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November 19, 2019 The Future of the GtkDcoding Blog | ||||
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In 2006, I started a blog on PHP-GTK 2.x that ran for 40 posts before the blog site I was using closed its door. By then, I was caught up in writing Corkboard, the first full-featured application I'd written for my own amusement in nearly 20 years, and so I just let it slip away. Last year, when I decided to update my knowledge to GTK 3.x, the resources I found were few. Each had a handful of examples and most went overboard, cramming dozens of GTK features into single-app demos. Prying relevant code from such crowded demos isn't my cup of tea, so I decided to write my own. So, using D as my newly-adopted favourite language, I wrote single-purpose GTK demos for every feature I thought I might find useful for creating cross-platform desktop applications. The idea was to make single-file demos that incorporated no more than absolutely necessary to demonstrate the feature of the day. While I was at it, I made notes as a memory aid so I could re-grasp the details as quickly as possible because I knew it might be months before I got around to using this resource, the idea being to preemptively cut down on wasted time when I did get back to serious coding. And that's what ended up becoming the GtkD Coding Blog. I was sure I wasn't the only person who would benefit from this, so I bought a domain and set up a schedule to post twice per week. Coming up on the end of 2019 and quickly approaching the 100th posting, I'm contemplating the future of this blog. Will I continue to post? And if so, will those posts still go up twice per week? Or maybe I'll move on and write the killer screenplay outlining utility I've been mulling over for the last few years. Or maybe I'll finally retire and go power-watch old episodes of Star Trek or something. So many choice! But the small audience I have managed to attract has given me encouragement, suggestions, and more than a little moral support. I can't tell you how grateful I am for that. And even if I don't continue to post or only post from time to time, I'd like to keep it easy to find (i.e. continue to use the https://gtkdcoding.com domain name). So if you like the blog and would like it to be available for future reference, please sign up as a sponsor. I've revamped the sponsor tiers so they aren't so scary. (I don't know what I would have done with a $500 sponsor anyway!) You'll be helping me cover costs as well as give me the feeling that it's all been worthwhile. Thanks, Ron Tarrant |
November 21, 2019 Re: The Future of the GtkDcoding Blog | ||||
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Posted in reply to Ron Tarrant | On Tuesday, 19 November 2019 at 19:37:41 UTC, Ron Tarrant wrote:
> In 2006, I started a blog on PHP-GTK 2.x that ran for 40 posts before the blog site I was using closed its door. By then, I was caught up in writing Corkboard, the first full-featured application I'd written for my own amusement in nearly 20 years, and so I just let it slip away.
I think you should set up a "Donate" page on your site, so that an occasional visitor can say thank you.
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November 21, 2019 Re: The Future of the GtkDcoding Blog | ||||
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Posted in reply to Ron Tarrant | On Tuesday, 19 November 2019 at 19:37:41 UTC, Ron Tarrant wrote:
> ...
I think you have 2 problems:
First and unfortunately this community is very very small, it'll be hard to make money over here, I think with Rust you could get more attraction.
Second the timing, at least today "everything is WEB APP", and I'm not saying desktop is dead applications is dead, but most of my current work is converting to WEB.
Sasha.
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November 22, 2019 Re: The Future of the GtkDcoding Blog | ||||
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Posted in reply to Ron Tarrant | On Tuesday, 19 November 2019 at 19:37:41 UTC, Ron Tarrant wrote:
>
Ron, for what it's worth, I was doing some work using GtkAda recently, and your blog was one of the better references for just understanding the Gtk libs. I don't use Gtk all that often, but I appreciated the reference!
