[ews.eclipse.technology.desk] Q: WORA requirement

["Wayne Parrott" <wayne@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Q: How important is Write Once, Run Anywhere in this project?

I recognize this question has potential flame war write all over it but I 
believe it is healthy question to pose as we ponder several directions this 
project can pursue. Here's some background that I have been considering:

1) WORA as a project requirement
If WORA is a project "requirement" then do the results end up being limited 
by a lowest common denonminator constraint? I must admit that WORA has a 
mixed connotation to me when it comes to Java meeting desktop technologies. 
Specifically I can't help but recall my negative experiences with AWT and 
Swing.

2) WORA as a project guideline
I'm a pragmatist and WORA as a project guideline appeals to my pragmatic 
senses. When the WORA guideline over constrains the ability to delivery a 
significant feature that a large population can benefit then my vote is to 
relax the guideline and specialize the platform. This is, not something you 
do on a whim as branching and platform exclusion have a darkside. But I 
believe the Platform team has demonstrated the effectiveness of such a 
policy. Successful examples that come to mind are the SWT_AWT bridge and SWT 
OLE integration.

I believe in the end this project will produce 2 tracks of useful features: 
WORA-specific and platform-specific. Thoughts?