[PyKDE] Black Adder

[Phil Thompson]

Eron Lloyd wrote:
> 
> Hey guys - did anyone catch the latest from theKompany? Seems like a new
> product, "Black Adder", was released! Has anyone looked at this yet? I
> haven't contact anyone, but I'm very interested in having something like this
> to develop KDE apps with. I want to know more details, though, because some
> of the stuff I don't quite understand:

You're too quick for me. I'll post something more detailed when the
press release goes out (probably tomorrow), but to answer your specific
questions...

> 1. Is it a complete IDE, or is it PyQT, Eric, QT, Eric, and TrollTech
> Designer all mixed together? I'm really hoping it's like a Visual Delphi
> tool, which integrates project management, code libraries, GUI elements, etc.
> It would be awesome if it were actually a KDE app that integrated with the
> desktop well...

It is PyQt + class documentation for Python (rather than C++) + mxODBC +
Qt + an IDE. The IDE is an enhanced Qt Designer that allows you to
organise things into projects, includes a Python-aware editor, a
debugger and the Python interpreter in a window.

> 2. Will it have the KDE bindings for KDE 2.0 as well?

No. BlackAdder is targetted at both Windows and Linux. When you buy it,
you get a copy for both platforms. That said, you will be able to use it
to develop PyKDE applications (should I ever find the time to release
PyKDE for KDE 2).

> 3. What about licensing of components coded with it - I work for a
> non-profit, but will definately want to distribute my apps to other sites for
> deploying - can they be GPL'd?

There are two editions: Personal and Business. The Business Edition
allows you to re-distribute the run-time elements (excluding mxODBC)
with your application.

> 4. It looks like the version for sale is Beta... is that a good thing?? I
> don't know too many IT Shops that would purchase it if they saw this.

There is a discount if you purchase during the Beta period. This beta is
probably slightly less "dangerous" than most because the most important
bits (Python, PyQt and Qt) are all established packages.

> I have other concerns too, like will there be API docs, etc. It says that
> there are 50 Mb of HTML docs, but what does this include - SIP generated API
> docs, QT docs, etc.?

As I said these are the Qt docs translated for Python (or will be by the
time of the final release).

> If this is what I think it is, then it could not only become a killer
> application, but could readily leverage Python and KDE/Qt as a development
> alternative to the "crappy, yet ubiquitous" status-quo.

I hope so!

Phil