kicad-developers team mailing list archive

["Torsten Hüter" <torstenhtr@...>]

Hi Dick,

> > You can't easily compile it on MinGW, that's why Jean-Pierre has not
> used it (compare the older discussion about this topic). 
> > 
> 
> With compiling, in my experience, I've noticed that the first time is 
> the hardest, after the first successful compilation it gets much 
> easier. And one person can benefit from another's work here.

Like Wayne has already written, it works with some tricks - but it's not ideal in my opinion. I'm wondering why they don't use Cairo for Windows.

> It's too early to reach any conclusions about the value of 
> wxGraphicsContext. But Wayne will soon be in a position to offer an 
> informed opinion. IMO, the value of wxGraphicsContext does not come 
> from its speed or lack thereof. On my machine I doubt there will be any 
> speed difference at all.

Of course that's true - that's why I've written that a benchmark is needed. Also - as I've mentioned - there is a huge speed difference (wxDC) between Windows 7 and Linux, I'd assume at minimum factor 5. The video board is a good reference for comparision. 
On the other side, the question is, if it's not even easier to use specialized libraries (like Cairo) directly. I'd choose the most effective tool and keep it open (with an abstraction layer).

> You missed my point, and it 
> was an important one:
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------
> 
> "The contributors cannot be expected to spend more money targeting 
> hardware that is obsolete, when the owners of that obsolete hardware can 
> solve their problem simply by also contributing monetarily to their own 
> happiness." (Read that carefully again.)

Well, I know your point, but I don't totally agree with it. Usually the wishes of the consumers are much more important than what the developer likes. Sure it doesn't makes sense to support very old hardware, but you can't expect that the user buys the latest hardware, just because of your application. Of course sometimes the demands of the user are totally exaggerated - but mostly a compromise can be found in my opinion.

> A corporate user will be less likely to be using a laptop (more inclined 
> to be using a desktop computer), and when he is using a laptop, it will 
> normally have one of the larger sized screens available on a laptop.

Well, I'd say it depends. There is a trend towards mobile computing, even for larger companies. We use all a notebook here (OK, but we are a start-up).

> As in any volunteer service, there are limits on the number of demands 
> that can be asked of those who contribute their time freely. I think to 
> expect otherwise is to lead to disappointment, and loss of volunteers. 
> No amount of debate will change this.

Of course that's true, no disagreement on this subject. One way would be trying to get more developers. E.g. KiCad would be an ideal candidate for a diploma thesis .. for instance developing an intelligent routing / placement algorithm.

> (When they are getting paid, this is a different story.)

Of course .. but I don't see that any payment happens in the near future for KiCad. I see it differently; I'm spending here the time developing - and save this way perhaps later time for hardware developments (because more features, faster development). Thus indirect payment ..

Bye ..
Torsten
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