Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think a bigger problem is that less and less end users have the JVM installed.
You can use javapackager.
Did you try to using it in production? It's flaky at best...
Ask HN: What's the best library for making cross-platform UIs?
191–200 of 230 posts
Re: Ask HN: What's the best library for making cross-platform UIs?
#192It would help a lot to have the question elaborate on what you really need. What do you mean by "best", and do you actually need the best? Do you need easy to learn, or code that is easy to deliver, or most powerful features, or most number of platforms covered? Do you include mobile in cross platform, and do you have a performance or language requirement? A web app is one of the most cross platform ways to go, is th…
I would also add Codename One which has many similarities to QT but is based on Java and more Write Once Run Anywhere oriented
http://www.codenameone.com/blog/comparing-qt-and-codename-on...
Re: Ask HN: What's the best library for making cross-platform UIs?
#193Earlier quoted context omitted.
Suitability of Tcl/Tk depends on what the goal is. For some applications, like utilities, GUI access to CLI tools, form-based data entry, etc., Tk is fine. It isn't a good option for a sophisticated drawing program, and I would try to use it for a full-bore word processor. Within its domain, Tk is a very capable tool that easy to use, well-documented, versatile and relatively bug-free. Future versions are planned to…
From what I'm reading in this thread, Tk is out of the question. Poor antialiasing sounds like bad looks.
I don't understand how anyone can assume that antialiasing is missing in Tk, it's simply wrong and has been there for many years for font drawing. On Linux, it must be compiled against fontconfig/xft (default, if the headers can be found). On OSX and Windows, it uses the native font renderer. The only point on OSX high dpi displays: you need to set a property that the application supports high dpi (in a .plist file), but this holds for any App-bundle on OSX. Antialiasing on a canvas (as opposed to text in labels, buttons etc.) is only enabled in OSX by default. tkpath replaces the default canvas with a more complete implementation (alpha blending, gradients, antialiasing...) on all 3 platforms.
Re: Ask HN: What's the best library for making cross-platform UIs?
#194Earlier quoted context omitted.
In my experience with it, wxwidgets has a very antiquated feeling to the API (I know, subjective) and it didn't ship high DPI support when I used it. Its Python bindings at the time felt rather unpythonic. Generally I wouldn't want to use this again.
I just started using it a few months ago, and perhaps the antiquated API you refer is the "old methods" described in wxWidgets books and such. There is a new modern-ish API with jQuery like function chaining, and an Advanced UI (AUI) subsystem enabling one complete control to the presentation layer. It is not perfect, but I'm liking it.
Ok very cool. Will definitely have a look.
Re: Ask HN: What's the best library for making cross-platform UIs?
#195I'll throw in a mention for Xojo: http://www.xojo.com Xojo used to be called REALbasic, and it's a cross-platform 'Visual Basic' with support for Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS and Raspberry Pi. I tend to use it for internal tools that need to run on both Windows & Mac, and find it's great for getting to a prototype stage very quickly.
Is it open-source? What I want is closer to writing my own Xojo.
Xojo isn't open source, but I think Lazarus is. It's an open source cross-platform version of Delphi, which could be described as "Visual Pascal". I've not used Lazarus myself but I used to use Delphi.
Re: Ask HN: What's the best library for making cross-platform UIs?
#196Earlier quoted context omitted.
> there is no such thing Why?
Different platform, different requirements. If a language run-time or virtual machine promises, "you can write code once and run it anywhere," then they're not telling you the whole story. There's no such thing as, "cross platform." It's just a vague term that is commonly interpreted as, "major OS platforms," or, "most popular mobile platforms," etc. Requirements are both technical and non-technical. If we just focus…
> I have yet to see any kind of language or run-time that lets you have it both ways.
If there were such a language I wouldn't be asking this question on HN. I have yet to see a clear answer why there is no such kind of language or run-time.
> the same code written for the DSL is not likely going to run well or even be considered for use by your other target platforms.
Why? Can be you more specific with an example?
Re: Ask HN: What's the best library for making cross-platform UIs?
#197Earlier quoted context omitted.
@geraldcombs and @justinclift I didn't know any of this, thanks so much! It sounds like GTK is eliminated too. What's left now, QT and wxWidgets?
If you're looking to do a desktop GUI type of application, then those two are decent choices. If you have skill in C++ already, then Qt is a natural fit there. Also, Qt's docs are very good . None of the "oh, I was advised to use this class. Where are the docs? What do you mean... go read the source code?". Gah... sorry... still haven't gotten my extremely bad experiences with Gtk out of my system (years later). ;) I…
There seems to be a third choice though. Writing a "thin layer", which sounds like writing one's own wxWindows or QT.
I want to know the difference between the thin layer and the existing libraries. Not in vague terms but specifically with a code example.
Re: Ask HN: What's the best library for making cross-platform UIs?
#198Earlier quoted context omitted.
From what I'm reading in this thread, Tk is out of the question. Poor antialiasing sounds like bad looks.
I don't understand how anyone can assume that antialiasing is missing in Tk, it's simply wrong and has been there for many years for font drawing. On Linux, it must be compiled against fontconfig/xft (default, if the headers can be found). On OSX and Windows, it uses the native font renderer. The only point on OSX high dpi displays: you need to set a property that the application supports high dpi (in a .plist file),…
Thanks so much for this! I know very little about Tk.
Besides antialiasing on a canvas, does antialiasing also work in text in labels, buttons, etc? Can I get in Tk all the fonts I can get in a Mac? Is Helvetica there?
Why can't I find on the web screenshots of Tk apps running on Mac OS X? Is the only way to get Tk to look good on a Mac using Tile http://tktable.sourceforge.net/tile/screenshots/macosx.html ?
From what I'm reading now there might be 4 options: Tk, wxWindows, QT, and a custom "thin layer".
Re: Ask HN: What's the best library for making cross-platform UIs?
#199Here's what I want. - The UI to look as good or better than the UI on Mac OS X. I'm not willing to compromise on looks. - The library to be cross-platform. I want to deploy the software on Mac OS X, Windows, and Linux. I don't care about mobile right now. - I want it to be possible and easy to (a) develop new features on my own and (b) change existing features. I'd rather reimplement a textbox from scratch if it's th…
Before you start to roll your own consider that there have been many attempts to do this already and they have all failed to varying degrees. The reason for this is that it's much harder to get right than it seems. QT is what I've used when a client is determined to go down this path, but if a web app doesn't make sense the best option is almost always to spend extra time making sure that most of your code is portabl…
> it's much harder to get right than it seems
I'm not disputing this but I've yet to see a clear explanation why it's harder to get right than it seems.
I want to understand, precisely, what makes this hard.
Re: Ask HN: What's the best library for making cross-platform UIs?
#200It would help a lot to have the question elaborate on what you really need. What do you mean by "best", and do you actually need the best? Do you need easy to learn, or code that is easy to deliver, or most powerful features, or most number of platforms covered? Do you include mobile in cross platform, and do you have a performance or language requirement? A web app is one of the most cross platform ways to go, is th…
I agree across the board with your assessment. It is a shame that OP does not want to go HTML/CSS engine, because over the years, I have found that to be the easiest to update, the most reliable across platforms, and (most importantly) the easiest to support for multiple users. I have tried (and used in production) most of the UI tookits mentioned here. WxWindows (later WxWidgets), Tk, and FLTK are getting long in th…
Why is Tk getting long in the tooth? This comment believes Tk is as good as wkWindows and QT https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12380456