wxruby users - Sep 2004 - wxruby-swig: Converting to REXML

Since I''m setting up my development environment on a new system, I 
figure now is the time to get rid of one of the extra dependencies: NQXML.

It appears that REXML can now parse the whole classes xml file in about 
20 seconds on this machine, which is a huge improvement over the many, 
many minutes it used to take. So I am now updating extract.rb to use 
REXML instead of NQXML.

Hopefully the conversion won''t be too painful.

Kevin

Kevin Smith wrote:
> So I am now updating extract.rb to use REXML instead of NQXML.
After some pain and struggle, it seems to be working. I will check it in 
tomorrow. I am thrilled to get rid of the NQXML dependency!

Kevin

> After some pain and struggle, it seems to be working. I will check it 
> in tomorrow. I am thrilled to get rid of the NQXML dependency!
I tried it out on the Mac and it seems to work just fine. Nice work.

One thing I forgot to mention is that I added an "extconf.rb" into the
src/ directory based of the original wxruby one. I patched it for Mac 
and MSW, but haven''t touched it for Linux. I''d appreciate it
if you
added any necessary options. The biggest one is to add -I.. so when 
compiling in the src/ directory, the includes work correctly.

The nice thing about it is that once the source code compiles on all 
platforms, people can download it from CVS and try it without any 
external tools; just ruby the extconf, make, and make install.

Nick

wxRuby Layout Manager Library 0.0.3 has been released.

Overview
--------------------
The wxRuby Layout Manager Library is bringing the ease of use, layout 
managers to wxRuby from other languages. It now supports the following 
layout managers: BaseLayout, BoxLayout, FlowLayout and ParagraphLayout. 
It is available now in RubyGem format from:


Download
---------------------
http://rubyforge.org/frs/download/php/1522/wxrubylayouts-0.0.3.gem


Online Documentation Is Available!
-----------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.mktec.com/dev_www/wxrubylayouts/

The inline rdoc documentation has been updated in the RubyGem file and 
even has copy and paste working code for each layout manager.


Plans For Upcoming Releases
----------------------------------------------------
Next Revision (0.0.4)
   - BorderLayout
   - GridLayout
   - Update documentation with mor escreenshots and more workingexample code

Between Now and Next minor Release(0.1.0)
   - CardLayout
   - Spring Layout
   - ViewLayout (custom implementation) A ViewLayout uses a ViewTemplate 
to determine where to place widgets. More coming on this later...
 

Licensing Info
---------------------------
wxRuby Layout Manager Library is currently being releaesed under LGPL 
(we use it alot at work, so i thought what the heck) but I am thinking 
of changing this to a "Perl" compatible free license or to the ruby 
license. Please feel free to email me if you have any thoughts on this 
matter.


Any questions, comments or concerns you can feel free to email me.

Zach

The correct download link:

http://rubyforge.org/frs/download.php/1522/wxrubylayouts-0.0.3.gem

Zach

This is excellent Zach!

You should also post this announcement to the Ruby Talk ML. Its good PR for you
and wxRuby.

Curt

Zach Dennis wrote:
> 
> wxRuby Layout Manager Library 0.0.3 has been released.
> 
> Overview
> --------------------
> The wxRuby Layout Manager Library is bringing the ease of use, layout 
> managers to wxRuby from other languages. It now supports the following 
> layout managers: BaseLayout, BoxLayout, FlowLayout and ParagraphLayout. 
> It is available now in RubyGem format from:
> 
> 
> Download
> ---------------------
> http://rubyforge.org/frs/download/php/1522/wxrubylayouts-0.0.3.gem
> 
> 
> Online Documentation Is Available!
> -----------------------------------------------------------------
> http://www.mktec.com/dev_www/wxrubylayouts/
> 
> The inline rdoc documentation has been updated in the RubyGem file and 
> even has copy and paste working code for each layout manager.
> 
> 
> Plans For Upcoming Releases
> ----------------------------------------------------
> Next Revision (0.0.4)
>    - BorderLayout
>    - GridLayout
>    - Update documentation with mor escreenshots and more 
> workingexample code
> 
> Between Now and Next minor Release(0.1.0)
>    - CardLayout
>    - Spring Layout
>    - ViewLayout (custom implementation) A ViewLayout uses a ViewTemplate 
> to determine where to place widgets. More coming on this later...
>  
> 
> Licensing Info
> ---------------------------
> wxRuby Layout Manager Library is currently being releaesed under LGPL 
> (we use it alot at work, so i thought what the heck) but I am thinking 
> of changing this to a "Perl" compatible free license or to the
ruby
> license. Please feel free to email me if you have any thoughts on this 
> matter.
> 
> 
> Any questions, comments or concerns you can feel free to email me.
> 
> Zach
> _______________________________________________
> wxruby-users mailing list
> wxruby-users@rubyforge.org
> http://rubyforge.org/mailman/listinfo/wxruby-users
> 
> ---
> Incoming mail is certified Virus Free.
> Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
> Version: 6.0.757 / Virus Database: 507 - Release Date: 9/9/2004
>  
>

Zach Dennis wrote:
> Licensing Info
> ---------------------------
> wxRuby Layout Manager Library is currently being releaesed under LGPL 
> (we use it alot at work, so i thought what the heck) but I am thinking 
> of changing this to a "Perl" compatible free license or to the
ruby
> license. Please feel free to email me if you have any thoughts on this 
> matter.
Licenses are confusing. It doesn''t help that the fsf.org and 
opensource.org web sites have non-overlapping sets of licenses, and do 
not always seem to use the same names for the same licenses.

