Yes, cross-platform development requires an "extra effort" -- just as putting a man on the moon requires an "extra effort" compared with climbing a tree.
You are poorly informed, Doc. Condemning others based on what you've been told is risky business. Some developers are used to this sort of ignorance and let it roll off; others will put you on their "clueless" list and treat you accordingly. Until recently, cross-platform development forced a cruel tradeoff: either limit the application to a least common denominator of capabilities provided by the target platforms, or create an architecture that encapsulates platform dependencies in modules with multiple platform-specific implementations. As an example, the former approach produces applications with command-line user interfaces -- easy to develop, test, and maintain, but of interest to few users in this day and age. The latter approach requires a serious investment in configuration management and version control, and produces applications that must be independently documented and tested for each family of target platforms. Adobe, for example, provides entirely separate documentation for the Apple and PC versions of PhotoShop, and tests them independently. There are now development tools that begin to fulfill the "write once, run everywhere" hype we heard from the Sun marketeers: Eclipse and Mono are two good examples. Yes, I'm aware of Delphi/Kylix, but Borland is roadkill and no competent developer would start a new project with these products. A developer starting a new project would be well-served to consider these new tools, though both involve runtime environments not typically used in amateur radio desktop apps (Eclipse primarily supports Java development, and Mono builds .net applications). Those amateur radio software developers with existing platform- specific applications thus face a different tradeoff: continue efficient development for a single platform, or suspend the release of new functionality for months or years while re-implementing current functionality with Eclipse or Mono. Each will make that decision based on his or her own personal interests, and the interests of their user communities. Cluelessness or sloth won't be a factor. 73, Dave, AA6YQ --- In digitalradio@yahoogroups.com, kd4e <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > I am referring to your assertion that the impediment is programmers > > who are inadequately competent to make their apps cross-platform > > compatible. Please explain the rationale behind this claim. > > 73, Dave, AA6YQ > > Oh, that is easy. > > Three sources: > > 1. Programmers who have told me directly that > they only know one OS, are not interested in > learning any others, and refuse any requests > to make their apps cross-platform compatible. > > 2. Programmers who have written cross-platform > compatible apps who have told me of fellow > programmers who fit category #1. > > 3. I know from my own very limited experiences > in programming in the past -- I have forgotten > more than I ever knew from disuse -- that it > was an extra effort to provide for use outside > of the most familiar context. Even my HTML is > very primitive and I make little or no effort > to provide for automated flexibility. I use > raw hand-coded HTML and expect Web browsers to > handle it correctly. I don't have enough knowledge, > nor do I have the time to acquire it, to do more > than that. > > -- > > Thanks! & 73, doc, KD4E > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ > Projects: http://ham-macguyver.bibleseven.com > Personal: http://bibleseven.com > Note: Both down temporarily due to server change. > ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ >