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Postings from June 2006
Vadim wrote: >>> >> Its a catch-22. In order to be able to contribute docs, I need >> to know how to use the API. To know how to use the API, I need some docs >> and demos. Spending 6 months reverse engineering the source code >> isn't an option for most of us. > > > come on, starting using API do not take 6 month. > And reading C++ docs must not be a show-stopper for you, otherwise you > will not be able to use any API. > Starting to use ? Probably not (tho my initial experience with wxPerl certainly didn't bode well)...but ramping up to a complex app will. Even if you cut that lead time in half, its still too long. Perl developers are accustomed to rapid development; otherwise, they'd just go write C++/Java/C#/whatever. So when I have to make a decision about which GUI toolkit to use, learning curves will have a definite impact on that decision. Learning how to use Perl/Tk, e.g., can be pretty rapid. There's lots of docs, lots of demos, and a fairly large user community. As a developer, I don't need to dive into the Tk or C guts to use it to do interesting things quickly. Which is why pTk continues to be commonly used, despite its rather antiquated look/feel. Docs are also a confidence test. When I have 2 or more modules - for any purpose - to choose from, all providing similar functionality, I'm likely to pick the one with some reasonable form of documentation over one that has little or no docs, and/or points me to C++/Python docs, regardless if the "docless" module promises better functionality. Limited/no docs might be acceptable for a module with just a few methods/behaviors...but a GUI API usually covers a lot more ground. Since I manage to use any number of APIs wo/ needing to rely on C++ to do so, I'll dismiss your latter assertion. Most especially since the original thread's intent was to promote *Perl* for desktop apps, not C++. As importantly, the issue isn't really about *me* (tho I'd love to be wxPerl's loudest and most obnoxious advocate) ...its about advocating Perl and wxPerl to a developer community that has important apps to deliver, usually on tight deadlines and with limited resources, and has many choices in how to deliver them. Starting that conversation with "Yes, you can use Perl for native look/feel apps! So, to get started, lets go read the C++ documentation." is likely to be perceived as the intro to a Monty Python sketch.