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Talk:Window creation/X11: Difference between revisions
Describe rationale for task specialization
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(Describe rationale for task specialization) |
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::::: The documentation for the native X11 protocol (which yes, I have read) states clearly that this is not a level intended for use in normal user programs. The documentation for Xlib ''also'' states that it is a layer that should be wrapped up by higher-level toolkits. Admittedly, when that was written they were thinking in terms of Xaw or perhaps Motif (or any other toolkit based on top of Xt; google it if you want the gruesome details) but Tk, GTK, Qt, wxWidgets, etc. all absolutely fit into that space envisaged. If you're writing raw X (Xlib, Xcb or the protocol itself) and you're not doing so because you're writing a toolkit, [http://xkcd.com/463/ you're doing something horribly wrong]. I guess this means I'm disputing the premise of this task on one level, yes, but it also means that I'm disputing the refusal to let people use toolkits to address it; that's how X11 was ''designed to work from the beginning''. I don't talk raw X11 for the same reason I don't write raw machine code, and I avoid raw Xlib as much as I can just like I try to not get down to the level of writing in assembly language. I have higher-level tools, and damnit I'm going to use them! --[[User:Dkf|Donal Fellows]] <small>(on a machine not his own, so not logging in)</small>
::::: To be exact, '''is it the intention of this task to prohibit the use of toolkits?''' If so, it ''must'' be stated clearly in the task definition. —[[User:Dkf|Donal Fellows]] 15:27, 17 August 2009 (UTC)
:::::: Given how people have been solving this task, I've specialized it to say that toolkits shouldn't be used. This invalidates none of the existing solutions. (I've written one in Tcl which lets me show off a bunch of cool things, given that we don't have a standard lib for this low a level of access.) I still think that a toolkit is the ''right'' way to do this thing in production code, but this task is about doing it the hard way. —[[User:Dkf|Donal Fellows]] 23:23, 21 August 2009 (UTC)
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