Hi Ingrid,
maybe the use of the word "scripting" was not adequate. The issue was
more than just a simple script. I would like to see an abstraction layer
consisting of a set of simple commands like plot(), draw() and the like.
e.g. MetaPost is a standard graphics language (see
http://netlib.bell-labs.com/who/hobby/MetaPost.html). Asymptote is a
powerful extension to that language (using C++ syntax, see also
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asymptote_%28vector_graphics_language%29).
Please note, this is a standard widely used by professionals dealing
with diagrams, charts and mathematical annotation. Similarly, the
R-syntax and gnuplot syntax are well known in the community. And these
communities would likely enhance/implement new features in OOo, if they
had the methods to do so (that is this language).
Because all are open-source, one could easily embed these applications
in OOo and it would not be necessary to write the code twice. By the
way, I hope to get R embedded into Calc (this is possibel in Exel; see
also the statistical wiki-page; and the comments on the dev mailing list
for the Spreadsheet application).
What I meant with layering, was something similar to java. Many chart
functions should be implemented in such a language (in this case a
graphically-oriented language) and interpreted by a virtual machine. Of
course, some functions/ chart types could be later implemented in C++
using the OOo default APIs, but this can be done only by the OOo
developers, while many more users would be able to contribute using the
graphical language. Also, if the graphical language choosen is a
standard one, it will be possible to port these "pseudo-scripts" to
other apllications, and vice-versa. That means, we have another layer of
portability. (and of choice, allowing some competition to OOo will
render the software ultimately better)
This is a more comprehensive solution to this issue. It is not
emplementing hastily some features, but rather a framework on which many
more users would be able to implement new features. While C++ is great
(it is my preferred language), it is not designed for these features
(like the UNO components, too complex). High-level graphics commands are
a better approach.
Kind regards,
Leonard Mada
P.S. the classical scripting is unnecessary difficult, too
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