[Mono-dev] idea summary: Swing in Mono?...

[Jerry Maine]

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Swing would be intersting... and it also handles cross platform easer
than winforms... though I would look into something like SWT.... the
api is already avalible... for both so a clean room clone could be
made of both.

BGB wrote:
> well, I still don't know if anyone would be so interested in the idea, but
> the basic idea has more or less boiled down to this:
> it would be potentially useful if someone would go and port Swing (and
maybe
> also parts of AWT) to Mono.
>
> there is an implementation located in GNU ClassPath, which could be
used as
> a starting point if anyone were interested (and can tolerate the plain
GPL,
> although an alternative liscense would be preferable I would think...).
>
> another possible advantage of Swing is that the API already exists and is
> well-established, likely making it be less uncertain (trying to win
support
> for some obscure and unknown API, ...), as well as making it much
easier to
> specify and implement (the edge cases would be necessary variations
between
> the Java framework and .NET framework, ...).
>
> it could also exist almost purely inside managed code, potentially only
> needing the use of native code for the Canvas (could be implemented as
a set
> of interfaces, or as an abstract class), allowing some level of
independence
> from the underlying VM (and, in particular, not require necessarily
linking
> against 3rd party GUI libraries...). so, the GUI-proper can be made
> self-contained...
>
>
>
> why it matters IMO, is that there are some things that, from what I am
> aware, GTK and friends has not done in the past (such as rendering the
GUI's
> to GL textures and allowing the user to supply their own mouse and
keyboard
> input into the backend, ...). but, then again, it is also worth noting
that
> I have not messed with GTK much in years (nor have I really investigated
> GTK# in any real detail).
>
> my primary reasons for not using GTK much being:
> it is not nearly so workable on Windows (PITA to get built, ...);
> does not mix well with my general approach to application architecture;
> does not play ideally with OpenGL-based apps (and probably worse with
> DirectX / Direct3D, though I don't really use these personally as they are
> not available on Linux...);
> ..
>
> OTOH, Swing, would allow user-supplied "Canvases", which would allow
> render-to-texture and like, ... (and does not look like it will try to
> hijack the main-loop or other such things...).
>
>
> looking into it, MS had also ported Swing to .NET in the past, but had it
> under a "non-commercial use only" liscense.
>
>
> but, alas, my looking into all of this has been only superficial, and I am
> not likely to work on such a project (at least at this point in time),
since
> it would be "outside my area"...
>
> in my case, I may well (eventually) start making use of Swing in my
> projects, but this will be mostly because my Java support is likely to be
> functional well before my .NET support is, and probably also because I
could
> pump it into a GL texture, which would allow it to play better with my
> existing overall project design... (likely render-to-texture and draw the
> GUI as an overlay, ...).
>
> (for the time being, I have my own GL-based GUI framework in C-land, but I
> don't really expect this to be long-lived...).
>
>
> however, I am also aware that this may not mix with the politics /
> "best-interest" of the existing community (which I would guess has a lot
> invested already in GTK# and similar?...), and so I will probably not
press
> the issue much further.
>
>
> or such...
>
>
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