Re: What would be the most complete GNUStep system?

[Riccardo Mottola]

Hi Asiga,

sorry for top-post replying, but your email is somehow a big single-cell 
HTML table and I can't reply inline. Thank you for your interest in 
GNUstep. I understand how you feel, because I think similarly. lso I 
don't like most other FLOSS desktop projects Windows >= 8.. and that 
keeps my interest in GNUstep alive!

GNUstep is a little more than a framework: GNUstep "core" is the actual 
framework. Then you get a set of development tools  (Gorm, 
ProjectCenter, Thematic), additional frameworks (some of which very 
useful), some essential applications (GWorkspace, SystemPreferences).
Other applications to get a more complete environment you can pick among 
the two major desktop projects, GAP and Etoilé, plus other assorted 
single apps (like PRICE or GNUMail). Although no project has at the 
moment something really complete.

What you ask, however, is more: tight integration with an OS. That's 
tricky. I can tell you that GNUStep runs, when compiled from source, 
quite well on most major free operationg systems. Most flavours of Linux 
(I test Debian and Gentoo) and NetBSD, OpenBSD and FreeBSD. However, 
GNUstep has many configuration options, so the official packages of 
these OS's may be configured differently, usually to be more linux and 
FHS compliant. If you want a Mac like experience, none of them is your 
choice, really.

To get the most Mac-like experience, you need to configure with the 
GNUstep-layout and with a root as /, so that you get directories like 
/System/Applications. I'd say that all cited operating systems right now 
are quite well supported.

Bundles? Yes, we do have them. For apps, frameworks, loadable bundles, 
themse and also documents (like RTFD) in pure OpenStep/Mac style. Most 
distributions, for example ebian, try to break these bundles up however, 
since they are alien to the typical file system layout enforced by 
various policies. It may work, but it is not what you are looking for.

I don't know if we support "Fat bundles" and especially how sense they 
have in the more fragmented OS environment which, for example, many 
different Linux OS's.

As for DMGs, I know that you feel they are convenient and how they very 
easily can be virtually monuted, burned onto optical media or (in old 
times) to floppies. I don't think we have support for that though and 
how it could be implemented in a portable way.

So for your specific question I don't think one OS will be better than 
another and most OS will work just fine currently if you compile from 
sources. If you use packages, then well, you are at the will of the 
packager and if your tastes match the way he did it. There are several 
configure options and combinations!

Riccardo

Asiga Nael wrote:
> Hi,
>
> I've been using OSX as my everyday OS for over a decade, mostly for 
> software development (but not with Xcode, as I'm a die-hard Terminal 
> user, and I'm a Makefile-type user).
>
> Now I've become quite worried about OSX, because I don't like its 
> current direction, making it heavier and heavier, with no real 
> improvements for power-users, while gradually dropping useful 
> features, not to mention I dislike the latest Mac hardware compared to 
> the Macs they used to make.
>
> But OSX has very useful stuff I don't find anywhere else. Mostly:
>
> 1-Application bundles (seeing apps as directories is one thing I 
> cannot live without it anymore)
> 2-Great management of disk images with support for creating and 
> mounting images of different file systems. So great, that disk images 
> is the preferred way for packaging OSX apps.
> 3-Fat binaries (yes, some people don't like the space they take, but I 
> find it very convenient to have a 32bit executable and its 64 bit 
> version on the same file).
>
> From what I've read, it seems GNUStep implements all or most of 
> NeXTSTEP, while also adding some new Cocoa additions from OSX. But 
> it's not an Operating System, just a framework. It seems you can 
> install it on a lot of OSs, although I found it confusing to 
> understand how each OS supports it.
>
> Isn't there any OS that considers GNUStep as the most important part 
> of the OS while supporting the 3 features that I love from OSX (app 
> bundles, dmg-like support, fat binaries)?
>
> If such OS exists, please tell, as it would be my natural move from OSX.
>
> Thanks!
>
> asiga
>
>
>
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