unless your goal is to save some time when writing an app you want to sell for several OSes at once.
or to give away some free software.
Unless you propose to code for free a port of every single application someone may need. For example this Tads games interpreter (free software) was coded in Qt, and it was possible to compile it on Haiku without problem: http://qtads.sourceforge.net/
The developper spent several years working on it. How long would it take to port it to the App kit? Nobody would do it, so Qt is really useful here.
[quote=farvardin]
or to give away some free software.[/quote]
Honestly, I don’t care about free software because it’s free software. I care about the best software. Often the best software happens to be free software because — like for Haiku for instance — people put passion in creating their software and that’s why the software is great. And sometimes it’s commercial software (BeOS comes to mind here). I’ll just use whichever is the best. And I don’t really care whether Richard Stallman thinks I’m an asshole or not. And I’m surely not the only one to feel like this.
[quote=farvardin]
Unless you propose to code for free a port of every single application someone may need.[/quote]
I’m not going to code anything. I shall use what I think is the best and the fact that the application is native will be taken into account when deciding which application is the best.
[quote=farvardin]
For example this Tads games interpreter (free software) was coded in Qt, and it was possible to compile it on Haiku without problem: http://qtads.sourceforge.net/
The developper spent several years working on it. How long would it take to port it to the App kit? Nobody would do it, so Qt is really useful here.[/quote]
Nobody would do it because the (few) people who are interrested in this app either can’t code or don’t have time to code a native GUI on top of it. But for example, Chrome on Windows and MacOS X is not using Gtk+. So it’s not like it’s impossible to do.
[quote=farvardin]
Will SDL be “forbidden” too?[/quote]
The SDL case is a little bit different. Because only Windows has a decent gaming framework (Direct X). SDL is the best you can find on other platforms. But if I’m using Windows (for games obviously) I’ll tend to prefer native Direct X games.
I think the issue is mostly around the fact that if we’re going to have the same software that’s already available on Linux, we might as well just keep on using Linux…
You’re ignoring portability. I chose Qt for my projects because that way they’re easy to port to Windows, Mac, Linux and many Unix-like systems. There’s no way I would write a Haiku-specific implementation. Too much work, too little gain. Haiku should join the club and be an easy to target platform, otherwise no one will care.
Also, there’s too much misinformation in this article:
“Whereas Linux is all about horrendous performance, and making the simplest task an heroic feat”
This is riddled with fanboy-ism and so not true. Linux has excellent performance and is easy to use, thanks to user friendly distros. It also has commercial viability. These kinds of statements can be enough to turn me completely away from Haiku because they’re elitist and bashing a platform I use and care about.
And there’s no way I’m going to use your app because I want a native one that doesn’t use more RAM and and CPU cycles to run on other platforms I don’t care about, that can take full advantage of the features of my OS of choice and that integrates perfectly with my OS of choice.
Definitely no, Haiku should not join the club, because that’s what makes it different and valuable instead of being just another loosely coupled collection of bits and pieces of software slapped together like Linux and to a lesser extent the BSDs are.
[quote=RealNC]
Also, there’s too much misinformation in this article:
“Whereas Linux is all about horrendous performance, and making the simplest task an heroic feat”[/quote]
I do agree that Linux is far from having horrendous performance. But he’s definitely right in that sometimes installing a piece of hardware or doing something a bit unusual or even sometimes dead simple requires « black magic ». And here you have someone that’s been using Linux since 1997 saying it. Honestly, I’d rather do something else of my time than searching LKML, patching shit, possibly debugging/programming some half-assed app or even compiling a kernel to get something working. Or in other words doing some system administration while I just want to be using my computer to do other things. That’s an additional reason why one would be interrested in Haiku.
[quote=RealNC]
This is riddled with fanboy-ism and so not true. Linux has excellent performance and is easy to use, thanks to user friendly distros. It also has commercial viability.
These kinds of statements can be enough to turn me completely away from Haiku because they’re elitist and bashing a platform I use and care about.[/quote]
The last thing some people interrested in Haiku want is some Linux fanboys coming here and saying how things should be done.
Then perhaps next time you guys should talk in private, rather than an open blog. I was under the impression blogs are there to welcome opinions. I gave mine, from a developer’s point of view. Feel free to ignore it; it’s not Linux that has nothing to offer at the moment. If you don’t want people to write their opinions, then at least put a “you’re not welcome here if you like OSes other than Haiku” sign up.
I made the mistake of expressing an opinion to people who don’t want to hear any. I apologize. I will not be wasting any more of your valuable time.
[quote=RealNC]
Then perhaps next time you guys should talk in private, rather than an open blog.[/quote]
That’s not a blog post. That’s a forum thread.
[quote=RealNC]
I was under the impression blogs are there to welcome opinions. I gave mine, from a developer’s point of view.[/quote]
Great. See that’s one of the reasons why you like Linux. Because it’s a developper-centric OS. Don’t blame others for wanting an alternative to that.
[quote=RealNC]
Feel free to ignore it; it’s not Linux that has nothing to offer at the moment. If you don’t want people to write their opinions, then at least put a “you’re not welcome here if you like OSes other than Haiku” sign up.[/quote]
You’re welcome to like any OS you want. But you’re making it sound like the Linux way is the only one and true way.
@RealNC
You’re right. Qt is for portability to other OSes. It also seems fast and somewhat light. You write a program with Qt toolkit and can use it on multiple OSes without having to rewrite code. Some are for it and others against Qt on Haiku (issue is about native software). I’m for it but you won’t convince everyone!
"Also, there’s too much misinformation in this article:"
This is actually a user posting to the forums his personal opinion. A person who has strong, negative feelings towards Linux.
"Whereas Linux is all about horrendous performance, and making the simplest task an heroic feat"
That person was exaggerating. Linux has good (to very good) performance. I use it but not lately because of Windows 7. Linux will never achieve excellent (or great?) performance because it has issues - which I won’t go into here. (ie: I could show why Haiku has a terrific chance, in theory, to become a great or excellent OS).
"This is riddled with fanboy-ism and so not true."
Correct. It is a single user’s point of view that may be supported by some others. Keep in mind most people coming to Haiku are because they are not happy with Linux (or other OS) and looking for another (better) OS to move onto.
PS
BASE HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT HAIKU ON YOUR OWN USE OF THE OS AND NOT WHAT OTHERS HAVE TO SAY ABOUT HAIKU OR LINUX!!!
yeah, tonestone57 is right, and there is really no need to argue about this issue…
Besides, Haiku is free software, so anybody can use it for suiting his or her needs.