Roadmap

Inkscape Development Roadmap

NOTE: This is a working document showing specific near-term tasks needed for achieving the numbered milestones.

Milestones 0-11 have been completed since the start of the Inkscape Project. See OldRoadmap

Milestone 12 - Inkscape 0.46

New/Changed Dependencies:

• Gtk 2.8 (required)
• 2geom (optional)

Architectural Refactoring Effort:

• Eliminate all use of sp_repr_new in favor of XML::Document::* classes (see [1])
• Migrate SPObject to native C++ classes
• Implement gradient UI "release" handler to deal with gradient garbage collection (see bug 984854)
• Create an SPObject API for tracking references and avoiding id clashes on import and interdocument copy/paste. What we need are a void SPDocument::importCopies([set of SPObjects]), and an [set of SPObjects] SPObject::dependencies() method.
• Prepatory work to integrate lib2geom next release

Codebase Cleanup Effort:

• Change to use of GQuarks instead of #defines where feasible
• Learn and use autoscan and autoreconf to find out which configure tests are still needed.
• Clean up configure.in
• (PARTIALLY DONE) DirectoryReorgProposal
• Convert all tabs into spaces (convert tabs to 4 spaces)
  • Also see http://sourceforge.net/mailarchive/message.php?msg_id=7164324
• Remove trailing whitespace
  • See http://wiki.inkscape.org/wiki/index.php/InkscapeJanitors#Cleanup:_Whitespace
• Rename all 'SPFooBar' routines to 'FooBar' and put into namespaces
  • (DONE) dialogs folder
• (DONE) Convert use of gboolean to bool where feasible
• (DONE) Switch from use of TRUE/FALSE to true/false

File Format Support Effort:

• PDF Import/Export
  • Identify remaining problems with the cairo-based PDF tool
  • Ensure clippaths, transparency, bitmaps, etc. all work

Inkboard Effort

• Stabilize the code by closing crash bugs in the bug tracker

SVG Feature Compliance Effort:

• Animation
  • Sketch out UI mockup ideas for animation rendering/animation
  • Make an ultra-preliminary proof of concept of at least one animation feature

Extension Effort:

• Unification of the way to display help on extensions
• Localizable help of bundled extensions
• Effect extensions browser

User Documentation Effort:

• Re-arrange tutorial categories [ScislaC]
• Switch to use of xml2po for tutorial files (Colin Marquardt)
• Document filters

Milestone 13 - Inkscape 0.47

New/Changed Dependencies:

• Gtk 2.10 (required)
• 2geom (required)

File Format Support Effort:

• PDF Import/Export
  • Choice of PDF spec. (PDF/X-1a, PDF/X-3)
  • Add file info/comments
  • Add color bars
• Visio support
  • Add extension for use of VDX2SVG (http://vdxtosvg.sourceforge.net/)
  • Add extension for use of PDF2SVG (http://www.solidcode.net/pdf2svg/ - this doesn't actually link to a useful page)

Tools:

• correct handling of multiple font faces by Text tool
• Filters tool

Architectural Refactoring Effort:

• 2geom Integration
  • Eliminate code in favor of 2geom where feasible
• Convert remaining GTK dialog code to Gtkmm

DOM Binding Effort:

• Evaluate Adobe Activescript to use instead of Spidermonkey for our JS engine
• Create sample prototype app to explore ActiveScript
• Decide whether to go with Spidermonkey or Adobe ActiveScript

User Interface Effort:

• improvement of svg patterns UI - make it similar to gradient-drag, instead of piggybacking knotholder
• Palettes
  • Custom palettes like from Gnome
  • Ability to load 3rd-party palettes (e.g. Pantone, Trumatch, Focoltone, Toyo, etc.)
• Reenable fuzzy font matching [bb]
• Improve freehand curve smoothness [pjrm, paraprax]

Desktop Integration Effort:

