Package: wnpp
Severity: wishlist
X-Debbugs-CC: debian-devel@lists.debian.org
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Package name: estron
Version: 0.7.0
Upstream Authors: Neil Williams, Linas Vepstas
URL: http://estron.alioth.debian.org/
License: LGPL
Description: data-centric development interpreter for GNOME
estron supports the creation of data-driven graphic
interfaces based on the structure of the data, not a
programming language. estron interface files are written
in XML and declare an interface between the datasource
and a graphic interface, currently Glade. Interfaces
are designed, improved and operated at runtime. Other
GUI design tools could also be supported.
Estron - the new name for DWI, Data with Integration - is a fairly
simple environment for quickly creating data-driven applications, that
is, graphical applications that manipulate and show info from a
database. This environment differs from others in that it is focused on
native GTK/Gnome support through the Glade GUI designer, and thus allows
you to build user interfaces as elegant as you can make them in Glade.
Multiple SQL database vendors are supported through ODBC or libdbi
drivers. There is a simple db-driver infrastructure so its easy to
support for additional SQL API's.
estron is also related to QOF and the two engines work together so that
estron applications can also access QOF data sources like QSF XML,
sqlite0 and libgda3 (awaiting completion in libqof2).
estron can be the glue between various data sources, providing a common
means of accessing user data, calculating intermediate data and
exporting results in a variety of formats. estron allows users to
design, improve and operate estron interfaces without recompilation. At
all stages, the interface is determined by the structure of the data,
not the limitations or complexity of a programming language.
I've restarted upstream development with help from Linas - the use of
Alioth is purely for easier upstream development, estron is not a native
Debian package.
Expected binary packages: estron (runtime interpreter), estron-examples,
libestron0, libestron-dev, libestron-dbg and libestron-doc (libestron
API). The -dev is only needed when developing applications to export
estron files or interface directly with libestron0 during other
operations. Applications written in estron only need the runtime
interpreter.
My expectation is that quicklist will be one of the current applications
to gain estron export support, providing a simple GUI for creating
estron files (which currently need to be created manually). A full
WYSIWYG estron GUI is also possible.
Some issues remain to be resolved upstream before the 0.7.0 release is
made (removing some deprecated Gtk code mainly). If anyone wants to see
estron available in Lenny (or help make that happen), let me know.
Otherwise, I expect to release and upload estron 0.7.0 alongside libqof2
0.8.0 after Lenny.
The current code is in Debian SVN (link on the alioth homepage) if
anyone wants to try it. (I can prepare a version in experimental if
requested.)
--
Neil Williams
=============
http://www.data-freedom.org/
http://www.nosoftwarepatents.com/
http://www.linux.codehelp.co.uk/
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