[Interest] QML Presentation System, detailed docs & roadmap?

[Alan Alpert]

I can't speak for Gunnar, but where it's at right now meets basic
technical needs* for when you want to present with QML. The initial
concept was more for when you want to present with some embedded QML
than a full presentation suite. Which means that if you want to take
it and run with it, you should probably just start making pull
requests ;).

It also means that it has only been recommended to existing QML
developers for QML specific presentations which need the embedded QML
factor, leading to zero marketing, docs, or tools. I agree that it
could use at least a little of each if it goes out to a wider
audience.

*actually I still use its precedessor,
https://gitorious.org/qt-qml-demo-playground/qt-qml-demo-playground/source/708de53727032441efd63f4ac24d13079fe82c52:qml-presentation
, because while it's less user-friendly and less pretty, it loads each
slide dynamically which helps when you have a full size embedded QML
application on every page.

--
Alan Alpert

On Fri, Sep 6, 2013 at 2:33 PM, Charley Bay <charleyb123 at gmail.com> wrote:
> Gunnar's post on his "QML Presentation System" in 2011 was absolutely
> inspiring, IMHO:
> http://blog.qt.digia.com/blog/2011/05/30/a-qml-presentation-system/
>
> At the time, (and still now), I viewed this as a *brilliant* application of
> QML that would ultimately be a better approach for creating presentations
> than any of the existing commercial "presentation-software" out there.  Very
> clever idea, with great potential.
>
> Correct me on any of these points:
>
> =WHERE HOSTED
>
> *- It's on both Gitorious and GitHub ... I guess both of these are being
> maintained?
>   Gitorious: (last commit May-2013):
> http://qt.gitorious.org/qt-labs/qml-presentation-system/source/171c7228d39e5fcb7d034f3f6bbb82ad61a33eb8:
>   GitHub: (last commit May-2013):
> https://github.com/qtproject/qt-labs-qml-presentation-system
>
> =OTHER SIMILAR PROJECTS
>
> It looks like it inspired "Quickshow", which I think might now be abandoned?
>
> http://www.ohloh.net/p/quickshow
>
> Not sure if it also inspired other efforts?
>
> =EXAMPLES AND DOCS
>
> IMHO, the Git repository is adequate:  The README and examples are good.
> (Minor "nit" is that the examples run fine on Win7/Qt5.1, the "printslides"
> project builds/works fine, but I failed so far to get the "Src.pro" project
> working -- not sure how I'm supposed to use that yet).
>
> I think the best "training/existing-docs" is actually Gunnar's original
> video in his blog entry (and reading the QML source itself).  I have some
> questions on how some of these QML files are intended-to-be-used (e.g., what
> files to copy-and-change for new presentations, what to use as-is through
> library-import for "reusable-slide-definitions", how to physically organize
> files and extend standard slides for library-imports, etc.)
>
> Most of these questions, I'm sure, relate to my current mis-understanding as
> to how to standardize/productize QML file collections as
> generic-reusable-libraries (I'm delving into that now).
>
> =ROADMAP -- ?
>
> Is there one, or interest in one?  I think there is *HUGE* potential here.
>
> For example:
>
> (A)- Establish good (more detailed) documentation:
>
>   (1) A theory-of-op for how it works.
>
>   (2) Productization of existing QML-presentation-types
> (bundled/ready-to-deploy) so the user can merely "import-modules" for
> standard-presentation-types; (e.g., "standard-module-namespaces", etc.)
>
>   (3) Document minimal steps to create a new presentation, including
> provided "Hello World" example (using import-module from (2))
>
>   (4) How to "override/customize" the "standard" QML-presentation types to
> modify default behavior, with example implementation
>
>   (5) How to "extend/add-to" the "standard" QML-presentation types (such as
> to add new "slide-types" or "slide-transitions"), with example
> implementation
>
> (B) Centralize presentation "Theming" so colors/fonts/etc. can be changed in
> a single spot for use across the presentation; enabling standardized
> "themes" that can be applied to a presentation.
>
> (C) Add new capability, such as using an OS or plugin-interface that
> auto-detects and establishes display resolutions, default fonts, etc., and
> style-izes the presentation at load/run-time to the local
> projector-or-computer.
>
> (D) Create a "QML-bundler" that establishes a self-executing presentation,
> or that "deploys" the QML-files collection needed to present
>
> (E) (Possibly) Create a QML-code-generator that generates the QML files for
> a presentation by reading in some "resource" information that describes the
> slides.  (This is less-necessary if the user can mark-up minimal QML files
> directly; and more-necessary if the user is expected to copy-and-paste files
> to change the contents for a new presentation.)
>
> (F) Create a QML-Presentation-Authoring interface (e.g., IDE or GUI to
> manage slides)
>
> (G) ...etc.
>
> =WEB INFO / EXAMPLES / BLOGS I MISSED?
>
> I'm rather surprised that web searches didn't turn up more on Gunnar's QML
> Presentation System, like blog entries, tutorials, presentation examples,
> etc.  Can anyone point me in that direction?  (Surely I missed them
> somehow?)
>
> At present, I'm still trying to understand "how to use it" in the case where
> I need to create many presentations, and I want to share much of this logic
> across presentations.  The "examples" run fine, but I don't understand and
> fail to run the "src/Src.pro" (how am I supposed to use that?)
>
> Gunnar suggested "patches welcome!" in his original blog post, so I'm trying
> to better understand the "use-metaphor" so I can help there.  (I'm
> particularly interested in creating/helping-with the tooling to make it
> approachable to idiots, because I'm an idiot.)  However, I thought it best
> to start with asking about:
>
> "What is the current status-and-plans for this project?", which IMHO:
>
> *- It's awesome *now*, but I want *more*
>
> *- A little bit of docs/tools would make it more approachable
>
> *- I can't understand why it's currently not being used for more
> presentations, as it seems like a superior metaphor/design (but perhaps not
> sufficiently "productized"?)
>
> --charley
>
>
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