Win32 Client port was: Re: [Box Backup] traffic statistics

[Dennis Speekenbrink]

*changed the subject line for easier reference in the mail archive :) *

>I am one of the people working on Win32 porting, although that is on hold 
>right now until I get hold of the work others have done already in working 
>towards this, and while I work on the GUI.
>
>I haven't looked in detail at how much work has been done, and how much is
>left to do, but I suspect that "in a few months, perhaps 6" might be a
>good time to expect a native Win32 port to be available.
>
>We will certainly be able to use some help with testing then, but right 
>now, we need more coders.
>
>Boxbackup itself is, and I imagine will remain, a daemon without a user
>interface of its own (except a configuration file). I am building the GUI 
>as a separate component for licensing and isolation reasons, and also for 
>convenience, as Ben is a hard taskmaster and assuming that he were ever 
>to allow GUI code into Box (unlikely), it would take aeons to make it 
>solid enough for his satisfaction :-)
>
>Believe me, this separation is a Good Thing(TM). You don't want your 
>backup software to crash if the GUI crashes, and if the backup software 
>crashes, you want something to be able to notify you about it. Different, 
>specialised user interfaces can be made available, including networked and 
>HTTP-administrated ones, using a generic interface that Ben and I are 
>thrashing out right now (although my contributions have been somewhat 
>lacking due to time constraints of a full-time job, Ben's have been 
>excellent and put me to shame). 
>
>I fully intend for there to be a good, stable, well-integrated, native
>service/daemon port of Box to Win32, and a good, natural, easy-to-use,
>cross-platform, open source GUI with all the functionality one would
>expect, but loosely coupled to Box. 
>
>And I am working on it, but at the pace I can manage, which isn't very
>much. I could use some coders to help me with it, and later I could use
>some help testing it too. If anyone can help, whatever your skill level, I
>would greatly appreciate it, and I'm sure I'm not the only user who wants
>these things for Box.
>
>Hope this helps,
>
>  
>
Very much!
The seperation between backup daemon and GUI is now clear, and indeed a 
very smart idea.  In hindsight I shouldn't have been so suprised :-)

When you do collect the work others have done on porting to win32, 
please post a request for coders on this list.
I can't promise to contribute much, but I will certainly look into it.
My general programming level is average, but my C/C++ knowledge is very 
low  (though eager to learn, I cannot predict what contributions I can 
make).

One thing though: you mention licensing reasons for the split, are there 
plans for taking up a different license for the win32 port?

Thanks for the information,

Dennis