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History of NeoOffice and OpenOffice.org: NeoOffice
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Revision as of 11:15, 28 May 2005
This overview and history consists of several pages. Click on the links in the box to the right to move to the previous or next section.
Neolithic Office for Java™ (NeoOffice®/J)
In June of 2003, Patrick Luby, the lead developer on Sun’s old Mac OS X port of StarOffice™, introduced NeoOffice®/J, a second project under the NeoOffice umbrella. The immediate goal of NeoOffice/J was to remove the need for X11 when running OpenOffice.org. Leveraging Java’s status as a “first-class citizen†for Mac OS X programming, NeoOffice/J features superior integration with Mac OS X. For instance, NeoOffice/J uses the native Mac OS X printing engine and dialogue boxes, native Mac OS X fonts, rendering and text-layout technologies, language and keyboard support (including support for East Asian and RTL/CTL languages and input methods), native copy-paste/clipboard support, double-click and drag-and-drop opening of files, support for Macintosh file aliases, and more. A large portion of the “native†Mac code is Java, but C++, C, and Objective-C code also comprise the Mac-specific code in NeoOffice/J.
As NeoOffice/J had proved itself both stable and user-friendly with a growing following, it is considered by many of the Mac OOo developers as the best vehicle for further Mac OS X integration and the addition of a Mac “look-and-feel†to OpenOffice.org technology. Thus beginning with NeoOffice/J 1.1 Alpha 2 (September 2004; based on OpenOffice.org 1.1.2), Patrick Luby and Edward Peterlin embarked on a process of “Aquafication†of NeoOffice/J. The first step was the replacement of X11/Windows-style in-window menus with a native Aqua menubar; buttons, scrollbars and other Aqua interface elements are expected to be added in the coming months.
Alpha 2 also added mouse scroll-wheel support, text drag-and-drop (within NeoOffice/J itself only), WordPerfect file import using the libwpd and WriterPerfect libraries (libwpd.sf.net), patches delivered via the Apple Installer, and patch update notification. NeoOffice/J 1.1 Beta (December 2004; based on OpenOffice.org 1.1.3) featured new Finder application and document icons, a new splash screen, and language packs providing localized user interfaces for 40 languages. NeoOffice/J 1.1 Release Candidate (March 2005; based on OpenOffice.org 1.1.4) featured many other improvements, including support for drag-and-drop between NeoOffice/J and other applications and additional Aquafication improvements.
Currently only two developers, Patrick Luby and Edward H. Peterlin, are working on NeoOffice/J. Reflecting the size and complexity of a project based on (and fully compatible with) OpenOffice.org, maintenance of NeoOffice/J has become nearly a full-time job, and Patrick and Ed have spent approximately 3000 hours and $4000 over the past two years maintaining and developing NeoOffice/J.
Screenshots of NeoOffice/J
NeoOffice/J 1.1 Alpha 2 Patch 4 (First public Aqua menu patch, 10-Nov-2004)
http://homepage.mac.com/sardisson/neoj/neoj11aqua_newdoc_th.gif http://homepage.mac.com/sardisson/neoj/neoj11aqua_recordchanges_th.gif
Additional screenshots illustrating the process of "Aquafication" are available in the NeoOffice/J Screenshots Archive.
