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From: crs@osu-eddie.UUCP (Craig Stevenson)
Newsgroups: comp.windows.misc
Subject: Re: every icon is an object
Message-ID: <3604@osu-eddie.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 26-May-87 12:10:40 EDT
Article-I.D.: osu-eddi.3604
Posted: Tue May 26 12:10:40 1987
Date-Received: Thu, 28-May-87 04:02:26 EDT
References: <8705190042.AA14664@cogsci.berkeley.edu> <9954@decwrl.DEC.COM> <868@gvax.cs.cornell.edu>
Reply-To: crs@osu-eddie.UUCP (Craig Stevenson)
Organization: The Ohio State University, CIS Dept.
Lines: 45

As a user of the Xerox Viewpoint (&XDE) workstations, allow me to comment:

> One problem with the "feeding the object" prmitive: How do you specify
> where output should go?  In viewpoint, destination is hardwired into the
> particular process icon

Granted, Viewpoint hardwired it.  However, it doesn't have to be that way.  
I would seem that the properties of the printer could include a switch to 
set the destination e.g. the "chooser" on the Mac.

> For example, an ascii-to-internal converter always makes another
> icon on the desktop. ... How could one usefully extend the "feed to by
> dropping on top of" metaphor to UNIX style pipes?

Actually, not all operations in Viewpoint automatically create a new
icon on the desktop.  Some operations will convert the cursor to a small
icon, indicating that it is waiting for *you* to point & click to
where you would like the new object to appear.  This would seem to be
able to be extrapolated to a generalized system for taking output
of one process and using it as inputing into the next pipe.

I would like to raise the general question of how to best to handle
"pipes" in an icon oriented system.  I am new to this newsgroup and
this topic of discussion. If this topic has already been beaten to
death, please send me the autopsy.  Otherwise, I look forward to
hearing some new ideas.

-- Craig











-- 

	Craig Stevenson
	  The Ohio State University		ARPA: crs@Ohio-State.arpa
	  Columbus, Ohio			UUCP: ...!cbosgd!osu-eddie!crs
	  (614) 292-7347