AbiWord does not use wxWindows or anything like it. Rather, the XP
architecture was designed specifically for this problem.
Our approach is philosophically different from uniform platform
abstraction libraries like wxWindows or AWT. Most XP toolkits attempt
to create an abstraction layer which is wide enough to accomodate
virtually all platform-specific functionality. In our approach, we've
simply admitted that platform-specific code needs to exist, and we've
adopted a system which helps us deal with it, rather than adopting a
system which helps us try to avoid it. We still use abstraction to
hide platform-specific code, but not pervasively so.
> 2. I have basically the same question about how the installer was
> created.
The installer was hand-written in C. It should be considered a work
in progress, and unless it gets completed, the project may eventually
end up switching to a plain old InstallShield setup program. The
intent of the current installer was to make it XP as well, porting it
to GTK and BeOS later. We have not gotten that far yet. Even the
Win32 version needs some work right now.
> The reason I ask is that our company supports multiple platforms
> and we want to learn how other people solve the inherent problems
> involved.
I'm planning to write a paper on XP development techniques, including
an overview as well as a specific summary of the practices we've used
for AbiWord. It will be a while before it's done, but I'll send a
message to the list when it's ready. If my abstract gets accepted, it
will get done sooner than later.
-- Eric W. Sink, Software Craftsman eric@abisource.com