Re: [Freeciv-Dev] Client-side API

[Peter Dam Mains <lancelot@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

> Hi all, 
> 
> I recently read on the www.freeciv.org page something like
> 
> > Client-side API: 
> >        Designing an API to separate the client code into front-end UI code
> and back-end comms code. Having this is essential to the future of client-side
> AI's, and also to solving the client integrity problem.
> 
> Isn't this just a problem of the serialization of the packet structs ?
> Oh dear, why don't we take just java and everything is done. I never really
> understood the sense of 1001 different kinds of clients. 

Doing Freeciv in java is a fine idea, but the new Java2 with swing isn't
supported on all architectures yet, so it'll actually have a smaller audience.
Another problem is that you often have to install Java yourself. While many
new users could easily install .deb/.rpm etc etc packages, or run a
configure script, they'll have a harder time installing Java. 
Also Java isn't exactly lightningfast at the moment, only on Suns and
Windows, and I don't see Windows as the maintarget for Freeciv.
Another thing is that if a switch was made to Java, pretty much everything
would have to be rewritten, which would take some time.

> Also I heard that
> with the new version of swing there's a graphical dialog composer. Isn't that
> much easier than struggling arround with Xaw and stuff ? 
> 

There're many. Check out www.freebuilder.com, www.netbeans.com or
www.tek-tools.com for some of them.

/Peter Dam Mains