Comment Cross-platform from a UI standpoint (Score 1) 103
Writing with a cross-platform GUI is a good idea from the coding standpoint, because it allows you to write the software only once and it will work the same everywhere. But working the same everywhere isn't always what you want...
Consider that when you write a GUI any given platform, you want it to "feel" like it belongs there. Every OS has its own defining characteristics and expected behaviors, and those are an important aspect from the user's standpoint and greatly help the overall consistency of the user's desktop.
For example in your cross-platform GUI, do you use standard Windows key bindings? Mac key bindings? Emacs key bindings? It doesn't matter what you choose, it will be foreign to some percentage of users because it doesn't match their expectations (the OS defaults). The same thing applies to a number of other behaviors (like menu organization, right-mouse-button actions, etc.).
So even if your cross-platform GUI toolkit renders using the native widgets of the platform, it's still not going to "feel" the same as a UI designed specifically for that platform. You may be excited because your app works the same on all platforms, but users won't be excited when it doesn't work quite right on *their* platform.
Consider that when you write a GUI any given platform, you want it to "feel" like it belongs there. Every OS has its own defining characteristics and expected behaviors, and those are an important aspect from the user's standpoint and greatly help the overall consistency of the user's desktop.
For example in your cross-platform GUI, do you use standard Windows key bindings? Mac key bindings? Emacs key bindings? It doesn't matter what you choose, it will be foreign to some percentage of users because it doesn't match their expectations (the OS defaults). The same thing applies to a number of other behaviors (like menu organization, right-mouse-button actions, etc.).
So even if your cross-platform GUI toolkit renders using the native widgets of the platform, it's still not going to "feel" the same as a UI designed specifically for that platform. You may be excited because your app works the same on all platforms, but users won't be excited when it doesn't work quite right on *their* platform.
