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- Newsgroups: comp.lang.java,comp.lang.c++,comp.sys.mac.oop.misc,comp.lang.basic.visual.misc,comp.sys.mac.programmer.misc,comp.windows.misc
- Path: Unify.com!lee
- From: lee@Unify.com (Lee Crocker)
- Subject: Re: java vs. multi-platf. frameworks ?
- Message-ID: <Dq0rq5.9sz@unify.com>
- Sender: news@unify.com
- Nntp-Posting-Host: zanzibar.sac.unify.com
- Organization: Unify Corporation (Sacramento)
- References: <3171A3EA.3F27@dma.epfl.ch>
- Date: Wed, 17 Apr 1996 18:37:17 GMT
-
- In article <3171A3EA.3F27@dma.epfl.ch>, Michel Tourn <tourn@dma.epfl.ch> writes:
-
- > So, before we trash some C++ framework solution in favour of java, I
- > would like to hear good reasons of doing so or not.
- > . . .
- > F. Java, its IDEs, its AWT, its available class libraries will be
- > appropriate for this task, but not now.
- > A. When ?
-
- The inadequacy of AWT would be compelling for me. Sun has committed
- to adding a few gadgets, but I have seen nothing from them, or from
- anyone else, that AWT or some other toolkit will ever be capable of
- serious application development. That is not to say that it won't
- happen--just that I see no plans right now, so I'd be very wary of
- spending development time betting on some future change in AWT.
-
- Sun's current attitude about AWT offers little hope. They seem to
- think that they can achieve portability by making AWT a subset of the
- functionality of existing GUIs; but that attitude is backwards. To be
- truly portable, it must be a superset of existing GUIs, emulating those
- functions specific to each on the others in a portable way, and letting
- developers query the system for its capabilities in a portable way.
-
- There is never any excuse to sacrifice functionality for portability.
- Ever. Users demand--and rightly so--that they be able to take full
- advantage of every dollar they've spent on their hardware and software,
- and if they hear "well, we could do that but it wouldn't be portable"
- from a vendor, they'll go to a vendor that will do it non-portably.
- As a developer, if I can earn 10 cents more by writing a non-portable
- program, I will, without the slightest twinge of guilt.
-
- The only way to ensure portability, therefore, is the ensure that a
- portable program is capable of doing everything the software needs
- to do, and AWT doesn't even come close. The glaring omissions for
- me are things like right-button popup menus, native video support
- (for example, being able to query the system for its color capabilities
- and things like monitor gamma, and then optimizing my diplay for it),
- portable virtual keys for things like arrow and cut/paste, better
- font metrics, and about 1000 more system properties.
-
- Just one man's rant. Thanks for the soapbox :-)
-