Hi all, Todd and I have recently been discussing the possibility of migrating Pivot to run on SWT rather than Java2D. There are a number of reasons this might be worthwhile:
- It would allow Pivot developers to reach a broader audience by building Eclipse plugins or RCP applications using Pivot. - It would make it considerably easier to build Pivot development tools (e.g. a GUI builder) in Eclipse (we already build the platform itself in Eclipse). - Technical advantages of SWT over AWT (for example, SWT uses native font rendering - inconsistent text antialiasing is a common complaint about Pivot apps, and Java2D in general). - It may allow us to generate some additional corporate interest in the platform. Sun/Oracle seem intent on pursuing Swing and JavaFX, which tends to make Pivot appear as an also-ran in the Java2D camp. By shifting to SWT, Pivot could become more appealing to IBM and others in the Eclipse ecosystem. Pivot is architected in such a way that the impact of migrating to SWT would be minimal to most applications. However, the level of effort to port Pivot's skins to SWT would be non-trivial, so this is not something we would look to undertake without sufficient interest from the Pivot (and Eclipse) community. One potential hurdle is the lack of an "SWT plugin" that would allow SWT applications to run in a web browser (similar to an applet). While such a plugin could undoubtedly be created, it would require a lot of effort and support from the SWT community, support which they don't currently seem likely to provide. However, the association with "applets" has, to date, been a bit of a hinderance to Pivot's adoption. While an SWT plugin wouldn't actually be an applet, it may be perceived that way. I am wondering if it might be in the best interest of the platform to simply move away from browser-based deployment and focus on desktop delivery. Most Pivot applications I am aware of seem to target the desktop already. Perhaps we should simply focus on defining Pivot as a tool for building rich, cross-platform desktop applications rather than trying to directly compete with the big guns in the RIA space (as well as HTML 5, which will most likely draw attention away from all RIA platforms)? This would be a significant change, so I would very much like your input on this possible direction. Please let me know what you think. Thanks, Greg
