bilbo.gregh@SEAS.UCLA.EDU (Gregory Holmberg) (05/10/88)
A Summary of
"OPEN LOOK Graphical User Interface: A Product OverView"
from AT&T
AT&T says it is commited to open standards and consistency and that OPEN LOOK
and its merging of SVR3 and BSD into SVR4 are proof.
The OPEN LOOK Graphical User Interface is an X Window System "toolkit" and
development environment. This high-level toolset and user interface standard
will provide increased application programmer productivity. The OPEN LOOK
standard will be found initially in two Application Programmer Interfaces
(APIs), one from Sun Microsystems and one from AT&T. The OPEN LOOK standard
will be licensed to other vendors also.
OPEN LOOK combines the best of existing graphical user interfaces and improves
upon them.
The design goals were:
Simplicity - easy to learn and master
Consistency between applications
Efficiency of use for the user
The design principles were:
Balance of design goals
Similarity with existing graphical user interfaces
Fewer concepts to remember across applications:
Object-verb model - select object(s) then select action
Objects have properties that can be examined and modified
Context sensitive help
Cut, copy and paste
Visible control panels
Windows can be over-lapped or tiled. Focus can be bound to a window by
clicking on it. All windows have these basic parts:
Title bar - identifies the window
Used to pick up and move the window
Contains an iconize button
Contains a standard menu (also available in icon mode):
(de)iconize
Set properties - edit the windows properties
Scale - scale the window and its contents up or down!
Note that this is not the same as resizing.
Refresh
Quit
Resize gadget in lower right corner like the Mac
Proportional horizontal and vertical scroll bars
"Control panel" under the title bar
Like the window's individual menu bar except with buttons.
Makes multi-tasking easier than a single screen menu bar.
Permanent message area at bottom
For running multiple applications simultaneously
Commands selected from menus or buttons are completed if necessary with
"command boxes," similar to MS Windows "dialog boxes." Command boxes
automatically grab the focus. Command boxes may contain any of the standard
controls:
Buttons - cause immediate effects
Buttons stacks - popup like menus
Choices - mutually exclusive choices similar to MS Windows radio buttons
Toggles - non-mutually exclusive choices similar to MS Windows check boxes
Sliders - an analog control
Lists - menus too long to display all at once. Uses a vertical scroll bar.
Dials - an analog control
All objects have "properties." An object's properties vary depending on its
type. Any object's properties can be viewed and modified with a "property
box."
"Push pins" are used to make any kind of popup remain resident for easier
repeated use. Popups include menus, palettes, property boxes and command
boxes.
An application's main menus popup wherever the cursor is. The user is not
required to move the cursor up to a menubar. The popup menus are context
sensitive, in that the menu received depends on what object the cursor was
on at the time. Menus can also be hierarchical, that is they may have
sub-menus.
A one, two or three button mouse may be used. On a three button mouse, the
first buttons is the select button (to select a menu item, text or an object),
the second is the extend button (extends a selection) and the third it the
menu button. On a one or two button mouse keyboard modifier keys must be used.
Function keys are supported and may have on-screen labels.
Initially there will be two implementations, called Application Programmer
Interfaces, of this user interface: the NeWS Development Environment (NDE)
from Sun Microsystems and an X Toolkit based version from AT&T.
The NeWS Development Environment is inspired by the Andrew X toolkit from
Carnegie-Mellon and IBM. It is object-oriented, using encapsulation and
code sharing through inheritance. Postscript is used to communicate between
the NDE toolkit and the server. The server manages all the menus, scroll bars,
frames and text editing locally, making the user interface more responsive and
reducing network traffic.
NDE uses a data-object-plus-view-objects model. The programmer declares one
data object and one or more view objects for that data object. The data
object must be able to modify, save and load itself. The view objects
provide graphical views of the data object on the screen and let the user
view and manipulate the data object.
NDE will coexist with X clients and X toolkits. NDE will allow the user to
cut and paste to non-NDE applications.
