GTK+ port to AmigaOS

[bhoggett]

OpenOffice and Mozilla use GTK+ for the interface, but they're not specifically based on it. Windows Mozilla and OpenOffice ports don't use GTK+.

For examples of regular popular apps on Linux that are actually GTK+ based look no further than The Gimp, xchat and the Anjuta IDE. There are also GTK wrappers for most popular languages, including Python and Perl, which are used extensively to provide front ends to many command line applications.

GTK would also allow for the porting of wxGTK, the GTK port of wxWidgets (formerly known as wxWindows), allowing for truly portable applications. Audacity is one example of such an application.

I wish the team all the best, and hope they get further than the last attempt to port GTK to the Amiga. (yes, it was attempted before)

P.S. I trust the work being done is concentrating on porting GTK2, not the obsolete older version. Most GTK applications have now moved to GTK2, so this is required if current apps are to be ported.

[bhoggett]

@evilrich

OpenOffice doesn't.

Mea culpa. You are right of course. I was thinking of AbiWord for some reason. :oops:

[bhoggett]

@Kronos

AFAIK it will only be GTK1.x

That would be utterly pointless and a waste of time and resources. Hardly any of the major apps still use GTK1.x, unless you count Gimp 1.2 which is still the staple release on most Linux distros. VICE, the Gentoo file manager and ActiveState Komodo are the other apps that spring to mind which still use GTK1.

However, Gimp2 is well on the way and will probably arrive before GTK on AmigaOS, and that uses GTK2. VICE is like Mozilla in that it uses GTK but is not dependent on it (the Windows port of VICE uses a native interface). Gentoo is hardly a killer app given AmigaOS has the inspiration for it. ActiveState Komodo is commercial and probably wouldn't be ported anyway. There is no point in porting GTK1.

I'm also thinking this would be an AmigaOS4 only project judging by the list of developers, so the incentive to port actual applications will be that much less gicen the reduced audience, not to mention the reduced developer base.

[bhoggett]

@Kronos

"OS4-only" doesn't really mean anything when we aretalking bout GPLed SW.

It does if you wrap it round Reaction, for instance. GTK+ has always been GPLed, but we haven't had any ports yet. With the one in progress confirmed as AOS4 only, it follows that it is only of interest to committed Red users and developers.

Anyone interested in cross-platform development will have to look elsewhere, as this will not be of any use to them.

[bhoggett]

oGALAXYo wrote:

Mea culpa. You are right of course. I was thinking of AbiWord for some reason. :oops:

AbiWord has different Toolkit backends. The engine is split away from the GUI. Write a wrapper for MUI or Reaction and done.

I know. But AbiWord uses GTK on Linux, which is what I meant. Otherwise, what I said is pretty much the same as what you did, except you did it better.  :-D

[bhoggett]

Rogue wrote:
@bhogget:
That's such a nice way to put things. "commited Red users". Why the need to make a "red vs. blue" thing out of this again?

You are reading too much into it. I simply use "Red" as shorthand for those who are committed only to AmigaOS4/AmigaOne.

As you pointed out yourself, GTK has been GPL for ages and has been around for anyone to port. If there where someone doing e.g. an AROS port, would you equally slander the effort?

Slander?  :-?

What slander? I am simply saying that it will be of no interest to those whose primary interest is cross-platform development, as opposed to those whose interest is porting applications to AmigaOS4.

Why so oversensitive about everything?  :-(

EDIT: If someone would be doing an AROS port, they'd (presumably) wrap it around Zune, which would (presumably) make it MUI compatible. Theoretically, such a project would be easy to make available across the entire Amiga community. The AmigaOS4 port will only be of use to AmigaOS4/AmigaOne users and developers. Period.

That's not to say the team have any obligations to anyone outside the Red community, but it's a factor that will be taken into account when discussed on neutral forums like Amiga.org.

[bhoggett]

Karlos wrote:
I think Rogue meant that phrases like "commited red users" are inflamatory, no matter what your intended meaning. Someone will invariably start another red v blue flamefest.

Someone like that will start one no matter what is said, or the meaning behind it. If we moderate everything we say for the sake of not offending anyone or not offering any remote opportunity for the trolls to pick up on, then there will be nothing to discuss at all.

And seriously, who can be ars*d with another one of those?

Not me. I'd have to point out that flamefests are not only started by trolls, but also by those who seek to take offense at every opportunity. I know certain people will always take offense at something I say, because they choose to interpret it that way no matter how I intend it.

If an AOS4 port was made, based on reaction, sure it would be AOS4 only. If a port was made to MUI it would be MOS (and probably with some tweaks AROS) compatible. If a zune port were made then it could be made cross platform.

People will argue each way about the best route to take, missing the point that it doesn't actually matter. If someone did an AOS4/Reaction based one, you can bet someone else would soon get to work a Zune/MUI version so as not to be left behind.

Possibly, but that's pure speculation.

For all their technical differences, MUI/Zune and Reaction fundamentally similar enough for a code rework from one port to the other, as long as the initial port doesn't go totally out of it's way to be badly written and keep dependencies where they belong.

Well, if you port something purely for the benefit of one platform, there is no reason to expect host API dependencies to be kept to a minimum.

As long as these ports support a common set of the GTK standard, what difference does it actually make? A GTK app recompiled for AOS4 ends up using reaction, the same source recompiled for AROS or MOS uses Zune. Do we care, as long as the ability to port that software exists?

Yes, except that those ports don't exist, and only one is even being planned. Until that changes, there is no way GTK can be viewed as a cross-platform option for Amiga developers (using "Amiga developers" in the generic sense).

(You see, I prefer to use "Red" and "Blue" as shorthand for AmigaOS4/AmigaOne and MorphOS/Pegasos, and "Amiga" as a generic term applicable to all Amiga-like platforms, including the "Classic". Otherwise, I'd have to specify every time I say "Amiga", lest people think I'm referring to the branded solution only)