Some thoughts about a plan

Laura raises some valid points (I'll think about them and answer them
more specifically in a while) -- I'd just like to throw in some
thoughts in parallel:

Would it be more realistic, and therefore also motivating (and
therefore even *more* realistic <wink>) to try to achieve a more
modest set of objectives than those we have dreamed up so far? We
could keep the current stuff in a "pie-in-the-sky-TODO-file" and
really trim/slim down the real stuff, and perhaps get somewhere, and
perhaps even feel that we have something we can call a *complete*
Anygui release?

This is based on the situational factor that we cannot assume that
people have lots of time, or can sustain enthusiasm over a long period
of time.

So, simply put, I suggest that we (1) cut down on the back-ends (for
now, anyway), perhaps to the Big Five: wx, qt, msw, tk, and java
(still quite a few), and (2) limit our ambitions to (a) adding menus
(not popup-menus), and (b) file dialogs and plain info/warning
dialogs.

  Note: Work on other back-ends is OK -- we just shouldn't commit
  ourselves to keep maintaining them (unless someone is willing to
  commit...?)

That's it. Nothing more. Then we can focus our efforts on making this
stuff work, and then on making it work better. I think this
functionality is more than enough for lots of useful applications --
at least enough for a release or two that will be stable enough that
people will *dare* to use it. And -- if someone feels like it,
plugging in some new feature (e.g. graphics or what-have-you) that
could be handled as a discrete, fixed-time project.

What do you think?

BTW: If/when we decide to add a Canvas -- maybe we should consider the
DrawBot API (or something close)? Piddle/sping is fine, but DrawBot is
a bit simpler... Just a (pie-in-the-sky-)thought
(http://effbot.org/zone/drawbot.htm).

-- 
Magnus Lie Hetland           "The mind is not a vessel to be filled,
http://hetland.org            but a fire to be lighted."  [Plutarch]


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