Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!aero-c!Aero.org!plonski From: plonski@Aero.org (Mike Plonski) Newsgroups: comp.lang.idl-pvwave Subject: Re: IDL or PV-WAVE? Message-ID: <1991Jun21.001721.3943@aero.org> Date: 21 Jun 91 00:17:21 GMT References: <8749@umd5.umd.edu> Sender: news@aero.org Organization: The Aerospace Corporation Lines: 44 I think the key to this question lies in the widget sets that each of the companies are developing as this is the first area where the products have diverged (neglecting the PV-Wave Point & Click Interface Option). I know virtually nothing about the PV-Wave widget set other than that it is completely independent from the IDL 2.1 Widget Set and that I believe interfaces developed under Wave-widgets can be ported to the Point and Click Interface. Perhaps the Point & Click Interface was developed with these widgets, but I don't know. Maybe a Wave user can explain wave widgets. The new IDL widgets are based on a subset of your standard X-window or Sunview type widgets (scroll bars, push buttons, menus, etc.) and appear sufficient to implement most types of interfaces. The widget set is at a somewhat higher level than writing native X-window code, but is still more complicated than writing regular IDL code since actions are now event driven, rather than simply executing serially from a program. The new widget set is based on open-windows for the SUN and Motif for the other platforms. My complaint about these widgets on the SUN, is that they don't currently run under X11R4 ON A SUN, as IDL used some open-windows specific code so you must run Open Windows Window Manager to use the widgets. IDL is aware of this problem, but I don't know what they intend to do about it. Overall, the new widgets add tremendous capability to IDL and indicate a postive step in the proper direction for IDL. IDL is also working on a MS-DOS version of IDL which I think is another step in the proper direction. I occasionaly have to use DOS on the road which greatly hampers my ability to analyze data on-site. IDL is planning on coming out with a floating license soon which will offset one of the major advantages that PV-Wave currently has over IDL. I don't know what directions PV-Wave will be taking in the future, but I think IDL has chosen a good path and I plan to stay with them. It is always easier to stay with what you use, rather than switching so I am somewhat biased. BIASES: IDL Experience - several years PV-WAVE Experience - 2 hours ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- . . .__. The opinions expressed herein are soley |\./| !__! Michael Plonski those of the author and do not represent | | | "plonski@aero.org" those of The Aerospace Corporation. _______________________________________________________________________________