[Development] The place of QML

[Thiago Macieira]

On quarta-feira, 16 de maio de 2012 09.51.52, BRM wrote:
> I agree that QML is certainly in that camp; though the ignoring of QWidget
> is the issue. 

No one is ignoring QWidget. We know it's there and what it's being used for. 
No one here is under the illusion that QWidget isn't important.

It is.

But it's also built on an obsolete architecture. The QPainter architecture is 
from the 90s and, through our attempts at optimising it from 2007 to 2010, 
we've reached its limits.

Graphics hardware has changed in the past 10 years, especially in the past 5. 
We need a new architecture, which means building stuff from the ground up with 
it. It requires a scene graph with retained-mode painting.

> And as has been said, the "consumers" are typically
> commercial customers that are paying Digia; and if it is a big issue, then
> they should be raising that through their Digia support to get the work
> done.

That is not what I meant by "consumers" in my email and I doubt that it's what 
Robin did either. I meant any developer using the Qt framework, regardless of 
whether they're using the Open Source version or they're paying Digia for a 
commercial licence.

> If they're a commercial customer, then they either need to become one or do
> something (volunteer or pay a volunteer) to get the work done.

If they're paying any company for a service, they should talk to that company 
to make their wishes heard.

> It's not that they are not contributing (and thus trying to necessarily get
> a free lunch) - contributing takes many forms - from coding, to
> documentation, to artwork, to support, and even giving feedback on the
> direction of things as an end-user of the tool-kit. If the feed back cycle
> clashes, then it needs to get backed up with contribution in coding, or
> monetary support of a coder, to get it done.

Agreed.

Trust me, I don't consider anyone in this mailing list as "getting a free 
lunch". Even the loudest complainers with no contribution record aren't in 
that category. I appreciate all the feedback, I know the project as a whole 
does too, even if some individual contributors might feel differently.

That does not equate to abiding by every single suggestion posted. As Robin so 
eloquently put it, each developer contributor will choose how best to use 
their time and skills, given what they can do, what they know how to do, what 
is being asked, what they think should be done. For those of us working for 
companies, also what our employers ask of us.

In my case, just to give you an idea, the biggest challenge I get these days 
is the ability to productise an application quickly, with a constant and fluid 
animated interface, with performance in memory and CPU usage comparable to 
other leading toolkits (in particular, EFL). The scene graph and the QML 
language are our answers to that, though they have yet to prove it.

-- 
Thiago Macieira - thiago.macieira (AT) intel.com
  Software Architect - Intel Open Source Technology Center
     Intel Sweden AB - Registration Number: 556189-6027
     Knarrarnäsgatan 15, 164 40 Kista, Stockholm, Sweden
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