Dolphin 6.0?

I guess it is my turn to ask. ;)  Does OA have an idea as to what the
release window on Dolphin 6.0 might be?  Is there likely to be a beta period
open to us mere mortals?  Can we see any screen shots?

Just eager...
Chris

holding my breath...

> holding my breath...

argh, cannot hold it much longer, please have mercy, just a rough estimate,
please... ;-)

Ciao

...Jochen <redfaced>

Jochen, Chris and others,

> > holding my breath...
>
> argh, cannot hold it much longer, please have mercy, just a rough
> estimate, please... ;-)

Okay, okay, I'll take the bait.  You know that we don't normally like
to predict release dates since they will invariably slip but, in any
case, I can use this thread as a platform to air our current thoughts.

First of all, let's deal with the issue of what's in Dolphin 6 so far.
Off the top of my head, and in no particular order:

* Support for full lexical block closures; not only does this allow for
the compiler to distinguish between clean and dirty blocks and
therefore improve performance but it also allows (clean) blocks to be
used in more places than they were previously without holding onto
context object unduly.  This is a boon in the View Composer where
inappropriate use of blocks could often keep zombies alive.

* Enhancements to the garbage collector; further speed improvements (I
can't remember the exact figure now but I think it's something like 20%
faster than D5).

* Integration of the Refactoring Browser Code Rewrite tool into the
class browsers.

* Addition of a Code Mentor tool as class browser plug-in; this uses
Smalllint rules to generate comments on your coding style and, in some
cases, offer automatic transformations to fix problems.

* Use of the Scintilla code editing component for all Dolphin workspace
views; this gives dynamic syntax highlighting and is currently being
expanded to give more Intellisense-like features too. I'd put up a
screenshot but it looks prety much identical to the exsiting RTF
workspace (albeit without the bugs).

* New Sockets2 package that uses overlapped (threaded) calls rather
than the old window message callbacks. The new package presents a
simplified interface so is not directly compatible with the original
Sockets which is retained for compatibility.

* New virtual categories (like "changed") in the class browsers. Also
category membership is displayed by highlighting in the category pane
rather than the current title bar display.

* Lagoon deployment now writes a full application manifest in XML.

* Addition of several new MVP view/presenter components like
SpinButton, MonthCalendarView, RadioButtonSet etc.

* Additional samples, including the DophinWikiWeb now implemented in
Smalltalk rather than (ugh!) Perl and a Genetic Algorithm toolkit. BTW,
the DolphinWikiweb is a plugin to Swazoo and has been enhanced over the
existing version. We'll be using this for our own wiki in the next few
weeks.

* There are many more minor enhancements already implemented (and
probably stuff that I've forgotten) and a number of additional major
facelifts planned (such as to the ViewComposer, ResourceBrowser and
Class/System Browsers).

So now I come on to the thorny issue of the release date. I mentioned
above that one reason we don't like to proffer a release date too early
is because of the possibility (probability) of slippage.  Another
reason is because as soon as we start talking about a Dolphin 6 release
then sales start to fall off as people wait for the new version to come
out.

So, we've decided to introduce a new sales model (in addition to the
existing one) for D6. Currently, one purchases either a new copy of
Dolphin or an upgrade to an existing one when a new version is
released.  The problem with this is that it means that we are unable to
give you access to a lot of the new good stuff until we have a sizeable
package available that warrants a whole new version.  Typically, we
have been running 12 to 18 months between versions in the past which
means that often you have to wait over a year for some features which
we've had working "in the lab" for that length of time. Similarly, we
get no upgrade revenue in the period between new releases (which makes
our cash flow spiky to say the least).

Therefore,in order to combat these two issues, i.e. giving you new
stuff as soon as it becomes available and also smoothing our cash flow
curve, we've decided to introduce a "subscription" or "ongoing
maintenance" model to the existing setup.

The way it will work is something like this.  When you purchase a new
copy of Dolphin you will get 6 months or a years free subscription to
the Dolphin maintenance site.  On that site will be the current stable
release and the current beta release (pretty much in the same way that
many open source projects are managed) which will usually be very close
to the versions we are running here at Object Arts.

For existing users, or when your subscription runs out, you will be
able to purchase a renewed subscription at either a yearly or monthly
rate (we haven't decided which yet). For those people who don't like
the idea of paying a continuous yearly or monthly subscription we will
retain the existing "upgrade" model where you pay a lump sum to get the
latest full version.

We haven't decided on the pricing yet but it is likely that the annual
subscription and lump sum upgrade costs will be similar; the main
advantage to the subscription model is that you'll be able to get
access to new stuff earlier without having to wait for a major release
to become available. The advantage to us, of course, is that we get a
more regular income stream.

The idea is that we will start the subscription process sometime in Q1
2004 so you should have access to Dolphin 6 around that point.

