Hi folks! I'm an experienced Rails developer, but for once this is not a Rails question. Rather, I have a desktop app I'd like to create -- we're talking something like a spreadsheet-type app, though not quite. Since I've been using Ruby more than any other language for the last 2 years, and since I love working in Ruby, I'd like to try to write the app in Ruby to the extent possible. Since this is meant as an end-user productivity application for nontechnical users, and since I'd like the barriers to use of this app to be as low as possible, I have a couple of requirements: * Must run on Linux, Mac OS X, and Windows, preferably with a minimum of hassle in the build process * Must install with a minimum of extra dependencies -- ideally I'd like people to be able to download an executable, unzip it, and run it immediately, without needing administrator permissions * Should feel as much like a native app as possible -- I don't want users to have to deal with an alien UI I suppose I could go the RIA route, but I tend to think a native app would be better... So...does anyone have any suggestions for a good way to do this in Ruby? My thought process so far has been about like this -- feel free to correct me on anything I got wrong. * RubyCocoa: would be my first choice if I didn't care about cross-platform compatibility, but I don't think I can expect to run a RubyCocoa app on anything but Mac OS and maybe GnuStep * Ruby/Tk, Ruby/Qt: I'm under the impression that these tend to need big library installations, especially on Windows. Is that correct? * wxRuby: Don't know a heck of a lot about it * Shoes? Is that still around now that Why has vanished? Is it worth using? * JRuby/RJB: at the moment, seems like the best choice (as much as I get annoyed by working with Java). Is that an accurate assessment? If so, what tends to get used for GUI libraryies? Swing/Monkeybars/Profligacy? * Any other suggestions? I hope I'm not being too idiotic here. I don't know nearly as much as I should about the current state of desktop GUI app development in Ruby, and I'd like to fix that! Thanks. Best, -- Marnen Laibow-Koser http://www.marnen.org marnen / marnen.org -- Posted via http://www.ruby-forum.com/.