After GUADEC, I've seen a few reactions about GTK+ future (GTK+ 3.0) and after reading a few posts I decided to write about it. Here I leave my grain of sand in this topic.

I've seen two main points of view about what should be GTK+ next major release. In one hand we have the community proposal: braking ABI and API to get a better base to add new features. In the other hand we have the ISV-cared proposal: ask ISVs and collaborate with them to get the most useful changes.

The first point I see in this matter is that we can always maintain "2.x" branch in stretch collaboration with ISVs and, at hte same time, have a 3.0 branch with a lot of improvements, new features and changes of ABI/API. Yeah, I know, this is hard and discouraged because of wasting human resources, but it means a new field for new communities and enterprises. Why certain ISVs don't spend their money in maintain FOSS that is strategic for them?

Other point is that "3.x" should be very different than "2.x" and provide a heap of strategic new features to get a powerful base software (library) that could be used in long term. I'm agree with Miguel de Icaza in this point.

Summarizing, my opinion is that there shouldn't be bad to break ABI/API in "3.x" because then there are new needs (for example, maintain "2.x" branch) that new communities or enterprises can supply.