Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!lll-winken!lll-lcc!ames!umd5!cvl!elsie!nih-csl!keith
From: keith@nih-csl.UUCP (keith gorlen)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.c++
Subject: Re: C++ Questions (Objective-C)
Message-ID: <295@nih-csl.UUCP>
Date: 31 Dec 87 14:33:59 GMT
References: <2054@cup.portal.com> <2132@cup.portal.com> <290@nih-csl.UUCP> <2197@cup.portal.com>
Organization: NIH-CSL, Bethesda, MD
Lines: 44
Summary: Thanks for the "objective" comparison

In article <2197@cup.portal.com>, Andre_Louis_Marquis@cup.portal.com writes:
* *The OOPS library is about where the Objective-C library was circa
* *'84-'85.  The current Objective-C library is much larger, and has an
* *extensive set of classes for interactive graphics.
* I have Objective-C version 3.3, dated 2/13/87.  It has 23 classes including
* Nil and Object (I'm too lazy to type the list.).  OOPS as of 10/2/87 has 42.
* It's not much of an apples and oranges comparision, either.  OOPS is larger.
* 
* PPI offers ICpak 201, "A collection of Software-ICs which allows software
* engineers to build custom, multiwindow iconic user interfaces for workstation
* applications."  It has 49 classes, but as of 7/28/87, it's expensive -- $35,000
* for a development license + $5,00 for source code.  For a commercial
* application, it just might be the right thing since it exists now.

Thanks for the "objective" comparison and the unsolicited testimonial.
I didn't realize that the graphics classes were a separate product,
and that expensive.

The biggest problem with OOPS right now is that the documentation is
badly incomplete and out of date.  I'm trying to do something about
that, but it is slow and painful.

* On the free front, there is a C++ toolkit on the X11R1 tape called InterViews.
* It's still evolving and needed some patches to run on a Sun, but it works
* quite well.  I doubt it's as extensive as ICpak (for which I have only seen
* promotional literature).

And the Andrew BE2 and X Toolkits will be on the X11R2 tape in
February, I believe.  Andrew is written in Class, and the X Toolkit in
plain C, but with free stuff like this around who will be willing to
pay $40K for ICpak 201?

Reminds me of the Bob & Ray radio commercial for Epson printers:

	Ray: How much does your printer cost?
	Bob: $1,000,000
	Ray: Isn't that rather expensive?  The Epson printer costs
		only $195.
	Bob: Yes, but if I can sell just one I can retire!

-- 
	Keith Gorlen			phone: (301) 496-5363
	Building 12A, Room 2017		uucp: uunet!mimsy!elsie!nih-csl!keith
	National Institutes of Health
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