ZDNet Linux editor Evan Leibovitch reports on a growing dialog between developers of the two most popular (and competing) Linux GUIs — GNOME and KDE. Although an increase in internal compatibility between these two GUIs would have the most significance to Linux on the desktop, it would also be beneficial to the use of Linux in embedded applications. Leibovitch writes . . .

“. . . In what may be (we can hope) one of the most significant events to happen in the history of Linux desktops, folks in the GNOME and KDE camps are talking to each other about integrating some of the low-level modular functions. These subsystems — called KParts on the KDE side and Bonobo in the GNOME world — have different underlying technologies, but they serve generally the same purpose. They allow developers to make components that are highly re-usable between applications, similar to Microsoft's Component Object Model (COM) architecture. The good news is that Kparts and Bonobo developers are being encouraged to combine their efforts — or at least provide some framework that lets apps written in one system maintain all their component functionality on the other.”

“It all started when a troller entered GNOME and KDE developer areas and goaded them all for not doing more to interoperate. This resulted in GNOME developers joining a KDE chat area where the discussions started. From there, enthusiast Casey Allen Shobe (who prefers to be known as 'Rivyn') started a publicity campaign to encourage the talks to continue.”

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