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From: david@ap542.uucp
Newsgroups: comp.windows.x
Subject: Re: Interface toolboxes
Keywords: x,motif,open-look
Message-ID: <1991May13.152226.4614@ap542.uucp>
Date: 13 May 91 15:22:26 GMT
References: <1065@epochsys.UUCP>
Sender: news@ap542.uucp (News Admin)
Organization: Siemens-Nixdorf AG, AP 341
Lines: 53

In article <1065@epochsys.UUCP> rob@epochsys.UUCP (Rob Kenna) writes:
>I am investigating the use of GUI development environments/tools with
>the following requirements:

Try Wcl, the Widget Creation Library, available as Wcl1.05.tar.Z from
the archive server nearest you.

>1) Quick development time.

Saved me time, that's the only reason it exists.

>2) Development on Sun platforms

That's what I originally used, and still test on.

>3) Target all major unix platforms (sun, hp, dec, IBM, mips...) running X11.

Seems to work pretty well on most everything, but it does usually
require a recent Xt (release 4 if at all possible is highly recommended,
but I've usually used older versions too).  I know it runs on all
of the above.

>4) Development one set of sources but run with motif and open-look
>(and possibly others)

I've been told be someone in the OLIT development group at AT&T 
that they do exactly this: they develop an application, and
then they have two distinct sets of application resource files:
one describes a Motif interface, the other an Open-Look interface.

I.e., the C or C++ or whatever sources *can* with careful programming
be widget set independent (I don't even worry about it, and tend to
have about 5% of my code with any widget set specific stuff at all).

>5) The "look-and-feel" could be just motif or just open-look in all settings.
>Alternatively it could be a chameleon and be motif-like in motif
>environments and open-look like in open-look environments.

It can all be done in the resource files.

>6) Speed of operation is NOT paramount, though it must not be a dog.

You may well find your application starts up FASTER because the creation
of the widgets is optimized.  Sure, you can optimize the ordering of
calls to XtCreate... yourself, but its a pain, and you won't ;^)

>I realize that this is quite a shopping list, ...

Nah, no problem...

David E. Smyth
Still struggling with network communication, but its getting better...
david@ap542.uucp  -or-  david%ap542@ztivax.siemens.com