PJS@GROUCH.JPL.NASA.GOV (Peter Scott) (08/14/89)
After a week of using the Interface Builder on the NeXT machine (to create a user interface that I had not achieved in months of learning X), it's apparent that if NeXT were to make this puppy compatible with X in some way, they would really be popular. Specifically, I'm talking about a program that would take a .nib file and write out Objective-C code for producing the same interface using X. This would also require NeXT to write a widget library for their collection of objects, and presumably also an Objective-C binding for X, but it would sure be worth it. I know that X is being ported to the NeXT already; that's not what I'm talking about. Whether or not there's an X server running on the NeXT this product would still be attractive because folk could develop their interfaces on the NeXT and then port the code to their X-machines. In my opinion this program should be developed by NeXT (because it's a complex task that needs to be done better than an undergraduate's spare time efforts) and bundled free of charge with every machine (because if people have to pay for it from NeXT or a third party it won't catch on so fast, and it's a program that would make NeXT more money by selling machines than it ever would from a price of its own). I'm sure that here at least, where the commitment to X is growing rapidly, it would greatly increase sales of NeXT cubes. Peter Scott (pjs@grouch.jpl.nasa.gov)