On 10/14/05, Charles Moir <CharlesM@...1042...> wrote:
Why do we want to do this? Well the easiest route is that we just live side by side competing, more or less. You steal our code, we steal yours. A lot of time is spent re-implementing features one way or another. Both sides will probably benefit to some extent, but is it the way to really move forward?
Exactly. And the most frustrating thing is that this duplication results not from differences in approach (they seem to be relatively insignificant), not from unwillingness of the participants, and not from some legal issues. The only reason is technical. If it were _technically_ easy to combine the best from the two programs tomorrow, I think everyone would be happy to proceed with that.
So I think in the end, we'll end up sort-of-merged, but more likely this merge will consist in one program sucking in all the good bits from the other more quickly and vigorously than vice versa, and thereby winning. Which way will it go? I can't say, and nobody can say at this time. Let's try and see.
Working on shared libs is a good thing. However, for me personally the most important thing is the UI. I added a lot of small and not-so-small UI tweaks to Inkscape, and even though a few years ago I was a diehard Xara fan, now I perceive Xara as somewhat clumsy compared to Inkscape. It feels a bit awkward when I use it, I miss lots of small conveniences of Inkscape. Also Xara misses a few critical features of Inkscape, most importantly clones. And of course, Inkscape also misses a lot of features Xara has. So for me, it's very important to watch how the initial inflows of borrowings will proceed in both directions, what will be taken and what ignored. That will make it more clear as to which is the most realistic path towards the "grand unification" in the long term.
Vector graphics should be the prime, first class citizen, of computer graphics. It should be the first graphics program that people buy and want to use. Rich vector graphics is inherently more powerful and flexible.
Excactly my thoughts. I've been saying this for years. It makes me cringe every time a newbie equates "computer graphics" or even "design" with Photoshop or Gimp. Hey, Photoshop is just for for photos, look at its name! :)
Anyway having said all that, in the short term, possibly medium term even, we are going to be living side-by-side because our gaol is to get the whole of Xara Xtreme ported and working as is, and we're trying to resist making improvements, taking anyone's features. That's partly because we think it's in everyone's interest to have a compete product working ASAP, but also because only once we've got the whole lot working, can outsiders sit back and take a view on what's right and what's wrong. Then we can all sit back and see how bets to combine forces.
It's up to you, but I'm not sure resisting to improvements, even temporarily, is the best tactic. Everyone can try the complete Xara on Windows right now, and everyone can get a good idea of what's in most urgent need for improvement, based on that.
I suppose I'd sum it up that the result should / could be greater than the sum of the parts.
Exactly. If only because the parts will keep growing while being "summed" at the same time :)
-- bulia byak Inkscape. Draw Freely. http://www.inkscape.org