Anyone want to take over development?

[ShaunR]

A long, long time ago in a galaxy not so far away I developed two xControls in order to create a VI installer. The VI Installer hasn't really gone anywhere but the xControls that it used were for a Toolbar and a Tab Control. (The string indicator which supports colours on the tab page below was another but that is already available - Markup String).

The two xControls are pretty well defined and feature complete but for them to be introduced into the wild, they need "productionising" (documenting and tidying up FP/diagrams and creating VIPM installers). I've sat on them for years so it's not going to be me that does the last few percent and I don't want to be the one that people go to for support (I have enough out there already that I have to support). So if someone wants to take up the mantle, give me a shout and I'll figure out how to release them.

The XControls are self contained with their own examples:

The "Execution Toolbar" xControl example.

The Tab Control xControl example:

If no-one is interested then I'll keep them in my private box and sit on them for another decade. 

Edited November 6, 2023 by ShaunR

[hooovahh]

I know you have an aversion to unnecessary support.  But still I'd suggest you just post them in the code in progress section of LAVA.  I've posted many random projects and VIs on LAVA and the dark side over the years and only my array VIMs, and CAN stuff ever get any questions or comments.  Most of the time the community comments make these code projects better.  And if I'm unwilling to improve them someone else can make the changes. 

As for the specifics of these XControls. I have had a need for a dynamic or ribbon looking interface which is why I made one using the 2D picture control.  I should have made it an XControl, but those gave me so much edge case problems I just have it as a class.  I did see a tab like XControl posted online, but it was very limited in how it worked and the community could probably use another example at how this can be done.  I can't seem to find it now but I think it was on NI.com

[ShaunR]

Support is always necessary.

1 hour ago, hooovahh said:

And if I'm unwilling to improve them someone else can make the changes.

That never happens. It's why there are so many half-finished and buggy projects on github. If I'm not prepared to release and support it, I'll either find someone that can or not release at all. What you've never had, you don't miss-right? One day I might get the energy and time-window, but don't hold your breath.

1 hour ago, hooovahh said:

I have had a need for a dynamic or ribbon looking interface which is why I made one using the 2D picture control. 

Both xControls use the 2d picture control for the button/tab bar. You can add buttons/pages either at design or run-time. Where things might be different of how one envisages these things working is that the buttons are, in essence, callbacks. Pressing a button invokes a VI (which is why it's called the Execution toolbar) but most of the features are around managing the buttons/panels. Both the toolbar and tab bar work very similarly that way (tab bar obviously shows the VI in a sub panel). 

They are pretty feature complete. I suppose the tab bar could add an optional close icon but I never needed it. Hmmm. Maybe I'll add that now 

 

.... perhaps not 

Edited November 8, 2023 by ShaunR

[hooovahh]

1 hour ago, ShaunR said:

Support is always necessary.

I disagree. Large amounts of my code online have never required my support.

1 hour ago, ShaunR said:

That never happens.

It's happened with me several times.  I don't like speaking in these absolutes.  These half finished projects have been extremely valuable to me over the years, way more valuable then having nothing.  Often times I will take the code, polish it, add features, then post it online.  Not as perfect but so someone else could add to it if they ever wanted.  A community that only shares perfect code shares nothing.

[ShaunR]

52 minutes ago, hooovahh said:

I disagree. Large amounts of my code online have never required my support.

It's happened with me several times.  I don't like speaking in these absolutes.  These half finished projects have been extremely valuable to me over the years, way more valuable then having nothing.  Often times I will take the code, polish it, add features, then post it online.  Not as perfect but so someone else could add to it if they ever wanted.  A community that only shares perfect code shares nothing.

Different philosophies that we probably will never agree on.

But in this particular case; I have working code with no known bugs and the price for using it is for someone to take responsibility and ownership of it. 

Edited November 8, 2023 by ShaunR

[Antoine Chalons]

I agree with Hooovahh, a couple of times I was happy to find some unfinished project to use as a starting point (toml, zeromq, rabbitmq, redis)

I also respect your opinion, not wanting to publish in your name some half-finished project that you do not want to support is understandable.

I find this project interesting but I don't do much UI stuff these days.

Still I think it would be cool if somehow, this could be published.

Edited November 8, 2023 by Antoine Chalons

[ShaunR]

16 hours ago, Antoine Chalons said:

a couple of times I was happy to find some unfinished project to use as a starting point (toml, zeromq, rabbitmq, redis)

Happy? Or do you mean grateful for small mercies? You wouldn't have been happier with a documented and example laden product that you can ask questions about and actually works?

No. There is too much of this thinking around nowadays and it annoys the hell out of me. We (programmers generally) used to be better than this. The rigor and community that made OpenG tools is definitely gone now. I'm not quite sure who is to blame for this mindset creeping in but it's just not good enough  BTW. I also get just as annoyed with "Beta" releases or, as I call it, "Still Not Working".

Oh well. Back in the private toolkit it goes. Maybe one day I'll get around to it but it's clear that even if I did release it to the community as-is, it'd just be the spawning point for variants which, quality wise, would be just as bad, if not worse.

[Neil Pate]

This sounds like the perfect candiate for that meme of Orange County Choppers where the dad and the son are yelling at each other:

Son: JUST RELEASE IT ALREADY

Dad: ITS NOT PERFECT

Son: NOBODY WILL GET TO SEE IT OTHERWISE

Dad: I DONT CARE

 

My 1 cents into the issue. The whole spirit of modern software dev is just to hang your dirty laundry out to dry for anyone to inspect. I think this is a change for the good. 

@ShaunR I think you have very little chance of finding someone to maintain (I presume) some very old code , in a state they have never seen, likely with heaps of strings attached, in a super niche area of interest.

Edited November 9, 2023 by Neil Pate

[hooovahh]

3 hours ago, ShaunR said:

Happy? Or do you mean grateful for small mercies? You wouldn't have been happier with a documented and example laden product that you can ask questions about and actually works?

How about halfway happy.  Which is more happy then I'd be with nothing.  I enjoy a community that shares code.  Sharing is caring.  I'm agree that stuff on VIPM.IO should have a bit more polish.  But a random forum post doesn't require the test and rigor of a commercial product.

[Neil Pate]

28 minutes ago, hooovahh said:

How about halfway happy.  Which is more happy then I'd be with nothing.  I enjoy a community that shares code.  Sharing is caring.  I'm agree that stuff on VIPM.IO should have a bit more polish.  But a random forum post doesn't require the test and rigor of a commercial product.

@hooovahh this is literally perfect 🙂

(I see my rusty memory got the roles mixed up).

[Porter]

I would just post it. You can plaster it with a 0-Clause BSD license and walk away.

Zero-Clause BSD – Open Source Initiative

That way if someone likes they can just take over development without bothering you.

It looks like an interesting project but I have no experience with xControls so I wouldn't be the best person to maintain it.