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From: ejd@iris.brown.edu (Ed Devinney)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.programmer
Subject: Re: Objective-C compiler?
Message-ID: <59259@brunix.UUCP>
Date: 12 Dec 90 19:01:56 GMT
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Organization: Pismo Beach Software & Auto Restoration
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References:<#%F^8W_@rpi.edu> <1990Dec12.161329.12831@cbnewsk.att.com>

This is all an interesting discussion, particularly Ned Horvath's 
informative explanation of object models, but I'm still skeptical that 
Stepstone would build a Macintosh version.  In fact, when I visited the 
company in October to arrange a demo period for the Sun4/X version for our 
institute, I was assured by the (VP/Engineering, I believe) that 
Stepstone was _not_ developing a Mac version.

In article <1990Dec12.161329.12831@cbnewsk.att.com> ech@cbnewsk.att.com 
(ned.horvath) writes:
> In the particular case of Objective-C, Stepstone and third parties
> have developed and continue to develop class libraries (ICpaks),
> including Mac-like interface elements, which fit the Objective-C model
> but aren't restricted to a single platform.
[...]
> If he's thinking about Objective-C for the Mac,
> he's fully aware that Mac users (and programmers) take the guidelines
> seriously.  So, I would expect a pretty complete set of ICpaks,
> exploiting the Mac Toolbox, on day 1...

Here is exactly why I think that Stepstone will not have a package for the 
Mac anytime soon.  Mac users & programmers expect to follow the guidelines 
very, very closely, and therefore a Mac application framework ends up 
being very closely bound to the Mac interface idiom.  That's a lot of 
effort to support a rather small (by comparison) user base.  The current 
portable interface lib, ICPak201, is primarily derivative (from a users 
perspective) of Windows, and would make most Mac users flee at first 
sight.  If Stepstone does what I think it will do, they will support a 
real Motif interface well before the Macintosh, sad to say.

ed

Ed Devinney ... ejd@iris.brown.edu ... IRIS/Brown University
- "It's keen! It's pure keen! No, it's better than keen ... it's koogat!" 
:  _Sleeper_ -