[ruby-talk:7610] Re: A Java Developer's Wish List for Ruby

> OK. I think most everyone would mostly agree that this is a reasonably
> viable option to consider. But could you give us a better idea of why you
> prefer FOX to other options, such as wxWindows and GTK+ and Tkinter? Are
> there enough people working on core FOX that it would clearly thrive if
> support by its corporate parent went away? (c.f. Tk and Ajuba, where the
> rate and fate of future development of Tk is not at all clear.)

I got involved in FOX development and use while I was employed at CFD
Research Corp. (I'm no longer there). We were looking for a modern
cross-platform GUI that had strong support for both Unix and Windows. We had
been working from a Motif code base (developed under Unix) and then "ported"
to Windows using Exceed -- an X server that runs on Windows. There were
numerous problems with that approach.

Of the libraries you mention, wxWindows is the only other choice I'd
recommend if you want strong cross-platform support and modern widgets and
features, etc. I think wxWindows is great but it follows a pretty different
design approach (under the hood) than FOX. I'm thinking specifically about
the lightweight-versus-heavyweight approach to widget implementation. My
understanding (which may be wildly incorrect) is that wxWindows ports are
built on top of other platform-specific GUI toolkits; thus the distinction
between wxGTK, wxMotif, etc.

I've already expressed my opinion that the Windows port of GTK lags behind
the Unix/X port; I think that should be a point of concern if it's not
likely to change soon. CFDRC is no longer the only entity (commercial and
otherwise) that is depending on FOX's survival/stability and so I think its
long-term prospects are much better than they once were. That is to say,
FOX's user base will not stand for the Windows port falling behind the X
port (or vice versa). But is FOX as widely used as wxWindows or GTK? No,
definitely not, it's not even close.

> That also sounds like good news. Out of curiosity, what is the nature of
> your interest in Ruby?

I'm always interested in learning new programming languages, but Ruby got my
attention because of the claims that it has surpassed Python's popularity in
Japan. It also caught my attention that the Pragmatic Programming duo took
the time to write a book about it, since I have such regards for their first
book. In other words, if they're that interested in it, it's worth a look to
me. I am an unapologetic Python fan but I'm open-minded enough to give Ruby
a whirl.

I am also of course a big FOX advocate and am interested in any avenue that
would help to increase FOX's name recognition. So I think having a Ruby
language binding for FOX could be a mutually beneficial relationship.