Wednesday, September 6. 2006
Why do we keep on using C++?
Well, I don't know why you're doing it. I keep on using C++ because Amarok is written in it, which can't be changed easily. And that's about the only reason.
This morning I intended to review a code change in amarok.h, one of Amarok's central headers files. Accidentally, I pressed :w in vim, touching the file although it was not modified. The following build cycle left me ample time to shower, have breakfast, and write most of this blog entry! Just changing a single line in one of Amarok's C++ sources (heck, a single character), means a whopping 10 minutes of compiling and linking, until you actually get to see the result. Made a mistake? Oh well, fix it, and wait another 10 minutes. To summarize: Compiling is driving me nuts. I've wasted enough time for it in my life. Life's too short to wait for a freaking compiler.
Alas, there is no need for this madness. We have been given two wonderful tools, that present a true alternative for KDE application development. One is Ruby, given to us by Yukihiro Matsumoto, and the other is Korundum, by our very own Richard Dale. Using these tools, we can create applications and actually have fun doing it! Why bother with endless compile times, when we can have the same result in a much shorter time? Ruby is less performant than C++, but many programmers don't realize that this is utterly irrelevant for GUI applications, which spend 99% of their time in library calls, waiting for an event.
Two days ago I had this wonderful encounter with Gregor Karzelek in our new IRC channel #kde-ruby. He told me this:
I think this speaks for itself. I, for one, don't plan to create another KDE application in C++. I have better tools now
Did this blog spark your interest? If so, join us in #kde-ruby to learn more about Ruby and Korundum.
This morning I intended to review a code change in amarok.h, one of Amarok's central headers files. Accidentally, I pressed :w in vim, touching the file although it was not modified. The following build cycle left me ample time to shower, have breakfast, and write most of this blog entry! Just changing a single line in one of Amarok's C++ sources (heck, a single character), means a whopping 10 minutes of compiling and linking, until you actually get to see the result. Made a mistake? Oh well, fix it, and wait another 10 minutes. To summarize: Compiling is driving me nuts. I've wasted enough time for it in my life. Life's too short to wait for a freaking compiler.
Alas, there is no need for this madness. We have been given two wonderful tools, that present a true alternative for KDE application development. One is Ruby, given to us by Yukihiro Matsumoto, and the other is Korundum, by our very own Richard Dale. Using these tools, we can create applications and actually have fun doing it! Why bother with endless compile times, when we can have the same result in a much shorter time? Ruby is less performant than C++, but many programmers don't realize that this is utterly irrelevant for GUI applications, which spend 99% of their time in library calls, waiting for an event.
Two days ago I had this wonderful encounter with Gregor Karzelek in our new IRC channel #kde-ruby. He told me this:
"It is unbelievable how fast you can develop with ruby and how easy and fast you can create GUIs with korundum. i started a project for my brother a week ago and have done already about 80% of the functions and 90% of the gui. when i think how long it took my to create such things in java.."
"And for the speed: i don't know whether it really is that slower like so many say. i do think the gui of my project works quite fast. at least fast enough."
I think this speaks for itself. I, for one, don't plan to create another KDE application in C++. I have better tools now
Did this blog spark your interest? If so, join us in #kde-ruby to learn more about Ruby and Korundum.
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