Windows 8 - Metro

[ojn]

Hello:

Are there any plans for Lazarus/Free Pascal to support the new Windows 8 Metro interface in the future?

Thanks,
Jerry

[marcov]

To my best knowledge, nobody is working on it yet. If it is true that you can only run apps in the marketplace on it, that makes the appeal of the platform limited of course, and means that investments must be done to even just test during the development process.

[felipemdc]

Isn't Metro based on HTML? I am not sure since here at works we have absolutely nothing running Metro (despite that we have maybe 1.000 different phones and hundreds of desktops), so I only know it through articles and rumors. But if it is really based on HTML then it is pretty much completely incompatible with Lazarus.

But Windows 8 for tablets will also support DirectX, so the marketplace should too, and we can run Lazarus apps in Windows 8 for tablets via LCL-CustomDrawn, it just needs modifications to the current Win32 interface to use DirectX as the raw canvas instead of GDI. Although it for sure it not a priority for me, as it will most likely be yet another M$ disaster in terms of market share. It is not worth investing in a platform which has 2% market share and will likely either die or change in irrecognizable ways 5 years from now, like Windows Phone 7. It is better to invest in the guys that actually have marketshare, like Android and iOS

[ludob]

If it is true that you can only run apps in the marketplace on it, that makes the appeal of the platform limited of course, and means that investments must be done to even just test during the development process.

Free developer licences are available for testing purposes. Registering is all that is needed.

[cybersmyth]

I think Metro is a HTML5 "sandbox". It's all JavaScript basically. So I don't know if you can really run any kind of compiled Metro apps.

-Joe

[marcov]

Metro has "winrt" apps and html5 apps: http://codesnack.com/blog/2012/01/16/metrosnack-xaml-or-html5/

[ojn]

Thanks for all of the replies.

In various Delphi forums, developers are asking the same question as Embarcadero has not released any road map or plans about future version of Delphi yet.

However, I did see that one third-party Delphi component company has released a set of VCL controls for developing Metro style interfaces. However, this may be using VCL components to develop traditional Win 32 programs that emulate the look and feel of Metro and are not native Metro programs. (I am not sure how this is being implemented.)

See: http://www.tmssoftware.com/site/advmetro.asp .

Could something similar to this be developed for Lazarus/Free Pascal?

Cheers,
Jerry

[marcov]

In various Delphi forums, developers are asking the same question as Embarcadero has not released any road map or plans about future version of Delphi yet.

As a publically traded company they are probably bound by 1001 rules, and probably can't comment on stuff that is not firmly on roadmaps.

Aside from that, they probably have the same problem as we have, there is not
enough publically available (as in software and the feel of the hard, cold hardware in your hands) to comment on.

However, I did see that one third-party Delphi component company has released a set of VCL controls for developing Metro style interfaces. However, this may be using VCL components to develop traditional Win 32 programs that emulate the look and feel of Metro and are not native Metro programs. (I am not sure how this is being implemented.)

Such things are totally defined by boundery conditions. Without knowing the extact technology that they apply (e.g. owner drawn or native) it is hard to say anything sane.

See: http://www.tmssoftware.com/site/advmetro.asp .

Could something similar to this be developed for Lazarus/Free Pascal?

Why don't you simply ask them the requirements of their components, and if they are a port? Many Delphi component vendors also have Lazarus variants nowadays.


 

[ojn]

Hello:

Early word about the features in the upcoming Delphi XE3 can be found at: http://www.deltics.co.nz/blog/?p=1047 .

There, the talk seems to be that XE3 will *not* have native support for the Windows 8 style GUI (formerly known as Metro), but will use a set of VCL controls that give the look and feel of the Win 8 tiled interface.

Cheers,
Jerry

[marcov]

Worse, 3rd party compilers are not allowed, you have to work through the VC++ runtime:

http://www.itwriting.com/blog/6347-third-party-compilers-locked-out-of-windows-runtime-development.html/comment-page-1#comment-1808075

[joseme]

TMS library only adds "W8 look and feel" components. It should be easy to an experienced developer to recreate at least some of the involved components. It can be done using free W8 icons from Metro Style 2 app.

[marcov]

TMS library only adds "W8 look and feel" components. It should be easy to an experienced developer to recreate at least some of the involved components. It can be done using free W8 icons from Metro Style 2 app.

Like Metropolis, that is IMHO pointless. Metro is about the marktplace, and without marktplace, there is IMHO no need for metro.

[joseme]

Like Metropolis, that is IMHO pointless. Metro is about the marktplace, and without marktplace, there is IMHO no need for metro.

I think there are two aspects in the thread, one about Metro as an app market, another about Metro as an interface or style. First one may be pointless, second one surely not.

[User137]

TMS library only adds "W8 look and feel" components. It should be easy to an experienced developer to recreate at least some of the involved components. It can be done using free W8 icons from Metro Style 2 app.

Can you do that without doing some sort of copyright breach? I can imagine Microsoft has patented grid like layout.

[marcov]

The c
  about Metro as an interface or style.

The interface style is called tile-based, not metro. Metro is the platform. (and strictly speaking Embarcaderoes use of Metropolis is thus wrong, but since they try to emulate Metro-the-platform that is maybe forgivable)

It's pretty nice, but to me it looks mainly useful for media and RSS consumption devices. (with touch probably)

I'm behind windows 8 for the bulk of two-three weeks now, and the idea in Windows 8 suffers a bit from being both an cockpit(overview) of small streams (like weather etc) and a app selection panel. On a PC, the number of apps is much higher, so that quickly conflicts.

And of course it is bolted onto Windows (desktop) with ducttape to begin with.

But enlighten me, what do you think it is good for outside the Metro-the-platform world?