The AT&T version will be built on the X Toolkit intrinsics and the resource
manager from MIT. There will be widgets for the various type of controls
and widgets classes will be able to inherit from other widgets classes. Event
handling will be greatly simplified. Access to the base X library will be
available. For more information on the X Toolkit, see "X Toolkit Intrinsics"
from MIT.Kimbrough@dsg.csc.ti.COM (Kerry Kimbrough) (05/10/88)
The extra detail on OPEN LOOK is interesting, but I'm still unclear on what pieces OPEN LOOK contains. So far only an API (in both NDE and Xt flavors) has been mentioned. However, some of the features imputed to OPEN LOOK would ordinarily be implemented by a window manager client (title bars, geometry control gadgets, icon controls, focus control, etc.). Does OPEN LOOK include a special window manager, or is it designed to work with any window manager of the user's choosing?
lantz@orc.olivetti.COM (05/10/88)
Note that OPEN LOOK is NOT an "X Window System 'toolkit' and development
environment". Rather, as your message itself goes on to say, OPEN LOOK
defines a user interface toolkit that is window-system-independent. It
just happens that two of the first implementations will be for/"on top of"
X and NeWS.
Keith
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Keith A. Lantz Phone: (415) 496-6235
Olivetti Research Center Internet: lantz@orc.olivetti.com, or
2882 Sand Hill Road, Suite 210 lantz%orc.uucp@unix.sri.com
Menlo Park, CA 94025 UUCP: {acornrc,oliveb,sri-unix}!orc!lantzbilbo.gregh@SEAS.UCLA.EDU (Gregory Holmberg) (05/11/88)
> Sorry to bother you if you aren't the right person, but what is meant by: > > will provide increased application programmer productivity. The OPEN LOOK > > standard will be found initially in two Application Programmer Interfaces > > (APIs), one from Sun Microsystems and one from AT&T. The OPEN LOOK standard > > will be licensed to other vendors also. > * ........^^^^^^^^....................................................^^^^^^^^ > I agree that an IMPLEMENTATION of the standard can be licensed, but can the > standard itself be licenced ? To quote the document: 2.3 Why Call It OPEN LOOK GUI? A major trend in computer systems today is the trend to open systems. Open systems are those which are are available from multiple vendors. Thus, procurements can be competitive and so common platforms can be developed that preserve customer investments in applications software, documentation, and training. As part of its ongoing and vital commitment to open systems, AT&T is responding as the industry changes by defining standards of the UNIX operating systems and its derivatives. The POSIX standard being developed in the United States, the X/OPEN standard being developed in Europe, and the efforts of the Sigma group in Japan all aim to expand a common definition of a portable and open operating system. This common definition can then be used by any number of vendors to produce different implementations of the exact same operating system. To support open systems, AT&T will make OPEN LOOK GUI available for use in all standard systems, including appropriate licenses to all relevent copyrights, patents, and trademarks that pertain to OPEN LOOK GUI. End Quite. Thirty-one of the 42 pages of this document descibe just the look and behaviour from the user's point of view. The rest describes two particular implemen- tations of it. It seems to me that when AT&T uses "OPEN LOOK GUI" they mean the look and behaviour (the parts of which not invented at AT&T, they have licensed from Xerox) and not a particular implementation. So the above statement seems to say to me, that they are willing to license the look and behaviour, to be implemented any way the licensee sees fit. We'll see... Greg Holmberg Locus Computing Corporation ARPANET: bilbo.gregh@SEAS.UCLA.EDU UUCP: {ucivax,trwrb}!lcc!gregh {ihnp4,randvax,sdcrdcf,ucbvax,trwspp}!ucla-cs!lcc!gregh
bilbo.gregh@SEAS.UCLA.EDU (Gregory Holmberg) (05/11/88)
> The extra detail on OPEN LOOK is interesting, but I'm still unclear on > what pieces OPEN LOOK contains. So far only an API (in both NDE and Xt > flavors) has been mentioned. However, some of the features imputed to > OPEN LOOK would ordinarily be implemented by a window manager client > (title bars, geometry control gadgets, icon controls, focus control, > etc.). Does OPEN LOOK include a special window manager, or is it > designed to work with any window manager of the user's choosing? The document only talks about the "OPEN LOOK GUI Xt TOOLKIT." However, I can't imagine not implementing the things you mention in a window manager. Why, it would be heresy!!! My God!!! :-) Assuming they use a window manager, then of course you could use a different manager. But then you wouldn't have the OPEN LOOK GUI, since AT&T is promoting it as a whole look and feel standard, not just a toolkit or library. How these things are implemented in NeWS, I don't know. It may be different. If you've seen the pictures (in the California magazine "Microtimes", for example), you know that the "control panel" buttons, message area, system menu (at the "shine" mark), scroll bars and "push pins" are integral and significant parts of the standard. There was also an article about OPEN LOOK in the April 18 (Vol 10, issue 16) issue of InfoWorld. Thirty-six vendors promised support for OPEN LOOK at the announcement, including Ashton-Tate, Autodesk, Borland, Interleaf, Lotus, Symantec, Unisys, Word Perfect and Xerox. The only information I have is what I've read in articles and press releases. Perhaps someone who's actually seen it or someone listening at AT&T or Sun could come forward and comment further. Greg Holmberg Locus Computing Corp.
