KDE Plasma 6 Alpha Approaches Next Week With The Soft Feature Freeze

[lowflyer]

If you're bundling an intepreted language into things for the UI-building layer, there's always Python. PySide is the only official binding for a general-purpose (non-QML) memory-safe language (like QtJambi for Java used to be), Python has MyPy which, as far as I know, does better than any available QML linter/type-checker when put in strict mode, and PySide grants access to the QWidget APIs, unlike QML.

As a KDE user who values snappy, native-feeling interfaces but doesn't trust himself to write memory-unsafe code, I write all my GUIs with PyQt or PySide. (Mostly PyQt for historical reasons.) The work split Qt enables between Python and C++ means the Python code stays I/O-bound waiting on the user and, if I do need to do some CPU-bound stuff, there's always Rust and PyO3.

...and, for context, I'm running on a dual-core Athlon II X2 270 from 2011 (chosen based on a 65W TDP upper limit) where Firefox is pretty much constantly taking up 25% of available CPU time when "idling" and Thunderbird's new v115 webtech UI made Thunderbird painfully sluggish... but my Python+QWidget apps are still nice and snappy.

Thanks a lot for that excellent point you make here. I've played around Python with Qt in the past (before PyQt), but never got beyond a demo app. I've never considered this to be an alternative to QML. But I will look into this.

[lowflyer]

<snip/>
I guess the question is, are there any viable alternatives?
I feel like C++ would really slow down development and complicate it to a point where it would greatly reduce the number of contributors (even though it would, in theory, speed up the software). There would have to be something with the accessability of QML without the downsides. C++ also seem to be a nightmare in regards to bugs and security (due to how meticulous and skilled programmers have to be with that particular language) and thus not really being a real option in the first place (as new languages like Rust seem to solve a lot of problems).

Another alternative popped up in my inbox: TAURI

In my previous comment I said

Your only option is to exercise patience until Rust...

According to my quick, superficial study, it looks like this might be what you're looking for: A rust-based framework for desktop that can use web technologies for the user interface.

[ssokolow]

Thanks a lot for that excellent point you make here. I've played around Python with Qt in the past (before PyQt), but never got beyond a demo app. I've never considered this to be an alternative to QML. But I will look into this.

Feel free to poke me if there's anything you're wondering about.