[bt-devel] proposal

[Martin Gruner]

Hi everybody,

> Hehe, if we'd do it, who would spend $1500 each year to pay the license
> fees to trolltech?

Maybe. Why not? Maybe we can beg them for a free version since we are not 
developing a commercial program, but I don't really think so.
Maybe we make a call on the website that people should send money if they 
want a windows version?

> Basically it's possible, but we made BibleTime as a KDE and as a Linux
> application from the first day because in Linux there was no Bible program
> for Linux.
> For windows there are so many bible study tools so we have probably no
> chnace to get some marke tshare.

You may be right, but I see no GPL alternative to bibletime... bible study 
tools are expensive...
IMO the poor should profit from bt, hopefully even more with windows...

> If we'd switch toQt we have to change these things:
> 	-Drop XML stuff

I don't mind.

> 	-Install dialog will be very hard because we'd have to write our own
> network management code

Let us make a separate application of this. Wouldn't be so bad if it were 
linux-only. Maybe we can port it later...

> 	-Integration in KDE is lost

Up to this point it does not hurt. We don't use dcop and kparts yet, and 
there would be other ways to do the things that need to be done...

> 	-Lots of small things will go (i18n(), SmallIocn(), LargeIcon(), ... ,
> klistview, the KPopupMenu, )

i18n() would be a seroius problem. Is it not available on windows? Is it not 
a GNU thing?
The icons could be compiled into the binary.
Klistview -> Qlistview, IMO easy.
same for QPopupMenu

> 	-We have to change all the dialogs (almost all use KDialogBase and KDE
> widgets)

Takes time, but is possible and not too hard. The optionsdialog might be 
difficult...

> 	-Port KDE partly, at least the widgets we need to Qt and Windows

Which? KTextEdit?
Why not port KConfig?

>
> Somebody would have to buy Qt and a compiler ...

Exactly. I think Inprise offers a free compiler, and we don't need an IDE.

>
> Is it really worth it?

I am not sure, and I don't want to question all that you have accomplished so 
far. but I see that a windows version of bt would be an amazing thing...

IMO we should aim towards it in the long run. That means we could do this 
slowly by not introducing new kde stuff, trying to clean things up and / or 
simplify them...

But those are just suggestions.

Martin