Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!decwrl!ucbvax!bloom-beacon!SHAMASH.MCRCIM.MCGILL.EDU!mouse
From: mouse@SHAMASH.MCRCIM.MCGILL.EDU (der Mouse)
Newsgroups: comp.windows.x
Subject: Re:  blocking and X
Message-ID: <9007110747.AA03083@shamash.McRCIM.McGill.EDU>
Date: 11 Jul 90 07:47:55 GMT
Sender: daemon@athena.mit.edu (Mr Background)
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 31

> What I wish to do is create an application modal, blocking yes/no
> widget.  Let me explain.

> I am writing a program that must ask alot of yes/no questions.  These
> questions are critical and hence, the program cannot continue without
> them.  [...]  The sequence of events should be thus....

> 1) call the yes/no func
> 2) popup a small window with the question string as the display string
> 3) create a yes and a no push button
> 4) block and grab the pointer (confined to the yes/no window box)
>    until the user responds
> 5) return either True or False

Strictly as a user interface design question, I would think hard about
number 4.  Preventing the user from moving the mouse around to use
other programs seems to me to be excessively draconian.

Preventing the user from doing anything else *within your application*
is not what I am questioning.  What I dislike is preventing the user
from doing things with *other* applications.  Grabbing the mouse and
confining it to the yes/no box won't *necessarily* do this, but will
for anyone using a PointerRoot style focus model, which is certainly
common enough.

(I haven't a clue about implementation, regardless, sorry.)

					der Mouse

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			new: mouse@larry.mcrcim.mcgill.edu