Re: gtk-xmthml is released for Gnome consumption

[Erik Walthinsen <omega@omegacs.net>]

> >    The Gtk/XmHTML (the engine we will be using for displaying HTML
> > content) as found on the CVS repository has been fully merged with the
> > autoconf/automake setups and is ready to be used as a Gnome library.
> >    Now we just need a brave soul to start the web browser or help
> > viewer using this.  I am ready to answer questions on how this works
> > to any interested user.  
> hmm... I've been secretly working on a browser for the past few weeks,
> implementing most everything _but_ the html widget - navigation, history,
> gui etc. If I can merge this HTML widget I can probably get a decent
> browser out within a couple of weeks :)
> [why would someone start a browser without doing the html code? because
> I'm making it plug-in based, so the backend got done first.]

Sounds quite a bit like a project that the SEUL project has going, called 
'xhelp'.  It's basically a help browser, currently using Brent Welch's Tcl/Tk 
HTML library, that has a backend and plugin display modules.

As I'm considering GNOME as the interface for the SEUL project (subject to 
more discussion, of course), it would be interesting to compare the 
architecture of Express and our xhelp, and see if the two projects can't be 
merged.  Such a project would go a long way towards both a decent help system 
and a decent web browser.

The only problem I can think of is the fact that users (end-users, non-
computer types, which are the target market for SEUL) might get a little 
confused when presented with help window and a browser window side-by-side.  
The question is, which is which?  Personally, I'd like the two to be at least 
visually distinct, and probably functionally distinct.  This doesn't mean, 
however, that they have to be architecturally distinct.

Comments?

TTYAL,
     Omega

     Erik Walthinsen <omega@seul.org> - SEUL Project system architect
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       /  \                SEUL: Simple End-User Linux -
      |    | M E G A            Creating a Linux distribution
      _\  /_                         for the home or office user