Nebula 2/Nebula Two.iso/SourceCode/MiscKit1.7.1/MiscKitArchive.mbox/mbox/000254_misckit-reques…aska.et.byu.edu_Tue Sep 6 16:15:47 1994.msg

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Date: Tue, 06 Sep 1994 16:10:11 -0600
From: Don Yacktman <[e-mail]>
Subject: MiscKit and FoundationKit...
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I don't have time to go into details on this, but I would
like to summarize what the plans are for the time being so
that you all know where things are headed.

With the release of the Foundation Kit, there have been a lot
of questions about what that means to the MiscKit.

First:  the MiscKit is here to stay and provides a lot beyond
the Foundation Kit still.  For example, even the NSString
class doesn't have everything including the kitchen sink in
it.  (For better or for worse. :-)  ).  That means simply
that you can use the MiscKit with the assurance that
functionality will not be lost.

Second:  the MiscKit will be altered to act as an extension
of the Foundation Kit, not a competitor.  It will move on top
of the Foundation Kit.

How will this be accomplished?  Well, as we work on the
various parts of the kit, we will find the things that need
to be changed and determine the most appropriate path to
take.  Objects in the MiscKit can either (1) remain in the
kit or (2) become categories of a Foundation Kit object.
Where possible, (2) will be the path of choice.  Obviously,
this will work for things like MiscString (NSString) but not
for, say, a MiscTree, since there is no tree class in the
Foundation Kit.

Now, what about those who don't have the Foundation Kit?
Well, The MiscKit versions 1.x.y will continue to be
developed for non-Foundation Kit use.  We will start work on
a MiscKit 2.x.y for use with the Foundation Kit.  Development
will be in parallel on both kits for a period of time but the
main thrust will slowly shift from the 1.x.y version to the
2.x.y version as more people get the Foundation Kit.  Note
that until the majority of people have NS 4.x/OpenStep, 1.x.y
will be actively supported.  This means probably at least for
a year and a half from now.  (There are still a lot of folks
with 3.0 and even 2.1 out there...)  The first 2.0.x releases
will not have the full MiscKit functionality as we move
objects over and make them NSObject subclasses, but the goal
is to have everything moved over for the 2.1.0 release.  Note
that many objects will need 4.0/OpenStep to be released
before we can move them over.  In particular, the various
appkit reliant classes would be included in the list.

One key problem that I forsee is that we will lose the
HashTable class with the FoundationKit.  Many MiscKit classes
use HashTables in ways where a NSDictionary would be
insufficient.  So we will need a HashTable class which is
equivalent to the NeXT HashTable object.

Other than that, I don't see this change to be a major thing.
To make the transition easier for all of you, I will do
compatability headers as well--old 1.x.y MiscKit code will
still compile with the 2.x.y MiscKit installed (as much as
possible, anyway; I don't forsee any problems but I'll play
it safe on claiming what I can or can't do).  This will look
a lot like the daymisckit compat. headers that are still in
the MiscKit.

I hope that addresses all the questions that people have
brought up.  I'm also, as we go, working on several other
items that should make it easier to use the MiscKit.  For
example, there's the project starter app that will handle
setting up your Makefile.preamble and Makefile.postamble for
you and an install app that will allow you to install the
MiscKit without needing a Terminal window at all...

Any other comments, suggestions, questions, etc. are welcome!

---
Later,

-Don Yacktman
[e-mail]