User:Chani/WayOfThePlasma/Categories/Scripting
How much functionality should bindings expose to plasmoid developers?
Conclusion
It should be possible for anyone to develop plasmoids. Therefore script bindings should not expose too much API, instead concentrating on offering basic functionality in an as easy as possible manner.
Original Text
Aaron Seigo
this is a fundamental misunderstanding of how Plasmoid scripting should really happen.
the goal is NOT to provide a complete set of bindings for scripts to go crazy with. why? because that would make it nearly impossible for *average* people to write things. hell, we may as well ask them to go off and learn a "real" language at that point.
no, the goal is provide a very well contained and *small* API that is not a 1:1 mapping to all the power and glory that is Qt and C++ and the rest of the world, but a simplified API. ever wonder why i spent so much time doing DataEngine which is simply a shim between plasma components and *real* data models? yeah, because *real* data models are too varied and too complex; they would require tons of bindings all over the place and tons of explanation to the plasmoid writer.
instead we have one little set of api (essentially 2 functions, from a script's perspective) that opens the whole world of data to them.
while your perspective is correct from a general language bindings perspective, one needs to start thinking in terms of consumer development environment (not programmer developer environment) and the general goals of plasma to get this right in the context of plasma.