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From: gillies@uiucdcsp.cs.uiuc.edu
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: environment's inventors
Message-ID: <76000022@uiucdcsp>
Date: Sun, 13-Sep-87 16:29:00 EDT
Article-I.D.: uiucdcsp.76000022
Posted: Sun Sep 13 16:29:00 1987
Date-Received: Tue, 15-Sep-87 04:04:57 EDT
References: <841@cpocd2.UUCP>
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Nf-ID: #R:cpocd2.UUCP:841:uiucdcsp:76000022:000:906
Nf-From: uiucdcsp.cs.uiuc.edu!gillies    Sep 13 15:29:00 1987


Actually, with a sufficiently large screen (1K * 1K), overlapping
windows ("Tiled") don't have a really big advantage.  For instance,
Xerox's STAR used tiled windows, but they were later replaced by
overlapping windows.  Xerox PARC's most sophisticated environment
(Cedar) uses tiled windows today.

When I worked in XDE at Xerox (1024*808 display), I always tiled my
windows by hand.  I'd use the overlapping-ness to cover up excess
window window borders.  This practice made overlapping windows provide
a small fraction (10%?) more efficient use of the display.  Maybe you
can get this 10% back with a proper tiling design.  Maybe tiling has a
bad name because not many people have looked into the critical design
issues (like how to nicely "uncover" objects in a root window, and how
to have dozens of windows available with one mouse-click).


Don Gillies {ihnp4!uiucdcs!gillies} University of Illinois