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GNUstep Kickstarter Campaign Launched
borgheron writes "A maintainer of GNUstep has launched a Kickstarter campaign to get the resources needed to make GNUstep more complete and bring the implementation to API compatibility with Mac OS X 10.6's Cocoa. This will allow applications for Mac OS X to run on GNU/Linux with a simple recompile using new tools developed by the GNUstep team to directly build from xcodeproj project files. If the Kickstarter project is funded beyond its $50,000 goal, it's possible that WebKit and Darling might also be completed allowing applications built on Mac OS X to run without the need for a recompile... think WINE-like functionality for Mac OS X applications on other platforms... including Windows, Linux, BSD, etc."
GNUStep is pretty useful now, but increased coverage of newer Cocoa APIs would be nice, and Darling in particular is interesting by providing a portable Mach-O binary loader.
Does this mean that we could run the Adobe suite on Linux? Maybe Dreamweaver as well? Or is this a hopeless dream. Anything is better than having to use the Mac OSX Finder.
liberare massarum ex ignorantia, clausa descendit molestie.
What the hell is a GNUstep, and why should I be supporting it?
Why? Mavericks is almost out. Mac users upgrade their os since it is dirt cheap ($30 covers all your macs) and the lion & mountain lion versions were. Very worthwhile. This makes no sense as a project.
Personally, I'd just rather have real transparency (without invoking hacks) in Window Maker. I just miss the NeXT-style dock. That, I'd donate a few bucks for.
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Why bother duplicating the exact functionality of a commercial software, only for it to be labelled open source? Are they doing this for only open-source sake? Mac OS X is certified UNIX, and with some care, applications cab easily be made to compilable on multiple Linux distros. GUI application is an entirely different matter, but there are cross-platform solutions like Qt, GTK, Java swing, etc. There are lots of technologies that are encumbered by patents in Mac OS X, like Time Machine, Core Image, or QTKit. And how the hell will GNUStep enable integration with iCloud for those applications that use it?
I'm staying away these days from anything that even remotely associates with Apple.
Yeah.. I don't know how I feel about this. I loved NeXT in the day, and GNUStep always seemed like a worthwhile continuation of the OpenStep spec was awesome.. but if I contribute to the Kickstarter campaign I don't know how much it will be out of wanting the project to succeed, or how much from nostalgia.
Man.. I never seem to be able to proofread my own comments before posting.
NOTE: Some of the rewards say Linux instead of GNU/Linux. Apologies for the omission.
Sorry, I dont support projects with pedantic zelots leading them. There is "Linux" and the Linux kernel, "Linux" is a fine an appropriate generic term for the operating system as a whole. Otherwise you really should be saying stupid shit like: "Ubuntu/Debian/GNU/Linux" to be clear because GNU is just a toolchain and a collection of software but not the whole collection.
Get. Over. It.
Next time you do, remember that a period is one dot (.) and an ellipsis is three (...)
Your double-dot makes you look rather moronic.
I like this campaign. Objective C is continually in the Top 5 of the most widely used languages (http://www.tiobe.com/index.php/content/paperinfo/tpci/index.html). It is a very nice, simple object oriented C dialect. It is used on OS X and iOS, the latter of which is installed on hundreds of millions of devices (http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/23/apple-over-500-million-ios-devices-sold/). Both operating systems heavily utilize Cocoa as their framework
Having better or even any Cocoa support on Linux would help to get developers to target both world. Linux on the one side, and iOS/OS X on the other side. I think this is well worth for all Linux users to chip in some money (even if it's only $1).
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"NOTE: Some of the rewards say Linux instead of GNU/Linux. Apologies for the omission." LOL!
See, the best way to raise money for a cause is to tug at the hearts of the Apple faithful..
So:
"Do it for Steve.
This is the grandchild of his baby."
Really? You seem to come across as an arse clown - I guess it's just a matter of perspective.
> Are they doing this for only open-source sake?
They're doing it to have free software that can replace proprietary software. Being free software means the user community knows exactly what the software is doing and can decide how it will be modified.
Proprietary software locks users in, adds back doors, imposes DRM, gathers personal info and sends it to advertisers, omits features so that users can be pushed to buy the more expensive version, and omits features that users want (i.e. to protect privacy) because the owner has a commercial relationship with advertisers, and other nasty things that users don't ask for.
So it's not about "open source", but yes, it's about the distribution model. More specifically, "free software".
https://www.gnu.org/philosophy/open-source-misses-the-point.html
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Is Android "Linux"? Yes; it uses the Linux kernel. Is it the same platform as GNU/Linux (Linux + glibc + Coreutils + X11)? Not for this purpose. The use of "GNU/Linux" emphasizes that this project aims to reimplement Cocoa on GNU/Linux, not to reimplement Cocoa Touch on Android/Linux.
