andyn@stpstn.UUCP (Andy Novobilski) (02/11/91)
In article <591@hydra.bucknell.edu> zaccone@castor.bucknell.edu (rick zaccone - 1393) writes: >It seems that since the Suns lack a concept of how a "standard" >application should look, a product similar to MacApp for the Suns >probably doesn't exist. However, I am interesting in learning of any >such products, commercial or otherwise. Does anyone know of an >object-oriented environment for the Suns (using C++) that is suitable >for producing complete applications? Three comments: 1. The following reference describes an application framework, modeled on MacApp, written in C++ and implemented on a Sun platform: Gamma, Eric, A. Weinand, R. Marty. "ET++ - An Object-Oriented Application Framework in C++." OOPSLA'88 proceedings. 2. Apple makes available their sources to MacApp (a fine application framework, in my unsolicited opion). You can get more information by writing: APDA Apple Computer, Inc. 20525 Mariabi Ave., Mail Stop 33G Cupertino, CA 95014-6299 3. The OOPSLA'86 proceedings had an entire section devoted to Application frameworks written in Object-Oriented languages. -- Andy Novobilski | The Stepstone Corp. | Object-Oriented Programming: andyn@stepstone.com | 75 Glen Rd. | TV Network scheduling based on (203)426-1875 | Sandy Hook, CT 06482 | the number of insulted viewers.
rsw@cs.brown.EDU (Bob Weiner) (02/15/91)
In article <591@hydra.bucknell.edu> zaccone@castor.bucknell.edu (zaccone - 1393) writes: > It seems that since the Suns lack a concept of how a "standard" > application should look, a product similar to MacApp for the Suns > probably doesn't exist. However, I am interesting in learning of any > such products, commercial or otherwise. Does anyone know of an > object-oriented environment for the Suns (using C++) that is suitable > for producing complete applications? > Get ET++. It is an application building framework of approximately 240 classes in C++. I have been following UI work for years and generally am very unimpressed, but this is one of the finest pieces of design I have seen. Imagine user interfaces that work exactly as you think they should with excellent speed and multiple modalities. They even made the executables run under multiple window systems without any recompilation! It is said to be heavily based on MacApp from the Macintosh world. The only drawback is that the basic executable size is about 1.2 Meg. But this is with a whole bunch of development tools included in the executable and without unused methods removed. They have a method for dynamic linking (you can even dynamically add classes to running applications) that they claim reduces executables to 5-100k, but it probably is not in this release. The interaction capabilities and the elegance of the code are excellent excellent as C++ gets anyway). Standard ET++ work under X, OpenWindows, and Sunview, I believe one executable can suffice for all window systems. The widgets visually appear basic compared to the Motif look of today, but they can easily change the look. Presently, all apps are supposed to look the same under all window systems. The environment is very rich. It includes support for: multi-views that communicate, like Smalltalk's MVC; tree and graph layout classes; nice class and object inspectors; panners that use double buffering so you are not limited to scroll bars; automatic layout of text mixed with graphics, e.g. embed hypertext buttons; constraint-based resource layout, so when you modify one widget the rest of the widgets displayed with it are not harmed; nesting of windows or other control devices; garbage collection (somewhat limited) generic container classes and most of the classes you apt to want for typical application development. All of this was done by two CS professors from another country. All I can say is they should come to the US and start teaching developers and students about the importance of doing the user interface right. Send comments (e.g. where can I get it from) to: Andre Weinand Union Bank of Switzerland UBILAB (Union Bank Informatics Laboratory) Bahnhofstrasse 45 P.O.Box CH-8021 Zurich Switzerland phone: +41-1-236-40-53 fax: +41-1-236-46-71 e-mail: weinand@ifi.unizh.ch -- -- Bob Weiner rsw@cs.brown.edu
gilbertd@cricket.bio.indiana.edu (Don Gilbert) (02/15/91)
In article <RSW.91Feb14205326@tahiti.cs.brown.EDU> rsw@cs.brown.EDU (Bob Weiner) writes: >In article <591@hydra.bucknell.edu> zaccone@castor.bucknell.edu (zaccone - 1393) writes: > >> It seems that since the Suns lack a concept of how a "standard" >> application should look, a product similar to MacApp for the Suns ... >Get ET++. It is an application building framework of approximately 240 classes .. >The environment is very rich. It includes support for: > multi-views that communicate, like Smalltalk's MVC; > tree and graph layout classes; > nice class and object inspectors; > panners that use double buffering so you are not limited to scroll > bars; > automatic layout of text mixed with graphics, e.g. embed > hypertext buttons; > constraint-based resource layout, so when you modify one widget > the rest of the widgets displayed with it are not harmed; > nesting of windows or other control devices; > garbage collection (somewhat limited) > generic container classes and most of the classes you apt to > want for typical application development. > >All of this was done by two CS professors from another country. All I >can say is they should come to the US and start teaching developers and >students about the importance of doing the user interface right. This sounds very much like InterViews (anon. ftp to interviews.stanford.edu, written by some local profs, I gather). Can someone who has used both compare their strengths & weaknesses? (Or was this the subject of some previous news... it fades so quickly). -- Don -- Don Gilbert gilbert@bio.indiana.edu biocomputing office, biology dept., indiana univ., bloomington, in 47405
craig@gpu.utcs.utoronto.ca (Craig Hubley) (02/16/91)
In article <6299@stpstn.UUCP> andyn@stepstone.com (Andy Novobilski) writes: >In article <591@hydra.bucknell.edu> zaccone@castor.bucknell.edu (rick zaccone - 1393) writes: >>It seems that since the Suns lack a concept of how a "standard" >>application should look, a product similar to MacApp for the Suns >>probably doesn't exist. However, I am interesting in learning of any >>such products, commercial or otherwise. Does anyone know of an >>object-oriented environment for the Suns (using C++) that is suitable >>for producing complete applications? Check out the OI (Object Interface) library from Solbourne, distributed by AT&T. Allows you to write one source that works with either Open Look or OSF/Motif. Applications have the "look and feel" of whichever you are running. Based on C++. -- Craig Hubley "...get rid of a man as soon as he thinks himself an expert." Craig Hubley & Associates------------------------------------Henry Ford Sr. craig@gpu.utcs.Utoronto.CA UUNET!utai!utgpu!craig craig@utorgpu.BITNET craig@gpu.utcs.toronto.EDU {allegra,bnr-vpa,decvax}!utcsri!utgpu!craig