I am not a wxPerl user, and I am still subscribed to the list because I am too lazy to unsubscribe.
I originally subscribed because I intended to use. I was hut by build problems (I build everything from source), so switched to gtk+ (gtk2) Perl bindings. I still see in this list reports of build problems. Do I like gtk+ Perl ? Yes and no - because I dislike gtk+. Luckily, there is no need to switch to gtk3. Qt looks much more prolific; it has QML based on JavaScript. JavaScript is quite Perlish (I dislike Python). So, I think, if/when I redesign my stuff, it will in Qt -> QML. Regards, Sergei. ----- Original Message ----- > From: James Lynes <jmlyne...@gmail.com> > To: Steve Cookson <steveco.1...@gmail.com> > Cc: wxperl-users@perl.org > Sent: Wednesday, January 2, 2013 5:48 AM > Subject: Re: wxPerl past, wxPerl present and wxPerl future. > > Steve: > > Thanks for the conversation starter. > > As a new learner,for me, the state of the documentation is the major > issue. The wxWidgets document is massive and the perl references are > spotty. As a result, I bought the WxBook and converted the C++ examples to > wxPerl to help with my learning curve. I found the wxDemo format difficult > for an initial introduction. The "extra" code needed to integrate it > all > together muddies the water for a beginner or at least for me. > > A net search, lists many examples/tutorials, maybe an effort to pull > together a wxPerlBook might help long term. > > James > > > On Mon, Dec 31, 2012 at 10:45 AM, Steve Cookson > <steveco.1...@gmail.com>wrote: > >> Hi Guys, >> >> I've been using wxPerl as my main development tool for the last 4 > years. >> >> During that time my partners and I have developed a medical system for >> endoscopic examinations. We are currently testing it here in Brazil >> in the largest hospital in Central and South America. We have high >> hopes and Doctors here are quite enthusiastic about it. >> >> During this time WxPerl has been a great tool. Not only it is a >> comprehensive tool in its own right, but also it allows access to all >> the thousands of modules available on cpan, the various support forums >> like Perl Monks and the extensive Perl community out there like Perl >> Mongers and YAPC. >> >> But I don't see that the wxPerl community is expanding. I'd like > to >> see more new users asking silly questions and learning about the >> possibilities of using wxPerl for their own ends. >> >> The world of technology is changing fast. New devices, new languages >> and new tool-kits are being developed such as Android, qt, java and >> objective-c, but none of these is obviously the "killer app" of >> development tools. Qt seems to be a nice tool, but it's probably not >> so different from wxPerl, objective-c is too platform-specific and >> java imposes too much of a performance overhead. As an aside did you >> know that VLC, the open-source video player, was originally built in >> wxWidgets? Sadly it then migrated to Qt. >> >> In the light of this competition wxWidgets is beginning to position >> itself as a desktop development system rather than a true >> cross-platform tool, which seems to me to be an act of retrenchment. >> >> Given all of this, I think wxPerl is still a good choice for a new >> system. I'd like to open a discussion here on how we might breath new >> life into wxPerl and our user base. >> >> I have some ideas and I'm sure you must do too. Given an opportunity >> people are quite excited about the idea of contributing to wxPerl: >> there was a lot of cooperative development over adding wxPdfDocument >> to wxPerl and it's a great new feature, you should try it if you >> haven't already. >> >> During the development of our system, my partners and I have had to >> use number of different technologies and support forums. Many of >> these are c++ based but still have ten times the subscription rate of >> wxPerl (which in my view is a much easier-to-use tool). >> >> As an example from my own area of interest, video processing, >> GStreamer has a huge number of users, this month alone Gstreamer-devel >> ( >> > http://lists.freedesktop.org/archives/gstreamer-devel/2012-December/thread.html >> ) >> one of Gstreamer's 8 eight support lists, has had nearly 500 messages >> compared to under 40 in wxPerl. If we could persuade a small number >> of these that developing in wxPerl was easier than c++, we could >> double our numbers. But the relevant module, wxMediaCtrl, is not >> flexible enough, we'd have to fix that first. Ffmpeg, a competitor to >> Gstreamer has a similar number of posts. And I haven't even >> considered Avconv, a new branch of Ffmpeg. >> >> And there are other technologies, within database technologies >> Firebird again has 10 times the users of wxPerl but until recently >> there was no good driver available on the Linux/Perl platform. And >> what about voice recognition? >> >> Remember how bioinformatics and the human genome project breathed new >> life into the Perl user base. A winning applications area can >> transform a technology. >> >> Mark has done a heroic act of maintaining the system and I personally >> owe him a huge debt of gratitude. Our system would not be where it is >> today without his support. But we should have two or three >> administrators of Mark's ability and knowledge (and patience, I should >> add). We are all a bit shy about giving Mark the credit he deserves. >> I'd like to say here and now, that Mark's professionalism and >> thoroughness is a benchmark that I should like to aspire to. >> >> Let's make 2013 the year that we double or treble our user base. What >> are your ideas? >> >> Happy New Year everyone. >> >> Regards >> >> Steve >> >
