Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!olivea!decwrl!adobe!heaven!glenn
From: glenn@heaven.woodside.ca.us (Glenn Reid)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.next
Subject: Interface Builder observations
Message-ID: <423@heaven.woodside.ca.us>
Date: 15 Feb 91 09:14:45 GMT
Reply-To: glenn@heaven.woodside.ca.us (Glenn C. Reid)
Organization: RightBrain Software, Woodside, CA
Lines: 45

Interface Builder is an impressive piece of software, there is
no doubt.  But tonight I was struck by a number of peculiarities
that it has.  For example:

1.  It is the only program I've seen that draws outside its
    windows onto the rest of the screen (when you control-drag
    to make a connection).  How on earth does it do this?  It
    seems like it must be a hack; I haven't seen any support
    for it in the AppKit

2.  It is the only program I've seen that alters the look of its
    icon while it's in the dock (when you're in "test interface"
    mode it turns into a giant switch).  How on earth does it do
    this?  It seems like it too must be a hack.

3.  There are several features which are only accessible by holding
    down modifier keys, like control-dragging to connect or alt-
    dragging to increasing the number of items in a matrix--but
    these are not available through any other means (like menu items).
    Questionable practice in a user interface, although Workspace
    Manager uses this kind of "features" too (when creating symbolic
    links, forcing a move or a copy, etc.).

Also, a couple of minor bugs, while I'm on the subject:

4.  You can't type a copyright symbol for love or money into a
    text field in IB.  It doesn't seem to use the standard
    keyboard mapping from Preferences.

5.  The "Format" menu should really be the "Font" menu, according
    to the user interface guidelines.

Admittedly, the line-drawing paradigm that IB uses when you control-drag
to make a connection is very nice feedback, but overall it seems that
Interface Builder has a rather non-standard user interface and appears
to rely on things which are not supported by the AppKit, which I find
to be a bit ironic.

Anybody else have thoughts about this?

Glenn
-- 
 Glenn Reid				RightBrain Software
 glenn@heaven.woodside.ca.us		NeXT/PostScript developers
 ..{adobe,next}!heaven!glenn		415-851-1785 (fax 851-1470)