Where can I find ut more about Opal? I checked out Wiki, and this was what it showed:
So where can I find out more?
Also, does GNUSTEP require anything like X, Wayland or Mir? Or can it be implemented directly on an OS? How much of an OS has to be there - like can GNUSTEP be simply ported on to Minix 3.x? Or does it need both Userland and kernel to be there?
Not Nostalgia. The original goal of OpenStep was to have a cross-platform standard, and that was lost once Apple acquired NEXT. Of course, today, w/ the death of most RISC platforms, it may look like the goal no longer looks worth it, but that assumes that there won't be other CPUs other than x86 or ARM in the market. It's worth having something available in the event there is, aside from having this FOSS standard there for laptops as well.
There is nothing wrong with your comment. Yes, at one point the grammar was slightly confused, but it was crystal clear. And made a good point. Unlike our anonymous putz.
GNUstep is a lovely (and lovable) project, but "bring the implementation to API compatibility with Mac OS X 10.6's Cocoa"? Really? 10.6, when 10.9 is just around the corner? With such a huge delay, GNUstep will never be able to take off.
Also, I have to assume that this project would have to also clone the various Core Foundation and Core Graphics and Core Text APIs as well, as very few real applications would use only the Objective-C wrappers for everything (I would think).
Isn't GNUSTEP, like OpenStep, a platform independent standard? If yes, then it would work on both GNU as well as non-GNU platforms, such as the BSDs. Also, how important is the GNU userland here - is it either an important part of GNUSTEP, or necessary for GNUSTEP to even work/run? If not, then leaving out GNU out of Linux doesn't mean much, since GNUSTEP could run on it, w/o things like glibc, x11 and so on.
I assume Netscape Portable Runtime isn't also NeXTstep or NeXT/Sun. The name dates back to a company bought by AOL that handed off development of Mozilla to Mozilla Foundation. Have there been namespace clashes over this?
... I think having a complete and competent objective-c development platform on Unix/Linux is a very good thing. Even if it is up to OS X 10.6 level - plenty of Mac users still run 10.6 and as far as a platform goes 10.6 is still pretty powerful.
I run: Windows, OS X, Linux, FreeBSD. Just because you have a hammer, doesn't mean everything is a nail.
You do realize, that the cool GNUstep goodness has NOTHING TO DO with the actual UI elements (which can be easily themed as/when needed at a later date), right? It's all about the objective-c frameworks.
I run: Windows, OS X, Linux, FreeBSD. Just because you have a hammer, doesn't mean everything is a nail.
Perhaps X11/Linux would be the most accurate. In any case, the Android userland is as different from the "typical" *BSD or Linux that isn't Android userland as OS X is from either, and saying "GNU/Linux" all the time is far more convenient than saying "*BSD or Linux that isn't Android" all the time
"One could say that GNUstep is a very nice woman, but without proper make-up and with a shabby dress. Although the expert eye could see the star sparkle, the average person maybe would prefer a more normal female with choosen make-up and dress." -- http://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=13189460&postID=112497309425424497
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For those who don't know, there are actually multiple ways to run GNUstep's UI There's Macintosh Style: http://www.flickr.com/photos/camaelon/1317405806/lightbox/ There's Next Style: http://www.gnustep.org/images/GWorkspace.jpg And there's Microsoft Windows Style with all menus attached inside of application windows: http://www.gnustep.org/experience/images/lm_xp_themed.png The Classic UI style is only one of many options, you can set which style you prefer in System Preferences.app and it applies across all GNUstep applications automatically. It's better integrated than KDE and Gnome's versions of this. I really want to see webkit get completed,once it's done GNUstep will hae a usable desktop environment for everyday use and it should be a lot more comfortable to boot up on Linux and run it full time as a development/desktop environment. Let's face it, once you've setup X, Sound, and Networking most workstations don't get moved around, and all you really need is browser, text editor, music and video players along with terminal and Remote Desktop. GNUstep already has all of these tools, it's just missing the browser.
Is this Darling project going to be the easiest way to get a functioning google drive client for linux ? Windows, MacOSX, iOS, and Android all have clients, and at this point the lack of a functioning linux client is not a technical issue.
It might be nice to have a mature "wine like" option for OS X. Eventually, your perfectly functioning, useful computer is going to be "too old" to install the latest OS. Sometimes that just feels like forced obsolescence so having an alternative option in this case is useful. Also, if this was available around the time Apple abandoned the XServe customers, it might have eased their transition a little.
Witness all the grumbling about Apple in the "Larry says Apple is doomed" thread. If Apple goes off the rails, having the option of switching to Linux whilst still accessing your programs and data would be handy.
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