GNUStep is a clone of NeXTSTEP, and uses some sort of similar rendering. I'm not clear on their status
There is currently a modular backend. Runtime loadable bundles dictate what rendering code is used. There is an alpha quality win32 backend, a relatively mature Xlib backend, and an X11 DPS backend. The non-DPS backends implement a DPS emulation engine. They turn wrapped PS function calls into native rendering calls on the host display system (determined by the currently loaded bundle). Unfortunately, not all of the original NeXT extensions to DPS are finished. The purpose for having them at all is that quite a few applications for NeXTSTEP used them to define custom GUI widgets.
(If you can't get to gnustep.org, try gnustep.net -- it's good stuff, even if development has been slow over the years. Too bad FSF/GNU didn't back GNUStep instead of creating GNOME -- I don't know what was up with that)
I think it was pragmatism. GNOME got to a mature place long before GNUstep did. It's pretty much there now, however. There are people writing end-user applications. Part of the slowness of the project comes from people thinking the project is dead (which is not true--it's just that most of the development goes on quietly in CVS and the mailing lists). The other reason is that people think Objective C is a barrier to entry. This is a sad misconception since the language is far easier to learn than C++. If you know C and the concepts of OOP, you can pick it up in an hour or two, tops. MOSX and Cocoa have helped some but Apple isn't supporting Objective C like they really should (considering it's the official language for developing MOSX applications).
Seriously - would anyone who does know Objective C care to comment? Is it a decent language?
Yeah, it kicks ass.
What does it bring to the table over C
It's OO.
or C++
It doesn't make your brain melt. And it takes an hour to learn. And it's *real* OO. With messaging (in addition to methods, which are different) and dynamic typing and binding which really opens up wide possibilities for heavy runtime action. And no multiple inheritance. Instead, you get protocols and categories. It's kind of like Java in many ways, except that it isn't dog-slow (the runtimes have become pretty optimized over the years and there's none of that byte-code crap). Oh, and the other reason it's so fun is because of the damn fine OPENSTEP API (A.K.A. Rhapsody and Cocoa).
Using Objective C and OPENSTEP is like having sex--it's just that pleasurable to work with.
XFree should be an OS independent project and I really disklike the attemps from the linux camp to change that with the dependency of certain features on weird linux kernel modules and the like.
Don't blame us for that. Go bitch to nVidia for being myopic and not releasing specs. Plenty of the rest of us have. Probably won't do much good, but...
There are no food shops within a mile of my home now, but there are 4 starbucks.
Reminds me of that Simpsons episode where Bart is in the mall and they're taking out a store to put in a new Starbucks...right next to the one that's already there!
If they would can the overwrought MOSX GUI and bring back the NeXT GUI, I'd buy one.:-)
Re:No, Apple should continue to heed Intel
on
PowerPC Goes 64 bit
·
· Score: 1
Yes, but Alpha floating point performance was still ahead of Intel last time I checked. If you want to do lots of realtime number-crunching, that could come in handy.
When I checked my Hotmail account yesterday, there were about 30 spams in there so I started clicking on the checkboxes to delete them. When I finished, I clicked the delete button. It redisplayed my Inbox...and there were several more messages waiting!
The above comment should be at the beginning of every article on Slashdot that in any way relates to corporations. I can't imagine why people so often seem to ignore the obvious truths that this AC has kindly posted.
The real question should be why we can't send a bunch of envious socialists into the stratosphere. Or at least find a way to stop them from hating those who find success.
To say that any particular thing caused any war would be simplistic. People fight in wars for their own reasons, which can be quite varied. Often, soldiers on opposing sides have completely different ideas about what a war is about. Read this.
Uhh, this isn't a Democracy and never has been. It used to be a decent Republic, however.
And we don't really want our representatives to listen to "us" becuase "us" is ignorant. Seriously, do you want the majority of people in this country to be responsible for our next technology disaster, errr, law? Our representatives are doing badly enough on their own. They don't need a bunch of ignorant constituents helping out.
And no, I'm not being elitist. I'm sure there are farmers all over this country sickened at the idea that representatives might be taking the advice of a bunch of computer geeks about laws governing agricultural business.
Even with their "fresh" architectures, these other architectures don't seem to run that much faster than any x86 chip...
Heh. You've never seen floating point performance on an Alpha, have you? Anyway, the most significant improvement of other platforms, for me at least, seems to be the much simpler/more streamlined BIOS.