• Replace existing printer dialog with one from gtk 2.10
• Inter-application cut-and-paste
• Inter-application drag-and-drop

Testing Effort:

• Include some rendering tests in `make check'.
• Get 'make check' to pass on Win32 and OSX
• Investigate performance measurement testing for Inkscape

Animation Effort

• Create a written conceptualization of how it should work
  • Currently, part of the concept discussion is at here

Inkboard Effort

• Ensure multi-user conferences work across most JEP-compliant Jabber servers
• Conduct an informal security analysis of Inkboard for security flaws

User Documentation Effort:

• Solicit more tutorial contributions from userbase
  • Node editing
  • Advanced text effects
  • Grid snapping
  • Connectors
  • Creating photo-realistic art

Milestone 14 - Inkscape 0.48 - Animation

• Get basic rendering and authoring of simple animations working adequately

Architectural Refactoring Effort:

• Complete lib2geom integration
• Streamline style.*
  • Eliminate use of the style.h types in as much of codebase as possible, particularly display/*.
  • Externally, it should present a simple sset of accessor methods for getting/setting properties by name, and propagating to/from repr.
  • Inside, it should have:
    • a concise list of property names with the expected domain of values in CSS and the associated Inkscape data type
    • a concise list of property aliases which represent one or more properties combined, each with the rule used to combine
    • definitions of the aforementioned rules and value domains
    • some generic code (not tied to any one property) implementing the needed behavior

DOM Binding Effort:

• Create tool that reads the w3c idl files and generates binding code
• Bind xpath parsing/execution
• Finish the CSS-DOM classes
• Add a 'run' mode in a separate window that runs and displays the scripted SVG

Desktop Integration Effort:

• WebDAV/FTP support via GNOME-VFS, Neon, or the like
• Finish making printing work more efficiently and reliably
• Clipart manager GUI

File Format Support Effort:

• PDF Import/Export
  • Generate multipage PDF documents
  • Define bleed and slug areas for offset printing
  • Add crop, bleed and registration marks

Milestone 15 - Inkscape 0.49 - Prototype all SVG Mobile features

SVG Feature Compliance Effort:

• Ability to select which SVG spec version to save as
• Multi-page
• Animation
• Implement perspective transformations via PerspectiveObject
• Path editing
• Shaped strokes
• Masking/clippaths
  • on-canvas editing
  • Should work like gradient tool to apply transparency
• hyperlinking
• Ensure Inkscape does not throw away the internal DTD subsets of documents it reads

Milestone 16 - Inkscape 0.50 - SVG Mobile Support

SVG Feature Compliance Effort:

• Multi-page
• Scripting
• Markers
  • Inherit stroke properties like color
  • On-canvas editing
  • Fix snapping issue
• Real CMYK / LAB / HSB support

Milestone 17 - Inkscape 0.51

Architectural Refactoring Effort:

• cairo Adoption Effort:
  • Prereq: Is renderer immune to the same kinds of numerical problems we see with our new renderer, libnr, or libart?
  • Will the new renderer improve performance for most users?
  • Integrate a cairo-based SVG Canvas library

File Format Support Effort:

• Native Adobe Illustrator file Import/Export
  • Requires good PDF Import/Export
• Native CorelDraw file Import/Export
• DXF import/export
• gdkpixbuf(?) - would give JPEG support

Milestone 18 - Inkscape 0.52 - Tech drawing abilities

User Interface Effort:

• Object-to-object snapping
• Implement LittleCMS as color management system
• Implement iso & hex grid
• Editable toolbars (libegg)
• Geometrical constraints
  • "Perpendicular-to", "Parallel-to", etc.
• Path trimming/extending/offset
• Filleting tool

Extensions Effort:

• Implement extension registry for users to upload/download extensions via Inkscape
• Dia-like smart shapes support

Milestone 19 - Inkscape 0.53 - Inkcore

• Separate sections of code into various libraries for use by other programs
  • inkcanvas
  • inkview
  • inkscape