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List:       kde-pim
Subject:    Re: [Kde-pim] Minimum requirements to make a QT app into a KDE app?
From:       Cornelius Schumacher <schumacher () kde ! org>
Date:       2001-11-09 10:39:16
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On Thursday 08 November 2001 17:56, Bryan Brunton wrote:
> << We don't want to write yet another Outlook clone. We want to provide
> the real solution: individual apps, which can work together to provide
> the same functionality as an visually integrated app, but without the
> overhead and other disadvantages. >>
>
> You use the phrase "yet another Outlook clone".  Are you implying that
> there is a functioning, open source, multi-user capable clone of Outlook?

No, I was just refering to the fact that there already were several attempts 
to write such a thing, Evolution being the one coming closest to this goal.

I think that is has a reason that there is no such thing on Unix. The Unix 
way always has been to have simple modular programs which do one thing, but 
this very well, and combine these programs to get the desired functionality. 
The Outlook style of putting all thing together in a single monolithic 
application has not been very popular on Unix, neither for users nor for 
developers.

When it comes to functionality we already have most of what Outlook provides 
for a single-user applications and I think that this is what by far the most 
people are needing. We don't have this "everything in one window"-framework, 
but that's not the problem, based on the existing applications we could write 
something like that within a few weeks.

You are right that the multi-user part is missing up to now, but that is by 
far more complex than GUI-wise integration of apps or storing data in a 
database. I already mentioned the key problems like authentification and 
interoperability. These has to be solved, rewriting addressbook or calendar 
apps will not help very much.

> AFAIK, there isn't.  There aren't even many people attempting it.  Let's
> examine the Outlook-like tools that I know of that aspire to be multi-user:
>
> Aethera.  IMO, a dreadful failure.  I've spoken to the guys at Kompany and
> hopefully they will be doing something with it.  Actually is useful as a
> simple mail client.

Let's see how Aethera does, when there is a stable release (whenever that 
will be ;-).

> Evolution.  It took them 700,000 thousand lines of code to do that!  Not
> multi-user yet.  Ickky C based GTK.

Evolution is impressive, but if users really want this kind of application, 
we will see, and developing for KDE is definitely more fun (nice C++ code 
within a fraemwork you can understand).

> Like I said before we simply have two different approaches to solving
> providing one similar solution.  I see no reason for everyone to be forced
> down one path towards achieving this solution.  And once my application
> becomes useable, I hope to be as interoperable as possible with KDEPIM. 
> There's also some good code from KDEPIM that I plan on using (like
> KEditDate).

You are of course free to implement your application in the way you like best 
using the tools you prefer. I just find it sad, when efforts are duplicated. 
You are right that it's easy to rewrite KAddressbook with less code in no 
time, but what do you gain? The problem is much deeper, e.g. the missing LDAP 
access or that KDE apps don't use the addressbook data in a consistent way.

What I said, wasn't meant to criticize you project, it was meant as an offer 
to join us, because I'm convinced that we all would benefit from that. Your 
approach using the Qt database classes to provide a database backend is very 
attractive and I would love to see something like that in the kdepim apps. 
I'm sure that most of our ideas fit together and the results of a joined 
effort are certainly better than what can be achieved with everybody on its 
own.

-- 
Cornelius Schumacher <schumacher@kde.org>
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