Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!know!samsung!cs.utexas.edu!evax!hill
From: hill@evax.arl.utexas.edu (Col. Ames and Pixel)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Objective C is a Kludge ( was Re: An Intuition.device? )
Message-ID: <1990Sep17.071957.25509@evax.arl.utexas.edu>
Date: 17 Sep 90 07:19:57 GMT
References: <385@public.BTR.COM> <1990Sep14.091728.10447@evax.arl.utexas.edu> <522@macuni.mqcc.mq.oz>
Organization: Computer Science Engineering Univ. of Texas at Arlington
Lines: 69

In article <522@macuni.mqcc.mq.oz> ifarqhar@mqccsunc.mqcc.mq.oz.au (Ian Farquhar) writes:
>In article <1990Sep14.091728.10447@evax.arl.utexas.edu> hill@evax.arl.utexas.edu (Col. Ames and Pixel) writes:
>>    I vote we trash C, C++,Ob-C (OB-Gyn's brother) and Power Windows/IB 
>>tools and go for Resources like exist in OS/2 and the Mac. With that a "User
>>Interface" paint program becomes piece of cake.

   Sorry, I didn't want to say we should throw away Object Oriented
languages, but that resources should be INTEGRATED (key word) with a language
or that it should be designed to interface well with several languages. I 
envision something like this:

  D&DEditor.resource
 
  TYPE Window
  { CLASS Normal;
    PARAMS 15,20 hires, maxoverscan, drag, resize, fb, minmax;
    CONTROLS Button1, NormalButton "PushME", Sysdraw;
    CONTROLS Button1, HelpButton, HelpOn(MenuPick, RegionPick, Gadget)
               HelpKey (F1), "Press for Help", Sysdraw, SysHandleIt
  }

Etc..... Resources would need to have a binding to something else so you 
 couldn't just modify it and it would work with the changes. Like a resource 
 compiler that OS/2 uses.

  I would use a resource like a 'set of objects'. You could have TYPE's of 
Buttons that have "predefined" actions. Windows that could be Normal, Genlock
Inputtable (sp?), PutLaserDiscOutputHere....
  
  And the resource language would be able to "build" gadgets. you could import 
a IFF of a spedometer and use graphic primatives to draw a needle or perhaps 
attach 1 character TEXT fields to them and change them. This might necessitate
a .gadlib type of file to keep from having to recompile old gadgets over and
over again. You should also be able to build window TYPES that will always 
have a Listbox ands 4 Buttons with "xxxx" in each. Especially DIRECTORY, FONT
PALLETE TYPES should be done and with "configurability". If I wanted a PALETTE
 requestor with CYMK in there and HAM "color spread" to pick from , along with
a predefined set of colors in a requestor I could do it.

  Perhaps this is a bit on the compilcated side, but it could be done. I would
first decide on the level of control, perhaps building gadgets is a bit much 
at first. And in the way I envsion it i would like Inuition support as well. 



>However, as a programmer, supporting such a system would be difficult.
>Who would want to support a product where the inexperienced user could
>remove important menu items or buttons, or where rogue copies of these
>cutomised programs could be distributed?
>
>This is a very interesting discussion about which I would like
>to hear other opinions.

 Me too!! I would like to hear from the Mac side... I already know about the 
OS/2 side.


>--
>Ian Farquhar                      Phone : 61 2 805-7420
>Office of Computing Services      Fax   : 61 2 805-7433
>Macquarie University  NSW  2109   Also  : 61 2 805-7205
>Australia                         EMail : ifarqhar@mqccsuna.mqcc.mq.oz.au


-- 
 adam hill                                   Everybody lies about sex.     
 hill@evax.arl.utexas.edu    BOING!4Ever     Rub HER feet!
                                             It's better to copulate than never
 AmigaDos2.0 - A VW with $10,000 in options.         --Robert A. Heinlein