The original Perl Artistic license has been criticized as being too 
vague. If you go that route, consider the "clarified" version or the
2.0
version. See:
  http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/license-list.html#ArtisticLicense

The ruby license seems to be derived from the Artistic license. You 
would clearly need to rewrite item #4 for your own project, and items 2c 
and 3c don''t seem to apply to libraries. I don''t know why, but
the ruby
license is not on the approved opensource.org license list, nor is it 
discussed by the fsf.

Few people have taken the time to really understand the LGPL. It is 
really focused on compiled languages, so not all of the restrictions 
apply to a non-compiled language like Ruby. Unless, of course, someone 
chooses to run your ruby library through some form of compiler or 
pseudo-compiler. Or embeds ruby code inside a compiled app.

The LGPL requires (section 6a) anyone who ships an app using your 
library to distribute source code to your library. Further, they must 
distribute their own app in source or re-linkable object form (e.g. .o 
or .obj files), to allow the user to modify the LGPL library and rebuild 
the application.

For a compiled application, that is a steep burden that would turn away 
(or be violated by) many proprietary developers. If your primary goal is 
to support free/open development, that''s ok. If you really want to be 
friendly to proprietary apps, the LGPL might not be the best choice.

I chose the MIT license (as presented at opensource.org) for 
wxruby-swig, because it is very liberal, is very short and easy to 
understand, and seems to be compatible with most other licenses, 
including wxruby''s and ruby''s.

Anyway, I just wanted to share my own thoughts on these licensing 
issues. Of course, my strongest recommendation/plea is: Don''t invent 
your own license! PLEASE use an existing one. The world does not need 
more free/open licenses.

Kevin

Kevin Smith wrote:
> 
> Zach Dennis wrote:
> > Licensing Info
> > ---------------------------
> > wxRuby Layout Manager Library is currently being released under LGPL 
> > (we use it alot at work, so i thought what the heck) but I am thinking
> > of changing this to a "Perl" compatible free license or to
the ruby
> > license. Please feel free to email me if you have any thoughts on this
> > matter.
[snip]
> I chose the MIT license (as presented at opensource.org) for 
> wxruby-swig, because it is very liberal, is very short and easy to 
> understand, and seems to be compatible with most other licenses, 
> including wxruby''s and ruby''s.
Funny thing, I was just about to respond and also suggest the MIT license, and
then thought I should read Kevin''s response first!

Kevin provided lots of good info on the other license that I would not have done
(because I''m too lazy). I was simply going to say that if your goal is
to promote the widest use of your software with the fewest ambiguities and
restrictions, the MIT license is really the way to go.

Curt

Curt Hibbs wrote:
>Kevin Smith wrote:
>  
>
>>Zach Dennis wrote:
>>    
>>
>>>Licensing Info
>>>---------------------------
>>>wxRuby Layout Manager Library is currently being released under LGPL
>>>(we use it alot at work, so i thought what the heck) but I am
thinking
>>>of changing this to a "Perl" compatible free license or to
the ruby
>>>license. Please feel free to email me if you have any thoughts on
this
>>>matter.
>>>      
>>>
>
>[snip]
>
>  
>
>>I chose the MIT license (as presented at opensource.org) for 
>>wxruby-swig, because it is very liberal, is very short and easy to 
>>understand, and seems to be compatible with most other licenses, 
>>including wxruby''s and ruby''s.
>>    
>>
>
>Funny thing, I was just about to respond and also suggest the MIT license,
and then thought I should read Kevin''s response first!
>
>Kevin provided lots of good info on the other license that I would not have
done (because I''m too lazy). I was simply going to say that if your
goal is to promote the widest use of your software with the fewest ambiguities
and restrictions, the MIT license is really the way to go.
>
>  
>
Ok, I think I will use the MTI license then. There isn''t any
restriction
for me as the developer about changing the licensing on a 
major/minor/revision release is there?

I could change licensing as soon as next revivison (0.0.4) ?

Thanks for your responses Curt and Kevin,

Zach

Zach Dennis wrote:
> >
> Ok, I think I will use the MTI license then. There isn''t any
restriction
> for me as the developer about changing the licensing on a
> major/minor/revision release is there?
>
> I could change licensing as soon as next revision (0.0.4) ?
>
> Thanks for your responses Curt and Kevin,
As the copyright holder of the software, you are free to change the
licensing terms whenever you want.

Curt

A source gz file has been release for wxrubylayouts 0.0.3 as well. It 
can be downloaded form RubyForge:

http://rubyforge.org/frs/?group_id=355

If this is the first you''ve heard about wxRubyLayouts then please
visit:
http://www.mktec.com/dev_www/wxrubylayouts/ for more information.

Zach