ann: PythonOCC 0.1 released

[Jelle Feringa]

-about-
pythonOCC aims to provide a full Python wrapper for the OpenCascade's  
3D CAD modeling/visualization library classes.
The first step is to focus on modeling and import/export classes  
(IGES, STEP, VRML) in order to provide a complete, powerful, and easy- 
to-use 3D modeler using
Python scripts.

-changes-
The pythonOCC build is now modular. New OpenCascade smart pointers  
management. Many additional modules. Improvements in the visualization  
part. Interactive console fixes and enhancements. Availability for  
Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X.

www.pythonocc.org / https://gna.org/projects/pythonocc/

Dear all, It's my pleasure to inform you that pythonOCC 0.1 has been  
released.

This is a huge step in the development of pythonOCC, where we went  
from a monolithic build, to a modular approach. That makes it far  
easier to distribute pythonOCC based apps and speeds up the  
development process by a great deal. Nearly the whole OCC API is  
currently wrapped in pythonOCC. The 0.1 release sets the foundation of  
what's to come the following years. pythonOCC is no longer a proof-of- 
concept it represents the start of Agile CAD development.
My appreciation goes out to Thomas Paviot, who has made a massive  
effort in getting pythonOCC to where it is today.
What's next?
*	Like Thomas mentions on the front page of the pythonOCC site, the  
work has only just begun. The aim of pythonOCC is not to merely wrap  
OCC, but to provide a high-level, pythonic API. An example is the  
Topology.py in the utils directory. An idea is to make a high level  
declarative api. Such that vertex.x = 12.0 would deal with all the  
intrinsics involved in updating the coordinate of a given vertex. The  
api would follow OCC's topology: Vertex, Edge, Face, Solid. The traits  
module developed by Enthought makes event based programming a  
pleasure, and provides hooks for a gui based on introspection.
http://code.enthought.com/projects/traits/
This is just one example of what the high level api could look like.  
We'd appreciate having your ideas / input on this topic very much,  
you're invited to share these at the project site.
*	Given the solid state of the .1 release, its time to formalize the  
development process. Let's start using the bugtracker, task manager  
and the other neat features the project site offers. See https://gna.org/projects/pythonocc/

*	OCC SVN. Currently OCC is distributed as a .tar archive, rather than  
on version control. We need to fix that. We're thinking of putting OCC  
under version control, such that bug fixes, patches, etc. can all be  
merged on one single repository. The OCC community as a whole would  
profit from that, and hopefully become more cohesive.
*	Move the GUI from Wx to QT. Wx is problematic to support on OSX,  
also we expect QT momentum to spike given that the upcoming 4.5  
release will be lgpl'd.
*	PR. pythonOCC needs reach out and get in the open. We're thinking of  
giving a presentation at EuroPython. Did you know that an early  
ancestor of OCC was used to construct the Concorde? That OCC is a  
close relative of Unisurf, the software by Bézier that sparked the  
development of CAD? We need the Bézier's of our time developing on top  
of pythonOCC.
*	Agile CAD. Planning on writing a paper on Agile CAD development /  
Open Source CAD development. pythonOCC is the underpins being able to  
develop CAD apps in a short timeframe, with an OS license. pythonOCC  
should become the premier OS CAD platform.
Thanks so much for all the received feedback and we're looking forward  
to your continued involvement in pythonOCC. The future of Agile CAD  
development is looking bright!

- Thomas Paviot - Jelle Feringa -