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Re: Integrating QT application with TK appplication

Subject: Re: Integrating QT application with TK appplication
From: Bo Thorsen
Date: Fri, 10 Mar 2006 13:56:33 +0100
Friday 10 March 2006 04:05 Rajan, Vivek K wrote:
> We have a legacy CAD application written in TCL/TK - it is a huge
> application, with lots of widgets, canvas, bind-keys, pull-down menus,
> pop-up windows, tabs, etc.
>
> We have a new CAD application which is written in QT - it also has lots
> of widgets, canvas, bind-keys, pull-down menus, and such.

Hi Rajan,

This is not an answer to your question, but just my opinion on what situation 
you are headed for.

I have previously been on a fairly big project where we had an old Windows MFC 
system integrated into the new Qt solution. The idea with this was that we 
would have something that actually worked, while the process of rewriting 
everything went on.

Technically, there was nothing wrong with this. It did indeed run, and it did 
function as intended. But there were two really big problems involved:

- usability sucked! It was almost impossible for non-technical users to 
understand what was wrong with the application when they went to the old 
part. It turned out to be impossible to make a look-and-feel that actually 
made the application usable during the transition

- we had to spend *a lot* of time writing glue code. It's one thing to 
integrate a legacy application into a new one. But when you keep driving the 
border between these two, this problem goes off the scale. It's incredibly 
difficult to end up with a sound design, when some of your data is always 
present in the old part of the application

For these two reasons, it was eventually decided that we just had to take the 
plunge and do the full Qt conversion in one big step. And that turned out to 
be a really good decision.

So, if this is the situation you are thinking about going for, remember that 
it will take you a lot longer time to do it this way than to do the rewrite 
in one big step. And there are problems with this path that potentially leads 
to a weaker application.

Bo.

-- 

Thorsen Consulting ApS - Qt consulting services
http://www.thorsen-consulting.dk

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