Re: [Visualpython-users] Cocoa-based VPython desperately needed on the Mac

[Daniel <boy...@gm...>]

Hi all,

Joe this would be very useful!

Bruce makes a good point here: vpython is an extension to the python language.

Now it could be that I don't understand the code so bare with me - I'm just some one that uses python in all 3 platforms.

I think gnuplot has a similar problem I.e. A drawing engine that needs to render on MacOS with a native feel. They solved this problem by having a native client application, called AquaTerm which does all of the rendering.

For MacOS I could imagine a similar solution. Users download a nice vpyterm.app application that displays certain services to the system. Vpython would send drawing instructions to the terminal. It would do this through various ways of interprocess communication on MacOS using the Python Cocoa bridge to make direct calls to the Cocoa. This should be two way, so any interaction instructions can also be returned to vpython. The terminal app is a Cocoa based app that draws with open gl.

Does this move to much of the rendering code out of vp?

Best

Dan 


On 18 Aug 2010, at 00:45, Joe Heafner <hea...@gm...> wrote:

> 
> 
>> Date: Tue, 17 Aug 2010 16:52:26 -0600
>> From: Bruce Sherwood <bas...@nc...>
>> Subject: Re: [Visualpython-users] Cocoa-based VPython desperately
>> 	needed on the Mac
>> 
>> No doubt that Qt is capable of producing cross-platform applications
>> with native look and feel, but the VPython situation is not one of
>> producing an "application" but an add-on to a programming language
>> (Python). Recall that experts on the Cocoa mailing list said that it
>> had been extremely difficult to get Java working in a Cocoa
>> environment, for the same reasons that it looks extremely difficult
>> for VPython (in particular, who owns the interact loop). And working
>> through Qt sounds even more indirect than what was apparently done for
>> Java.
>> 
>> So I should rephrase my question to ask whether there is reason to
>> hope that Qt could be used as a base for VPython on the Mac.
> 
> As my feeble attempt to add to this conversation, I offer the following.
> 
> Software Bisque (www.bisque.com) uses Qt for many (all?) of their flagship products. I know this because I  know one of their developers; we're star party buddies. He's also an OpenGL expert. I'll tell him about VPython (come to think of it, I've already shown it to him at least twice) and I'll see whether he thinks implementing Visual on OS X will work with Qt.
> 
> Joe Heafner
> Sent from my MacBook Pro
> 
> 
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