Re: [iPAQ] GPE - GNU PDA Environment Why not an API ?

On 17 Jan 2002 12:16:25 +1030
Robert Mibus <mibus_at_bigpond.com> wrote:
> On Wed, 2002-01-16 at 06:28, JW wrote:
> > I strongly agree with this. I don't want my window manager being
> > picked for me, nor my particular application. A standardized API is a
> > much better idea.
> It won't - that's why we're looking at SQL and the like. When a decision
> is finally reached, you will be able to replace whatever 'parts' you
> don't like (eg. sqlite to postgresql or whatever). You can create an
> GPE-LDAP bridge and export all of your data to evolution if you want. We
> (will) provide a nice PDA environment with what PDA users probably want;
> we will of course try to have heaps of users but everyone can take what
> they want and use other things in place of what they don't want.

Right. That's about it ;)
Maybe one addition at least from my point of view...
At the moment we have the situation that we have a nice system and all
"bricks" are there but the house still has to be built. Whe you currently
install an iPaq with Familiar you get a nice geek toy.
My aim with GPE was to develop a nice usable environment with some of the
basic applications in plcae. A system that is usable and forms a starting
point for further development. The second goal was to have this system
ASAP because time is running away.
I don't want to make it too complex in order have a running system really
as soon as possible, motto: Make it simple and make it fast!

What you do with it afterwards is your choice.
Even more I hope that there will be people that don't like parts and
replace them with better parts or improve the ones included; that's how
OpenSource works. But first we have to have a start.

> ie. you aren't forced (eg) mozilla, you can use konqueror, galeon,
> dillo, lynx - we aren't going to *force* anything on you. (AFAIK, Nils
> is the-guy-in-charge; maybe he wants a dictatorship :)

Definetely not ;)
You know ... I was thinking about something like GPE for a long time but
kept my mouth shut because I knew it would require a lot of work which I
had and have no time for. But since time is running away I could not stand
it any longer ;) So it was started...
I feel myself more like a motivator ;)

> The most GPE will do, (again, AFAIK) is give you a 'default' set of
> software to get stuff done; matchbox and gpe-appmgr are the only
> programs ATM AFAIK.

We already have some more which can be integrated nicely, for example
dillo as web browser and some games. What is still missing (!!!) are those
PIMs.
Any volunteers?
They don't need to be beautiful right from the start.
But they should be usable.
At the moment most of us agreed to start using C as language, GTK+ 1.2 as
toolkit and SQLite as RDBMS.

> mibus
CU
  nils faerber

PS: Please move those discussions to the GPE mailinglist, OK?

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