KDE Integration mailing-list and module

[Friedrich W. H. Kossebau]

Am Montag, 19. Januar 2004 12:25 schrieb Leo Savernik:
> Am Sonntag, 18. Januar 2004 14:25 schrieb Philippe Fremy:
> [...]
>
> > If  we leverage all this integration correctly, we can really end up with
> > KDE as the unifying desktop, the one in which all the applications look
> > consistent.
> >
> > Are applications going to develop with Gtk for KDE ?
> > Well, I don't think so. For somebody who runs KDE as its desktop and want
> > to develop for KDE, Qt and KDE are the obvious choices. Especially if he
> > is aware of kpart and dcop (and he should)
> >
> > People developing with Gtk usually have their reasons like they want to
> > integrate in Gnome, they don't want to touch C++ or they only know Gtk.
> > But many of them are quite friendly to KDE and would be willing to make
> > integration into KDE easier, like the sodipodi author did. I believe that
> > if a small wrapper for the main KDE dialogs is developed, many Gtk
> > applications are going to use it.
>
> It makes me think if KDE delivers the best possible integration of
> Gtk/Gnome apps, what is the competitive edge for developers to develop KDE
> applications any more? If you can reach both DEs with writing a Gtk/Gnome
> applications, but only one DE with Qt/KDE, you can bet what happens in the
> future. Think commercial vendors.

You mean KDE is doomed to repeat what OS/2 did (if I got history correctly?)? 
Offering support for the competitor api and then loosing because you did only 
offer the basic and not all the additional features of that other api in your 
own compatible envorinment (and maybe miss to do enough promotion for the own 
advantages?
So vendors who started with the common denominator got temptated to expand 
their apps with some special features of that other api, as they already had 
a base to start from?

Hm. You may have a point. But what is different with KDE and GNOME (and 
other)? Its the availability of the source. No hidden features or apis. 

And we could learn from history (oh, has that ever been done?;) by doing the 
opposite: Offer compatibility with GNOME for KDE! Make KDE apps and parts 
integrate into the GNOME world by writing a QT style that gets the skin from 
a GTK style thingie. And add support for the GTK/GNOME dialogs (for the sake 
of it, uhm). And whatever more is needed.

What about that? 

Hehe :)

Friedrich