Interview: Greg Brown & Todd Volkert from the Pivot Framework

Greg. I'd like to see Pivot become a real option for Java developers who want to build rich web applications. I think that a lot of developers currently associate the term "rich internet application" with animations and video, but I think that the "richness" comes as much from the availability of more desktop-like functionality as it does from the media features. Delivering a comprehensive and functional widget set was our primary focus for version 1- we'll come back and add support for effects and transitions in a later release. It would be great if we could take advantage of some of the work that has been done for JavaFX in this area.

Todd. We'd like to see Pivot become the platform of choice for cross-platform application developers. Over the next 6 months or so, we'd like to get a number of development teams building real-world applications with Pivot so we can get feedback on what outstanding features are the highest priorities to tackle next.

Can others be involved and what would you like people to do if they want to help?

Todd. Absolutely! Pivot has been open sourced because we want to encourage others to get involved. In the immediate future, the most productive thing developers can do is to start building real applications using Pivot. This will help identify real-world issues and ferret out bugs. Along the way, developers are encouraged to submit patches to any bugs that they discover as well as build new widgets. In the longer term, we anticipate developers contributing to larger functional units in the code base; anyone interested in doing so should familiarize themselves with the code and contact us about where to they might be best utilized.

Greg. The best (and easiest) way to help is to start using Pivot. Spread the word—let other developers know about it. Interest in the platform is ultimately what is going to drive future development. Also, there are a number of features we'd like to add that didn't make the initial release. If you have the inclination, we would certainly welcome the assistance.