[Mono-osx] Why not implement WPF using OpenGL on Mac OS X?

[Andreas Färber]

Am 21.05.2009 um 08:45 schrieb Chuck Esterbrook:

> An alternative to implementing WPF is to create a new GUI framework
> that could be summarized as:
>
> * independent (does not adhere to WinForms or WPF)
> * runs on Mono and .NET
> * runs on Linux, Mac and Windows
> * uses modern features like generics and extension methods
> * implemented in managed code as much as possible
> * community driven
> * open source

http://www.mono-project.com/Libraries#GUI_Development

There have been such attempts, failing to create a particularly large  
user base.

The general problem is, developers want a nice, common API; but users  
want software that integrates nicely into their OS and its particular  
look-and-feel. So either you use cross-platform toolkits, limiting you  
to a common denominator (think AWT), or you make lots of costly  
special solutions to make your users happy.

On Mac OS X some issues that come to mind are that the menu deviates  
from most other platforms in not being window-specific, it prefers  
window-attached sheets over application-modal dialogs, control layout  
is different everywhere, menu naming/translation deviates, etc.

Andreas