology.  I will always choose a
GNU solution whenever one exists.

(2) The primary GOAL of Gnome is build a desktop system based on GNU libraries
and tools.  If Gnome seems to be more than a desktop, it's because many new
libraries and tools had to be developed to meet that goal.  Would ORBit exist
without Gnome?

(3) I am trying to make a distinction between Piper and the DESKTOP.  Piper is
not trying to make a desktop (one of the UI's might, but it is not the goal of
the project).  Therefore, it would be unwise to create a dependency on a
DESKTOP system without regard for what libraries and tools are BEST.  (Maybe
omniORB is best.)

(4) Even Gnome and Gtk will not create a dependency on one system.  Gnome
developers are constantly correcting people who call Gnome a "Linux Desktop",
because Gnome can run on almost every other Unix.  And Gtk runs on Windows! 
This is why they have developed their own libraries and tools: independence.

(5) I never said "Drop Gnome".  I said we shouldn't try to create a dependency
on any one DESKTOP system, because Piper is not about the DESKTOP.

Cheers.
Jeff
-- 
                      +----------------------------------+
                      |           J.W. Bizzaro           |
                      |                                  |
                      | http://bioinformatics.org/~jeff/ |
                      |                                  |
                      |        BIOINFORMATICS.ORG        |
                      |           The Open Lab           |
                      |                                  |
                      |    http://bioinformatics.org/    |
                      +----------------------------------+