Roadmap

Inkscape Development Roadmap

NOTE: This is a working document showing specific near-term tasks needed for achieving milestones. The number in front of the version is in reference to the milestone.

Milestones 0-9 have been completed since the start of the Inkscape Project. See OldRoadmap

Milestone 12 - Inkscape 0.46

New/Changed Dependencies:

• Gtk 2.8

Architectural Refactoring Effort:

• Eliminate use of the style.h types in as much of codebase as possible, particularly display/*.
• 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.
• Implement gradient UI "release" handler to deal with gradient garbage collection (see bug 984854)
• Replace style.cpp entirely, with a clearer and cleaner version.

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) Directory Reorganization (rejon)

File Format Support Effort:

• PDF Export
• Investigate ps2ai, pstoedit and ai2svg conversion options (potential EPS support?)
• Import of native Adobe Illustrator files
• 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)

Extensions Effort:

• Implement extension API
• Implement extension registry
• Complete Extension preferences dialog

User Interface Effort:

• Object-to-object snapping
• Enhanced grid system
• 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.)

Desktop Integration Effort:

• WebDAV/FTP support via GNOME-VFS, Neon, or the like
• Make printing work more efficiently and reliably
• Inter-application cut-and-paste
• Inter-application drag-and-drop
• Clipart manager GUI

Testing:

• Include some rendering tests in `make check'.
• Get 'make check' to pass on Win32 and OSX

SVG Compliance:

• Markers -
• masks/clippaths
  • on-canvas editing
• hyperlinking

Milestone 13 - Inkscape 0.47

New/Changed Dependencies:

• Gtk 2.10

Milestone 16 - Inkscape 0.50

• 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

Milestone 17 - Inkscape 0.51

• Prereq: We need a conceptualization of how it should work
• Currently, part of the concept discussion is at here

Milestone 18 - Inkscape 0.52

• Reenable fuzzy font matching [bb]

Milestone 19 - Inkscape 0.53

• Implement LittleCMS as color management system

Milestone [Future]

• Investigate performance measurement testing for Inkscape
• Convert all tabs into spaces (convert tabs to 4 spaces)
• Rename all 'SPFooBar' routines to 'FooBar' and put into namespaces
  • (DONE) dialogs folder
• Investigate SVG docs where SVG is not the default namespace used at the root -- e.g. <svg:svg xmlns:svg="http://...etc"><svg:rect.../><blah></svg:svg> -- <blah> would end up getting shoehorned into the svg namespace
• Write an Internal DTD subset describing the custom Inkscape XML elements, for validation against SVG DTD
• Ensure Inkscape does not throw away the internal DTD subsets of documents it reads
• Start thinking about 1.0 when major functionality gaps are closed
  • (BASICALLY DONE) layers
  • (DONE) color palette
  • (DONE) gradient tool
  • (DONE) patterns
  • (DONE) text on path and in shape
  • (DONE) text selection
  • (DONE) SVG filters
  • mask tool
  • perspective transforms
  • scripting
  • path editing
  • shaped strokes
• Implement preliminary support for iso & hex grid
• Implement perspective transformations via PerspectiveObject
• Improve freehand curve smoothness [pjrm, paraprax]
• Review X1-1GUITest on SF
• Review usability links at http://openusability.org/docman/?group_id=52
• Review usability links at http://openusability.org/docman/?group_id=57
• Editable toolbars (libegg)