From: Mark Roseman <mark@...>
Date: 2009-02-11T01:19:23+09:00
Subject: Re: Ruby GUI Survey: Results

 Alex Fenton <alex@deleteme.pressure.to> wrote:
> The results of the survey of Ruby GUI programming carried out at the end 
> of last year are now available at
> http://www.pressure.to/ruby_gui_survey/

Alex, thanks so much for all the effort you put into this, that is very 
useful.

> * Ruby-Tk received the worst rating for how well it meets users' GUI 
> requirements, with a modal rating of 'poor'. It was the only library for 
> which fewer respondents said they planned to use it in the future than 
> are currently using it. Its continued inclusion in the standard library 
> is unjustified.

This result doesn't at all surprise me. Though I am quite curious about 
a few things (not in the survey, this is more a broader question to 
those who participated and others):
  - how many people are still using 'classic' Tk vs. the newer themed 
widget sets (Tile or ttk)?
  - how many are even aware of tile/ttk? :-)
  - for how many does the existing Tk documentation and examples just 
blow?

I ask mainly because those are some of the things I was trying to target 
with http://www.tkdocs.com ... I'm of the opinion that Tk isn't a 
fantastic GUI option for Ruby, but in recent incarnations it's not as 
bad as most people are aware, though the lack of awareness itself is an 
issue.

Mark