[Sugar-devel] acti-plications: write once, run anywhere?

[Bert Freudenberg]

On 18.01.2011, at 18:41, Erik Blankinship wrote:

> On a dual-boot XO, does it make sense to use the same binary code for sugar activities also in gnome applications?  If so, are there guidelines or example acti-plications?

I think it makes a lot of sense. That's one of the reasons the Etoys activity bundle is but a tiny wrapper. Etoys works as stand-alone application in Gnome and as activity in Sugar.

> If the same binary code is not re-used by both platforms, but just the same code base, are there guidelines or examples of how to re-use the same code base effectively?  Off the top of my head, how data is serialized is handled differently between the two platforms.

Yes. Etoys switches the tool bar, e.g., the insert object/keep a copy buttons are replaced by file load/save buttons, the sharing button goes away, a full-screen button is added. The file format is the same, but different code paths are used.

> This question is of particular concern to acti-plications with many media assets, like some video games.  It would be nice to avoid file redundancy.  Given the small size of the XO netbooks, I hope this question is on mark for this community.

Right on.

- Bert -