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List:       kde-core-devel
Subject:    Re: What to do after 2.2?
From:       Ralf Nolden <nolden () kde ! org>
Date:       2001-07-13 15:13:52
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Navindra Umanee wrote:

Hi Navindra,

to convince you as being part of the PR front as well, there's answers
to all your questions to proove it's a good thing(tm) to move to Qt 3,
see below.

> > - no more 2.x releases, breaking binary compatibility quite soon after 2.0
As Bero mentioned, Gcc 3 is breaking it anyway and you can expect
distros to pick gcc up in autumn.

> > - Qt3 is not released yet (on the other hand, the API is stable (even
> >   frozen?), it's not the same as the nightmare experienced with KDE 2.0
> >   which was developed against an unstable API)
It is already usable and can easily be synced with the rsync version
towards KDE developers through qt-copy until its release.
> 
> Huge disadvantages, a few points added to which:
> 
> - the one that Torsten mentioned about KDE applications.  Maybe
>   Andreas can give us some stats on KDE 1.x apps vs KDE 2.x apps.
Looking at them, almost all are developed with KDevelop 1.3 or 1.4
making use of KDE's kde-common/admin dir. So updating on the project
management is easy by providing an admin tarball with new checks if we
need to introduce any. KDE 1.x apps that haven't been ported yet within
that long timeframe probably won't either now, but even if the source
move from a KDE 1.x app to KDE 3.0 app is the same as from KDE 1.x to
KDE 2.x due to the minimal sourcechanges between KDE 2.x and KDE 3.0
(and Qt). Existing apps can be ported easily within a day or two.
> 
> - KDE 2.x is an excellent platform, prospering very well already and
>   with much more potential.
KDE 3.0 will be an even better one with the additional features from Qt
3 plus the longer lifecycle of the actual third party applications and
the platform that KDE 3.x will have due to a quick move right away. The
potential of KDE 3.x with Qt only apps adopting the native KDE look is a
_major_ PR and development advantage for Linux/Unix as a development and
desktop platform especially where there is a need for a Qt only version.
> 
> - Consider the timelines and marketing issues.  When is Qt 3.0 being
>   released in stable form?  Considering that, how would switching to
>   Qt3 affect the KDE release timeline? [And, yes, as PR guy, when is
>   GNOME 2.0 being released, and market wise, how does that affect us?]
Qt 3.0 is currently beta 2 so API changes are currently going slower.
The release is aimed at september which is in 2 month then. This
timeframe would allow us to port KDE 2.2 to a KDE 3.0 based on Qt 3.0
easily. Gnome aims to release Gnome 2.0 by the end of the year, 31st of
December. Alpha and beta versions are to be expected earlier logically.
If we provide a KDE 3.0 at the same time, which I think is not only very
reasonalbe but given the current amount of developers we have and the
current motivation more than possible by december/january. Also I
wouldn't forget the Windows XP release which is a bit more important and
will ship in October. Providing a KDE 3.0 based on Qt 3.0 with all it's
features and abilities even as an alpha version before XP is in the
stores and starts shipping with computers will wipe many doubts away
that users still have towards Linux/KDE as a development/desktop
platform, given the new licensing of XP with its restrictions. We have
to provide a KDE 3.0 with those easy features we gain from Qt 3 before
the development departments start serious deployment of .NET and XP's
API so tell them to use Qt and they have the application they want for
both platforms ready by the end of the year. You need to convince them
to deploy KDE 3.0 and not a windows-only platform; with Qt apps having
the same look as KDE apps, this is _very_ easy then. 

> 
> - It might be worthwhile consulting commercial companies who have
>   products based on KDE 2.x, just to get their input and perspective.
Commercial companies are currently deploying Qt 3 and already porting to
it because of the features the API offers and that they want to do the
source porting of their apps _now_ instead of after the Qt 3 release. 

> Just trying to focus on the issues...
Well, I hope the answers are convincing enough to point out that the pro
sides are much much more than the cons. In fact, I see no cons at _all_
:)

One thing that should be considered as well: we have the chance to port
KDE 3.0 to Qt-embedded at the same time. Bero has done some efforts, and
I am very much in favor to do this. The industry is _very_ eager to have
KDE 3.0 as an embedded platform for control stations.


Ralf

--
We're not a company, we just produce better code at less costs.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Ralf Nolden
nolden@kde.org

The K Desktop Environment	The KDevelop Project
http://www.kde.org		http://www.kdevelop.org

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