Just one wish.

[alan_federman]

This is my selfish opinion - I want Celestia to become wildly popular - in order for this to happen the program has to work the same on multiple platforms.

There sohuld be one Celestia. The Mac Version should work the same as the Windows version. A user of one should be able to sit down at another and have the program work in the same way. If you want to load a script, you should be able to go to the file pull down and point and click.
As it is now:

Windows (File browse for Script Version)
Unix (Some versions allow dragging script over to program icon)
MAC (Demo script only works)


If you click on a cel: url on your browser, Celestia should start up and take you to that location.


Windows yes
Unix no
Mac no

I can run Netscape, Eudora, MS office apps on my Mac and PC and do so from a common usb keyboard and mouse. There is no reason why, that by taring and untaring the Celestia data directories, or copying them from the web I can't duplicate my Celestial experience on different platforms.

[HankR]

Alan,

I believe there are two issues here.

First, not all features have yet been implemented on all platforms. This is basically a matter of time and effort. Eventually, we'll get there (at least insofar as the different platforms permit; see below).

Second, there are minor differences between versions in the GUI. This is partly a matter of GUI style differences between platforms, and partly a matter of developer inclination. As far as I know there's at present no commitment to having absolutely identical GUIs on all platforms.

Regarding your specific examples, with respect to the MacOS X version:

Script file execution just hasn't been implemented yet. It's on the list. (It shouldn't be a lot of work. It's just a matter of getting to it.)

The "cel:" URL problem is actually a browser issue. I do not know how to get Safari to understand "cel:" URLs, and I suspect it may not be possible. As a work around, you can use the contextual menu in Safari to copy the URL to the clipboard, then launch Celestia and paste the URL from the clipboard. It's not as nice as one-click, but it gets you there. Until someone can figure out how to configure Safari to launch Celestia to handle "cel:" URLs, this is the best we can do.

But I think the main issue is that Celestia is a moving target, and it just takes time and effort to keep all the platforms in sync. Again, we'll get there eventually. You'll have to be patient. Or better yet, pitch in (instead of... ).

- Hank

[Christophe]

cel: URLs do work on Unix, but only when using Konqueror. Celestia is a KDE application after all...

It's probably possible to get them to work on mozilla based browsers but since I don't use any of them I haven't looked into it.

Starting a script can also be done from the File->Open menu command on Unix too, just like on Windows.

Generaly speaking I think it is more important for all versions of Celestia to integrate well with their respective platforms rather than being identical.

[HankR]

I had forgotten: on MacOS X, you can also drag and drop "cel:" URLs from Safari onto the Celestia window. This is easier than cut and paste and not a lot more trouble than one-click.

BTW, on Unix I believe there are actually several versions of Celestia (KDE, GTK, GLUT). The KDE version is the most advanced. (I've heard it actually exceeds the Windows version in some respects.)

- Hank

[Christophe]

The KDE version is the most advanced. (I've heard it actually exceeds the Windows version in some respects.)

Of course it does! :-)

The windows and KDE versions are pretty similar now. The KDE version adds a tool bar and shortcut configuration window but still lacks the video capture tool.

[Paolo]

To alan_federman

I perfectly agree with you. Celestia should be a true cross platform program, with the same identical features available on every version (if the revision number is the same).

Christophe said that the most important thing is the integration with the respective platform. The fact is that the UI related aspects causes that this integration is somewhat difficult on some platforms.

I think that the problem of differences between Celestia versions will even increase in the future. For instance multilanguage on KDE version will soon be a reality, but the porting of this feature on other platforms is difficult.

I still think that a unique multiplatform UI should be the better choice to facilitate the true cross platform in next Celestia Versions.

Bye - Paolo

[HankR]

Alan and Paolo,

I don't necessarily disagree with you. I'm just telling you what the current reality is regarding Celestia development, as I understand it.

If I am not mistaken, I believe that anyone who wants to do so would be welcome to step forward and build a common cross-platform UI for Celestia. I am sure that Chris would be happy to accommodate them. Actually, I think the GLUT is likely to be available on any platform that supports OpenGL, so the GLUT version of Celestia is already something close to a cross-platform UI for Celestia. You're free to use it if you prefer. An official OpenGL API binding for Java has recently been announced, so a Java-based API is another possibility. And there are other options as well. It's just a matter of finding someone willing to volunteer to do the work.

- Hank

[alan_federman]

Thanks for the replies.


After a weekend at Tahoe - I am a bit calmer. I really would like to pursue the cross-platform thing. By this I mean Celestia Data should transfer cross platform. In the Mac version - .ssc, texture, models, .cel
etc all workd the same with the exception of the favorites.cel (Location or bookmark) file. I understand there are differences in GUI. In my reality. the user of Celestia doesn't know or care what a GUI is. If they click on it an nothing happens the first time, they go away and never use the product again. (This is why it is really bad to start up on IO, if you get there and it is night or eclipsed you have one confused, PO'd newbie.)

Because 90% of my potential users ar Wintel - that is what I have to concentrate on - however the very vocal 10% Mac minority can kill me if they can't get the same functionality. It would be nice if PC user a could E-mail Mac user B their Celestia bookmarks and both could be happy.
- right now that is impossible.

So that is my *itch. Celestia data types should work cross-platform regardless of GUI differences and even if implemetation differences are unavoidable.

[Christophe]

I see a use for being able to import bookmarks across platforms, but I don't think anyone would want to overwrite his bookmarks with someone else's.

So the internal storage format is not that important, but it should be easier to export/import a set of bookmarks.

[HankR]

Alan,

Your point about sharing bookmark files is a good one, and I will investigate fixing it. I also hope to add the other features missing from the Mac version, but it takes time. Ask your Mac users to be patient. As a Mac guy myself, I understand their annoyance.

It does help for me to hear what your Mac users' priorities are. I've never tried to share a bookmark file, so I hadn't given the problem much thought. So please don't hesitate to report what your Mac users are complaining about.

- Hank

[alan_federman]

Great. It seems we are all on the same(home) page. Our strength is as the strenght of ten because our hearts are pure!