Non-C++ Apps in KDE Main Modules (Was: Guidance in KDE Admin)

[Cyrille Berger]

On Friday 28 March 2008, Andras Mantia wrote:
> On Friday 28 March 2008, Nicolas Ternisien wrote:
> > Why will your Python app will use something new in the KDE API before
> > having the binding ready and updated ? Moreover, changes in the KDE
> > API will only massively be done for major version (KDE 4 ->5), and in
> > this case, all KDE source code will be broken at once.
>
> I never worked with the bindings, but are you sure they always work and
> will never break on minor releases? Or that they will be ready at the
> same time when a new KDE version comes out? IIRC there were many times
> problems with the kdebindings module in KDE3.
Well there were many problems with kdebindings because there were two few 
applications using them, which means too few applications testing the 
bindings. So sure there are regressions that happen, but, it also happen in 
kdelibs, or other C++ applications, the best way to find those regression is 
to have widely use applications using those bindings.

And, for the record, python-qt3/kde3 wasn't distributed in kdebindings3 ;)

> > About the memory usage, we are currently talking about integrating
> > *Python* scripting language only, not "a mix of different scripting
> > applications". I must admit that I was sceptical the first time I
> > heard guidance was in Python, but in any machine I used it, it always
> > start fast.
> If we allow Python apps, we will  have to allow other apps as well. If I 
> can't get a usable desktop 
> without those apps, I will end up with a bloated system. Guidance is a
> border case, because on most systems you can work without it as well,
> with the distribution provided tools. But eg. a system settings module
> (like desktop configuration or such), a mail client, or even the default
> calculator should work without external dependencies.

Since it's script-based application, once dependencies (kdebindings) is 
installed, isn't it easy for the user to install them if he wants to use 
them ? For me that would be the great force of those languages. There is of 
course the security issue, but maybe we can use gpg signing of those 
applications with an easy UI to check ? (like on windows ;) )

-- 
Cyrille Berger