Re: GUI for OCaml (was: Re: [Caml-list] Does LablTk have a future?)

[yoann padioleau <padator@wanadoo.fr>]

On 30 août 05, at 09:16, David MENTRE wrote:

> Hello,
>
> 2005/8/30, Jon Harrop <jon@ffconsultancy.com>:
>
>>  I had tried lablgtk before but failed to get to grips with it.
>>
>
> The client of my application is also written in Lablgtk2 and, despite
> helpful answers by Jacques Garrigue and Olivier Andrieux as well as
> SooHyoung Oh's tutorials, I find programming with Labgtk2 not very
> easy (to say the least). I find Lablgtk2 is largely under-documented.

It seems to me that there is nothing original in the ocaml binding of  
gtk
so most of the time you can search in the documentation of gtk in any  
other langage
and "quite easily" adapt it to ocaml. Maybe the only problem with  
lablgtk is that it uses
the object facilities of ocaml and that many people are not very  
aware of those features. But in that case
what we need is a better documentation of the object features of ocaml.

> Of course, this is a large task that cannot be achieved by two
> individuals.

And I think it is not a good idea. We have to factor code and  
documentation.
It is better to have one good documentation of gtk in one langage,  
that 10 bad documentation
of gtk in 10 langages.
Maybe one day when .net or a similar thing will take over the world  
we will have less problems.

>
>
>> I think it would be more constructive to create a decent cross- 
>> platform GUI

Well, gtk is cross-platform.

>> library from the ground up for FPLs/OCaml.

And yet again reinvent the wheel. I am quite sure that you will  
reinvent just exactly gtk :)


>> This wouldn't need to be anything
>> fancy, just easy access to the simplest GUI elements to start with.

Well you have already that with lablgtk.

>> I'd like
>> to see GUIs described by purely functional data structures.

I had a look to fruit in haskell, fudgets, fran, ... and other  
attempts to make gui in functionnal style, and most of the time
I found the code more complex that the classical  widget/callback   
with global variable or closure model.


>>
>
> I'd also loved too. Having a cross-platform GUI (with native look and
> behaviour on Windows and MacOS X),   programmed using a functional
> style,


> well documented (with reference manual and tutorial) and with
>
You have that for gtk, ok it is not in ocaml but you can make the  
translation quite easily from langage X to ocaml.

> necessary tools (GUI design application) would be very very helpful.

Do you really find useful such RAD tools ?