[Pipet Devel] Open DX as a loci skeleton?

[Harry Mangalam]

Tim Triche wrote:
> 
> Just a note, that while DX is a damn nifty program and akin to what some of
> the NCGR folks were trying to do a while back, it is a complex beast with many
> quirks.  Be sure to read the opendx-users list and pay attention to what people
> like Greg Abrams and Chris Pelkie have to say... they know what they're doing.

Thanks Tim, I've been signed up for several months - this is where I got a
lot of my info about DX.

> Also worth a look is the VTK package, http://www.kitware.com/vtk.html -- it is
> a set of C++ classes rather than an integrated app like DX, but sometimes that's
> even better.  And sometimes it's not...

I saw this just recently - do you have more experience with vtk?  I have
none at all, but one thing that does appeal to me is the visual programming
paradigm of DX.  That translates into programability not only for
developers, but especially for users (even if they might have to be
relatively attuned users).

> One thing that DX has which VTK doesn't is a lot of Motif dependencies for the
> VPE.  

But it's worth noting that DX now compiles and seems to run OK w/ Lesstif.  

> But perhaps Java Explorer is the answer to that problem.  

But then you have all those Java dependencies ;)....

>                                                             In any event,
> the DX people are way cool and their code is at least comprehensible (like the
> VTK code, but unlike some code I've seen) so I'm sure you'll find a lot of ways
> to leverage their work.

> Best of luck.  I really wish I had enough time to work on cool stuff like this
> nowadays.  Money is nice but I miss the challenge of nasty projects like yours.

'Nasty' is sometimes a very accurate word...

thanks for your words of warning - there's no thing as a free lunch, but
sometimes you find something that will pay for the meatloaf so you can
spend more on dessert.. But you do have to be careful that the meatloaf
doesn't tie you to tapioca pudding.  Or something..

-- 
Cheers,
Harry

Harry J Mangalam -- (949) 856 2847 -- mangalam at home.com