-Doc
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November 22, 2019 Re: The Future of the GtkDcoding Blog | ||||
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Posted in reply to angel | On Thursday, 21 November 2019 at 16:14:48 UTC, angel wrote: > On Tuesday, 19 November 2019 at 19:37:41 UTC, Ron Tarrant wrote: >> In 2006, I started a blog on PHP-GTK 2.x that ran for 40 posts before the blog site I was using closed its door. By then, I was caught up in writing Corkboard, the first full-featured application I'd written for my own amusement in nearly 20 years, and so I just let it slip away. > > I think you should set up a "Donate" page on your site, so that an occasional visitor can say thank you. Github sponsorship is very good right now though, since Github matches the donations, but what I'd suggest is a "Desktop Applications in D" booklet similar to: https://www.amazon.com/Ray-Tracing-Weekend-Minibooks-Book-ebook/dp/B01B5AODD8/ A 47-page book about raytracing with examples in very simple C++. And after more blog posts you can add another book, like the sequels to this one. A longer book like this is: https://www.amazon.com/Writing-Interpreter-Go-Thorsten-Ball/dp/3982016118/ |
November 22, 2019 Re: The Future of the GtkDcoding Blog | ||||
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Posted in reply to angel | On Thursday, 21 November 2019 at 16:14:48 UTC, angel wrote:
> I think you should set up a "Donate" page on your site, so that an occasional visitor can say thank you.
Hi angel,
I actually do have a link at the bottom of every post. Just look for the big red heart. :)
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November 22, 2019 Re: The Future of the GtkDcoding Blog | ||||
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Posted in reply to SashaGreat | On Thursday, 21 November 2019 at 18:56:25 UTC, SashaGreat wrote: > I think you have 2 problems: > > First and unfortunately this community is very very small, it'll be hard to make money over here, I think with Rust you could get more attraction. Yup, it's a small community. I've been keeping an eye on the numbers and, in fact, I've noticed a bit of an increase in 'population' (if I can use that word) since I started this blog almost a year ago. D showed up on a Top 20 list (can't seem to find it ATM) earlier this month and this gives me hope that the D community is growing. > Second the timing, at least today "everything is WEB APP", and I'm not saying desktop is dead applications is dead, but most of my current work is converting to WEB. I've also been keeping an eye on this trend, too, and even though development is currently centred around web apps, scuttlebutt has it that the desktop is making a comeback. Even if it doesn't, it certainly won't disappear during my lifetime. So, yes, your points are well taken, but I've always believed in bucking trends and if I can help drive more interest toward D, then I'll feel like I've done something worthwhile. |
November 22, 2019 Re: The Future of the GtkDcoding Blog | ||||
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Posted in reply to Doc Andrew | On Friday, 22 November 2019 at 00:17:33 UTC, Doc Andrew wrote:
> Ron, for what it's worth, I was doing some work using GtkAda recently, and your blog was one of the better references for just understanding the Gtk libs. I don't use Gtk all that often, but I appreciated the reference!
Well, it's worth a lot to me. I'm glad I could help.
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November 22, 2019 Re: The Future of the GtkDcoding Blog | ||||
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Posted in reply to Ron Tarrant | On Friday, 22 November 2019 at 10:42:33 UTC, Ron Tarrant wrote: > On Thursday, 21 November 2019 at 18:56:25 UTC, SashaGreat wrote: > >> Second the timing, at least today "everything is WEB APP", and I'm not saying desktop is dead applications is dead, but most of my current work is converting to WEB. > > I've also been keeping an eye on this trend, too, and even though development is currently centred around web apps, scuttlebutt has it that the desktop is making a comeback. Even if it doesn't, it certainly won't disappear during my lifetime. Hi Ron: I suppose you know about Gtk's Broadway backend, it seems to do its job so a Gtk desktop-app can be a web-app in a very simple way: https://developer.gnome.org/gtk3/stable/gtk-broadway.html Antonio |
November 22, 2019 Re: The Future of the GtkDcoding Blog | ||||
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Posted in reply to mipri | On Friday, 22 November 2019 at 01:33:22 UTC, mipri wrote: > On Thursday, 21 November 2019 at 16:14:48 UTC, angel wrote: > Github sponsorship is very good right now though, since Github > matches the donations, but what I'd suggest is a "Desktop > Applications in D" booklet similar to: I do have something like that in mind. It's still in the early stages, though. Finding the time is the main stumbling block, but I've got a plan to get around that. |
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