(I have the same perception of sourceforge, by the way. I find it difficult and confusing, sometimes impossible, to find my way round it.)
That is not reassuring - for me it is reassuring - but sourceforge should be easy to understand.
API for 3rd parties to make use of in applications ? Maybe, ideally, a standalone library package ?
A library with a published, backwards compatible API. It would be nice. APIs would be added, never removed and not changed once present. If you needed to change an API, you'd create an Ex() version of it, ala Microsoft.
My preference is for a library (a DLL or equivalent on Unix boxes), rather than a callable program or source to embed in the app (*).
(*) Embedding source in the app prevents you using the LGPL licence (see below), unless someone knows better.
...), so there's mutual ignorance. It _would_ be valuable to have one that could be usable on as many platforms as possible. Apart from Java, WxWidgets seems to be the most viable framework (that I know of), so maybe C++ that would be compatable with this ? ....
If you write in C/C++ you can provide a native interface for Java, Python, .net, etc very easily. I've written Java Native Interface code. Its straightforward.
Conversely if you write it in Java, yes the Java is portable, but anyone wishing to use it from another language also has to install the whole Sun (or other vendor) JVM. I do some work for blind people using Java and the last Java download from sun was 36MB (that was the SMALL download, the larger one was 114MB!). And that is just to run the Java app - the 36MB doesn't include the compiler etc, etc.
Same for .Net apps, you are relying on the target platform to have the .Net framework installed. Eventually this won't be a problem, even on Linux boxes as the free Rotor project is addressing this.
LGPL license would be good. Would allow people to use the library without forcing them to GPL their own code. That would encourage the commercial ABC writers to start using the common ABC engine rather than their own implementation.
If you GPL the common ABC engine the commercial vendors won't touch it with a barge pole, thus you'll end up with the same situation as now (multiple implementations with no hope of a common implementation at some point in the future).
Stephen -- Stephen Kellett Object Media Limited http://www.objmedia.demon.co.uk RSI Information: http://www.objmedia.demon.co.uk/rsi.html To subscribe/unsubscribe, point your browser to: http://www.tullochgorm.com/lists.html
