Probably never. Who knows? But anyway, here's some info you need:
1. GNOME is based on the GTK2 toolkit (So is XFCE)
2. KDE is based on the Qt toolkit (you probably knew that)
3. QT apps will look terrible by default in GNOME
4. GTK2 apps tend to not looks so hot in KDE without any config either.
Basically, even though it might not seem that way, by choosing a toolkit, you're tilting toward a particular DE. The only way to avoid that is to use a "neutral" toolkit, like Tk, or maybe wxWidgets.
But first read #5
5. You can NOT legally charge for your Qt applications unless you BUY Qt!!
I was reading their licensing terms. I don't like them. Now, mind you, I believe open source is good stuff and has provided us with great stuff. But it should be up to the programmer whether or not he wants his app to be open-source, or some closed-source binary commercial app. With Qt, you have to pay for that flexibility. And if you use their open source version, you MUST release your work as open-source. With GTK2, you get that flexibility for free (Nothing in their licensing terms prevents you from developing a closed-source application for commercial sale if you so choose).
I believe in open source. But moreso, I believe in CHOICE. Choice is good.
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