--
Andy Bower
Dolphin Support
www.object-arts.com

Oh, I forgot to mention,

> (and probably stuff that I've forgotten)

new bindings for the Microsoft RegEx and SpeechLib COM controls and a
binding and framework for the Steema TeeChart (www.steema.com) charting
control.

Best regards,

Andy Bower
Dolphin Support

Will one of the improvements over D5 be _documentation_? :-)

--
Howard Ding
<[hidden email]>

...gasp, finally breathing again.

Wow, this all sounds so incredible excellent that I will have a hard time
until somedate next year Q1 (or Q2 ;-).

Thanks for the info!!!!!!!

Ciao

...Jochen

> binding and framework for the Steema TeeChart (www.steema.com) charting
control.

What is meant with framework? Did you create a wrapper around the TeeChart
COM  for easy use?

(BTW: I started this myself a year ago, but went only as far as I absolutely
needed.)

Ciao

...Jochen

Jochen,

> > binding and framework for the Steema TeeChart (www.steema.com)
> > charting
> control.
>
> What is meant with framework? Did you create a wrapper around the
> TeeChart COM  for easy use?
>
> (BTW: I started this myself a year ago, but went only as far as I
> absolutely needed.)

Yes, we too have only gone as far as (we) needed but there is a
presenter component that allows for the plotting of simple charts with
multiple series. The TeeChartView class abstracts part of the (huge)
TeeChart interface, the idea being that a view class for another type
of charting component could be plugged in if necessary.

--
Andy Bower
Dolphin Support
www.object-arts.com

> Yes, we too have only gone as far as (we) needed but there is a
> presenter component that allows for the plotting of simple charts with
> multiple series. The TeeChartView class abstracts part of the (huge)
> TeeChart interface, the idea being that a view class for another type
> of charting component could be plugged in if necessary.

Great, probably I can replace my stuff.
May I ask what you use TeeChart for? As it is not free, I think it is not
delivered with Dolphin (would indeed be a bargain otherwise :-).


Ciao

...Jochen

"Andy Bower" <[hidden email]> wrote in message
news:3fc4b0b9$[hidden email]...
...
> Therefore,in order to combat these two issues, i.e. giving you new
> stuff as soon as it becomes available and also smoothing our cash flow
> curve, we've decided to introduce a "subscription" or "ongoing
> maintenance" model to the existing setup.
...
> The idea is that we will start the subscription process sometime in Q1
> 2004 so you should have access to Dolphin 6 around that point.
...

Thanks for the information.  The new features sound exciting!  I like the
idea of incremental feature updates in a support period and access to betas
would certainly aid in planning.  One thing to consider though is that
towards the end of the year sometimes companies have money left in their
budgets.  It would appeal to me to be able to get started on the
subscription model before the end of the year.  However I am not sure if
this point would be applicable to enough of your users to make it worth
entertaining the notion.  What is the OA policy on volume discounts, I did
not see information on the website?

Hmmm actually it just occurred to me that I suppose we could buy support
incidents, and use them as a credit towards the subscription cost (I assume
that you would permit this?).  This could work, but would be harder to
explain to management then just paying for the support period, and I imagine
would complicated the eventual service payment (i.e. the on-line cart may
not handle it).

Thanks for producing an outstanding product, and continuing to make it more
outstanding.

Chris

>One thing to consider though is that towards the end of the year sometimes
> companies have money left in their  budgets.  It would appeal to me to be
> able to get started on the subscription model before the end of the year.
Yep!
+1

CIao

...Jochen

Jochen,

> May I ask what you use TeeChart for? As it is not free, I think it is
> not delivered with Dolphin (would indeed be a bargain otherwise :-).

It's used in the genetic algorithm lab sample to plot progress.

Best regards,

Andy Bower
Dolphin Support
www.object-arts.com

On 26 Nov 2003 08:55:05 -0500, "Andy Bower" <[hidden email]>
wrote:

>We haven't decided on the pricing yet but it is likely that the annual
>subscription and lump sum upgrade costs will be similar; the main
>advantage to the subscription model is that you'll be able to get
>access to new stuff earlier without having to wait for a major release
>to become available. The advantage to us, of course, is that we get a
>more regular income stream.

It sounds good to me. I'll sign up, even if I continue to be stuck in C# land!

--
Ronald E Jeffries
http://www.XProgramming.com
http://www.objectmentor.com
I'm giving the best advice I have. You get to decide whether it's true for you.

Same here!

jlo

"Ron Jeffries" <[hidden email]> wrote in message
news:[hidden email]...
> On 26 Nov 2003 08:55:05 -0500, "Andy Bower"
<[hidden email]> land!
>
> --
> Ronald E Jeffries
> http://www.XProgramming.com
> http://www.objectmentor.com
> I'm giving the best advice I have. You get to decide whether it's true for
you.