jessen@uoregon.UUCP (Bob) (08/02/87)
I too am interested in finding information about MacExpress, MacApp, and any other extended programming environments for Mac Software development.(in reference to George Lippert's posting). I am especially interested in the following with respect to these sort of products: i) How does a developer "edit" or create a given interface. (i.e. do you edit graphically, textually, or by some other means..I know that some system gives you a typical Mac-style interface and then you express how yours differs from this prototypical interface. How are these differences expressed and what are the alternative approaches?) ii) What kind of code these products produce (do they produce, for example, Lightspeed C code to be included in your project or do they generate target machine code) iii) How does a programmer tie in the functionality of the software into the generated interface. (i.e. what is the interface between the interface and the code produced by the programmer) iv) What elements of a Mac interface do they assist you with? Do they handle things like menus,windows,alert boxes, dialog boxes, etc.? v) are they built around any existing programming environment (such as Lightspeed C) or are they stand-alone products that interface with other products. Any information provided along these lines would be greatly appreciated. I am especially interested in hearing from users of these products. How have these products helped you and where do you see pitfalls in them.
jwhitnel@csib.UUCP (Jerry Whitnell) (08/03/87)
In article <364@uoregon.UUCP| jessen@uoregon.UUCP (Bob) writes: | | I too am interested in finding information about MacExpress, MacApp, and any |other extended programming environments for Mac Software development.(in |reference to George Lippert's posting). | | |Any information provided along these lines would be greatly appreciated. I am |especially interested in hearing from users of these products. How have these |products helped you and where do you see pitfalls in them. MacExpress is a subroutine library + main() replacement. You link it in with your program (or put it in your LightspeedC project). It basicly works like a high-level ROM, providing you with subroutine to create a complete window (including scroll bars, multiple panels like Word 1.x, etc.), menus and icons. The main code handles events, DAs etc. itself, and calls your code only when there is something your application needs to do (like redraw a window). Window operations such as growing, moving and scrolling are all handled automatically, with your code called only to update the window. With menus you tell MacExpress what you want in the menus (with subroutine calls) and give it a routine that tells it whether the menu item is enabled or not and another to call to process the menu item. Lots of options to choose from, but the defaults will give you a standard Mac application. MacAppl is basicly the same thing but is implemented in Object Pascal and requires MPW Pascal from Apple. The advantage to both of these is the time saved in writting and debugging the interface code. With both all you need to do is write the application-dependent code, saving you a significant amount of time. The disadvantage is usually performance, which can vary widly depending on how closly your application fits the model. Some people swear by these packages, others swear at them. Jerry Whitnell It's a damn poor mind that can only Communication Solutions, Inc. think of one way to spell a word. -- Andrew Jackson