Hello, world. This is going to sound strange as all get-out, but I’ll just jump into it and let you judge for yourself.
I’ve “inherited”, in large part, the codebase of the old Eudora mail client for Windows (we’re talking 2004-era vintage). Problem is, I’m not anything close to a coder (I’ve written programs in LISP, but this is pure C++, and it is a big project). I’m good with architectural decisions, high-level stuff, planning, Web development, support, p.r., practically everything but the code. So I managed to wangle a few coders to do the work, and meanwhile, I’ve put the word out, taken executive decisions on the name/colour scheme/user experience/iconset, set up one Kickstarter after another (netting us about $4,000 in funds), frontend development for a new Web site, etc etc etc…
Eudora as originally abandoned in 2004 is still a great eMail client; the business code is pretty much close to perfect, and what wasn’t (mainly OpenSSL) we replaced with newer versions. The first production-quality release of HERMES Mail (numbered 8.0 to maintain continuity with Eudora, with a name change for legal reasons) is due out any day now.
Anyway, HERMES Mail is constructed with pure C++, no third-party toolkits involved. The GUI is pure MFC (that was not the case six months ago). And all of this got me thinking, as a Haiku user familiar with its monolithic philosophy, why not try to port it over? The business code shouldn’t require much of a change, and Haiku lacks what I’d call a “full-featured” eMail client written with the Haiku Way in mind.
Would anyone be up for writing (a GUI for) an eMail client in C++? The MFC GUI would work as a great template, the business code is roughed in, there are no preconceived expectations (as there are for Mac)…