Re: Lua for GUI toolkit wrapping?

["Timm S. Mueller" <tmueller@...>]

On Wed, 23 Sep 2009 08:09:28 -0400
Patrick <spell_gooder_now@spellingbeewinnars.org> wrote:

> Is Lua not much more expressive and pleasant to work with then C/C++ ?
> wouldn't replacing all that C code for the GUI be a good thing? Wouldn't
> using a fast scripting language make it easier to edit later? Is there a
> reason the Toolkit support is not a little better? Is this not an ideal
> use of Lua?

this seems to contradict the subject of your post, but these were
exactly my thoughts when I started tekUI, a GUI toolkit almost entirely
written in Lua itself [1]. 

I believe that, in the long run, large and arcane GUI libraries written
in compiled languages will be gradually replaced by small, flexible and
transparent frameworks, which reside only on a miniscule native code
footprint and adhere to similar design principles as Lua. And Lua is
not just a language, its virtual machine is a small common denominator
that can be agreed on in a wide range of environments.

The amount of work is considerable, but we hope to come out with a beta
version this year. We are currently in the process of refactoring large
and complicated classes like the text input widget, including multiline
and text editor support. Next will be improved listviews with
adjustable column widths. Graphics support is also lacking. 

These and other major gaps need to be filled before we can recommend it
to everyone. Any help would be appreciated. Most useful would it be if
some individuals accounted for the development or quality assurance of
some complex widgets. But then again, the programming interfaces are
not fully stable, and this would be a rollercoaster ride for yet some
time to come.

- Timm

[1] http://tekui.teklib.org/

-- 
Timm S. Mueller <tmueller@schulze-mueller.de>
Schulze & Mueller GbR, Gryphiusstr. 2, 10245 Berlin,
Gesellschafter: Franciska Schulze, Timm S. Mueller,
Tel. +49 30 93624410, http://www.schulze-mueller.de/