Slashdot Mirror
There is currently a modular backend. Runtime loadable bundles dictate what rendering code is used. There is an alpha quality win32 backend, a relatively mature Xlib backend, and an X11 DPS backend. The non-DPS backends implement a DPS emulation engine. They turn wrapped PS function calls into native rendering calls on the host display system (determined by the currently loaded bundle). Unfortunately, not all of the original NeXT extensions to DPS are finished. The purpose for having them at all is that quite a few applications for NeXTSTEP used them to define custom GUI widgets.
(If you can't get to gnustep.org, try gnustep.net -- it's good stuff, even if development has been slow over the years. Too bad FSF/GNU didn't back GNUStep instead of creating GNOME -- I don't know what was up with that)
I think it was pragmatism. GNOME got to a mature place long before GNUstep did. It's pretty much there now, however. There are people writing end-user applications. Part of the slowness of the project comes from people thinking the project is dead (which is not true--it's just that most of the development goes on quietly in CVS and the mailing lists). The other reason is that people think Objective C is a barrier to entry. This is a sad misconception since the language is far easier to learn than C++. If you know C and the concepts of OOP, you can pick it up in an hour or two, tops. MOSX and Cocoa have helped some but Apple isn't supporting Objective C like they really should (considering it's the official language for developing MOSX applications).
Because it's a lot more than how it looks. There's an excellent API as well. Oh, and nice software development tools too.
Yeah, it kicks ass.
What does it bring to the table over C
It's OO.
or C++
It doesn't make your brain melt. And it takes an hour to learn. And it's *real* OO. With messaging (in addition to methods, which are different) and dynamic typing and binding which really opens up wide possibilities for heavy runtime action. And no multiple inheritance. Instead, you get protocols and categories. It's kind of like Java in many ways, except that it isn't dog-slow (the runtimes have become pretty optimized over the years and there's none of that byte-code crap). Oh, and the other reason it's so fun is because of the damn fine OPENSTEP API (A.K.A. Rhapsody and Cocoa).
Using Objective C and OPENSTEP is like having sex--it's just that pleasurable to work with.
Don't blame us for that. Go bitch to nVidia for being myopic and not releasing specs. Plenty of the rest of us have. Probably won't do much good, but...
No, don't bother thanking me--just doing my job.
Reminds me of that Simpsons episode where Bart is in the mall and they're taking out a store to put in a new Starbucks...right next to the one that's already there!
True enough. But then, the kind of people who would own a cat deserve it. :-)
If they would can the overwrought MOSX GUI and bring back the NeXT GUI, I'd buy one. :-)
Yes, but Alpha floating point performance was still ahead of Intel last time I checked. If you want to do lots of realtime number-crunching, that could come in handy.
Really not sure what you mean: Alsa? Jack (same architecture as CoreAudio, oh, and PortAudio does the same thing BTW)? MusicKit? LADSPA?
When I checked my Hotmail account yesterday, there were about 30 spams in there so I started clicking on the checkboxes to delete them. When I finished, I clicked the delete button. It redisplayed my Inbox...and there were several more messages waiting!
I don't know about you, but I'd still like to see that game. :-)
It would be nice if iD would start mixing a little intelligence in with the action.
The above comment should be at the beginning of every article on Slashdot that in any way relates to corporations. I can't imagine why people so often seem to ignore the obvious truths that this AC has kindly posted.
Ah, if only you (and many other Slashdot posters) had started here and left out the first paragraph.
The real question should be why we can't send a bunch of envious socialists into the stratosphere. Or at least find a way to stop them from hating those who find success.
To say that any particular thing caused any war would be simplistic. People fight in wars for their own reasons, which can be quite varied. Often, soldiers on opposing sides have completely different ideas about what a war is about. Read this.
South: 0
Halftime
I think a much more likely reason is that some portions of the code are copyrighted by entities other than nVidia.
And we don't really want our representatives to listen to "us" becuase "us" is ignorant. Seriously, do you want the majority of people in this country to be responsible for our next technology disaster, errr, law? Our representatives are doing badly enough on their own. They don't need a bunch of ignorant constituents helping out.
And no, I'm not being elitist. I'm sure there are farmers all over this country sickened at the idea that representatives might be taking the advice of a bunch of computer geeks about laws governing agricultural business.
Yeah, but we're still stuck with the same old crappy BIOS, bus, and memory architectures.
Heh. You've never seen floating point performance on an Alpha, have you? Anyway, the most significant improvement of other platforms, for me at least, seems to be the much simpler/more streamlined BIOS.
Yes, but if they didn't tell anyone...well, people would start to wonder about the lack of information. Geez, don't you listen to Art Bell? :-)
And if you don't like that, just wait another ten years and the 90s will be back. Then the 00s will be back after that. Ain't pop culture great?
And, of course, Pluto expressed his opinion on the whole matter here.
Ja Wohl!