[Gtk-sharp-list] RE: GNOME Platform Bindings - first schedule date

[Joe Shaw]

On Sun, 2003-12-21 at 07:18, Murray.Cumming@Comneon.com wrote:
> > This move will force all Gtk# CVS users to build the entire 
> > GNOME platform from source.
> 
> Yes, just as all Nautilus hackers need to build the entire platform from
> source.

I don't think that's a fair comparison at all.  The key being "users"
vs. "hackers".  The users of Gtk# want to develop with something that
Just Works.  Nautilus hackers are interested in improving the Nautilus
app with the 2.6 features.  Destablizing the binding doesn't seem like a
good idea for end developers.

> You can't be in-sync without being in-sync. Are you suggesting that you
> don't want to develop Gtk# for GNOME 2.6 until GNOME 2.6 is stable, or even
> until it is in binary form in many distros?

This is the general trend for most end developers.  The things in the
desktop (ie, Nautilus) are usually special in this regard.

> Please consider the 2 weeks thing, and tell me exactly when you expect to be
> on the schedule. We can't keep you on the "Beta" list indefinitely unless we
> know that you will try to follow the schedule.
> 
> If you don't have time to do releases, then I encourage you to delegate to
> somebody who has time. I hope we work this out.

I don't think that it's not that he doesn't have the time, but you're
trying to impose this schedule on something which has been pretty
free-form to date.  My opinion is that it isn't wise to rush out a
"stable" release when a number of things like drag-and-drop, the
clipboard, etc. aren't well tested or widely used.  And at the same
time, moving solely to the unstable platform will alienate developers by
dramatically raising the barrier to getting something working, since
they will have to build the entire platform themselves.  A lot of Gtk#
developers aren't core GNOME people like yourself.  It's not that they
don't like GNOME, it's just that they don't follow its development that
closely: they're looking for a platform, not a moving target.

Joe