[Development] So I've made a QWidgets2 design/prototype... BUT...

sirspudd at gmail.com sirspudd at gmail.com
Sun Jun 24 22:20:03 CEST 2012


QWidgetNG, the last iteration was 4On 6/24/12 21:13 BogDan wrote:
+1 This guy looks very stupid to me, but someone else must approve.





From: d3fault <d3faultdotxbe at gmail.com>
To: "development at qt-project.org" <development at qt-project.org> 
Sent: Sunday, June 24, 2012 9:22 PM
Subject: [Development] So I've made a QWidgets2 design/prototype... BUT...



Apparently I'm smarter than everyone at Nokia. I managed to make a "modern, fluid" GUI API using the QSG* classes without incurring the additional costs of: JIT Parsing of .qml files, a JavaScript Interpreter, and a Virtual Machine. I also did it without using declarative, something claimed by many to be impossible. 
It's a C++ API, and I only have a few basic elements created so far: Buttons, Labels, Text Fields, Layout Boxes... planning on doing Radios and Checkboxes next.
They look very ugly at the moment, but that doesn't matter. With a bit of TLC, they can look identical to QWidgets1... use styling, etc.

Now onto the BUT,
I can't find a reason to contribute it to the Qt Project.

A wise man once wrote a chapter in a book on advice about "asking the right question".
So my question became: What is Qt?
IMO:
Qt is a powerful cross-platform C++ framework.
A framework consists of 2 core parts:
1) The GUI API
2) The Utility Libraries

Going by that definition, it is my opinion (and nothing more) that Nokia has taken the Qt Project off track from the "Qt Way" (as the founders intended) with their QML experiment.
They paid a pretty penny acquiring Qt, so they have every right to do so.

The thing is, "The GUI API" is a __CORE__ piece of functionality to thr framework.
Which brings me to my next question:
Why should I do Nokia's work (rather, what I think should be their work) for them?
Sure, they offloaded Qt Commercial to Digia... but that's besides the point. The fact remains that Qt is a valuable product, and I am sitting on a [very unfinished] core piece of functionality. I am convinced that my functionality has value, so why would I contribute/GIVE it to the Qt Project and let Nokia/Digia profit from my work? 
This is what I meant when I said "The Qt Project is, in this very moment, in the worst state it could possibly be in". Add to that Nokia's cutting back of the Qt division's resources (something yet to even be officially addressed (poor communication = yet another reason)) and Microsoft's predicted acquisition of Nokia (whether they do or not is irrelevant. Nokia depends on Microsoft for survival right now which means Microsoft has the upper hand and can pressure Nokia into cutting back Qt resources even further) and you'll start to understand why I made the statement. 
The code base is not in a bad condition... it's the contributing model surrounding it that's unhealthy.
Sure, I could contribute QWidgets2 as an add-on... but remember the bit about it being CORE functionality? Core functionality does not belong in an add-on.
Which brings me to this thing I keep mentioning (which triggers accusations of trolling): a fork.
Don't get me wrong, the Qt Project requires a large amount of active contributors/maintainers to stay alive...
... but does it reall require that many to maintain a fork? You could just pull every change from the upstream/Qt Project... rename it (scripted)... apply your changes... and release/sell. The selling would just be commercial support (can't re-license Qt like Digia/Nokia can)... but at least the commercial support would be going to the contributors... not the corporation taking the project in the wrong direction. 
That being said, I don't want to fork. I'm too lazy AND I dont want to split the community. The point I'm trying to put in everyone's faces, however, is this: The current contributing model surrounding the Qt Project is unhealthy. It makes people want to fork. Sure, I'm too lazy... but what about the next guy? I want Qt to be all it can be (lol Army). This means that the issue needs to be dealt with if we want Qt to thrive. You do want Qt to thrive, don't you? We need to keep the community together in order for that to happen. 
d3fault
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