guy@gorodish.Sun.COM (Guy Harris) (05/11/88)
> Note that OPEN LOOK is NOT an "X Window System 'toolkit' and development > environment". Correct. > Rather, as your message itself goes on to say, OPEN LOOK defines a user > interface toolkit that is window-system-independent. It just happens that > two of the first implementations will be for/"on top of" X and NeWS. More correctly, Open Look (scr*w the lawyers, I hate the capital letters) defines a set of user interface guidelines that provide a certain "look and feel". There will be several toolkits that implement it; two of the first such toolkits will be on top of X11 and NeWS. Open Look doesn't define a particular toolkit with a particular programming interface; I don't think the Xt-based implementation and the NDE-based implementation will have the same procedural interface, for example.
guy@gorodish.Sun.COM (Guy Harris) (05/12/88)
> It seems to me that when AT&T uses "OPEN LOOK GUI" they mean > the look and behaviour (the parts of which not invented at AT&T, they have > licensed from Xerox) Credit where credit is due: most of the parts of Open Look not invented at Xerox were invented at Sun. AT&T, among others, contributed to the Open Look interface, but it was primarily developed here. > and not a particular implementation. True. I think the announcement mentioned two implementations: one based on Xt (which may very well have its own window manager; they may have left that out of the description just to simplify the description) being done by AT&T, and one based on NeWS being done at Sun. There may well be other implementations as well; conceivably, some could be built atop windowing platforms other than X11 or NeWS. > So the above statement seems to say to me, that they are willing to license > the look and behaviour, to be implemented any way the licensee sees fit. > We'll see... Actually, I think what will be licensed is the trademark; as I understand it, you could implement Open Look without a license, you just couldn't call it "OPEN LOOK(TM)".
bilbo.gregh@SEAS.UCLA.EDU (Gregory Holmberg) (05/12/88)
> You quoted the OPEN LOOK GUI. Are they available now? > If so, how can they be obtained? If not, when will I > be able to obtain them, and again how? Here's a reprint of the InfoWorld article, April 18, vol 10, issue 16: _________________________________________________________________________ AT&T, Sun Show New Unix Interface Ashton-Tate, Lotus Promise Their Support By Carole Patten NEW YORK -- AT&T and Sun Microsystems last week unveiled Open Look, a graphical interface they hope will transform a bear -- the notoriously unfriendly command-line Unix interface -- into a pussycat. "This is a critical step in expanding the Unix marketplace," said Vittorio Cassoni, president of AT&T's Data Systems Group. "With a standard interface, Unix can compete for a larger market." A total or 36 hardware and/or software vendors (including Ashton-Tate, Autodesk, Borland, Lotus, Symantec, Unisys, Word Perfect, and Xerox) promised support for Open Look at the announcement. "Unix is a strategic platform," said Ed Esber Jr., chairman and CEO of Ashton-Tate Corp. "Unix had an interface only a programmer could love." Esber added that Ashton-Tate would have a Dbase version of Open Look ready this year. A Unix version of Lotus 1-2-3 will be developed, according to Jim P. Manzi, president and CEO of Lotus, but he declined to give any dates for its availability. Open Look will also be incorporated into Xerox's document processing products, said Wayland Hicks, president of the Business Products and Systems Group. Xerox and Sun also announced that Sun had licensed Xerox's graphical user interface. (See related story.) Open Look, which the companies demonstrated, is an on-screen environment similar to Microsoft's Windows and Apple's Finder. It provides a "desktop" on which users view icons representing files, documents and applications. Icons are selected through a hand-held mouse. In addition, a pushpin symbol allows users of the system to "tack up" menus. Scrolling is done via a tiny "elevator," and files are printed and stored with buttons that look like those on household appliances. Open Look is based on merged versions of X-Window, Version X11, a public- domain program from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and on News, a Sun-developed interface, Sun said. It will be the user interface for Unix System V.4, due out next year. In addition, Open Look specifications can be implemented by software developers. AT&T will provide two toolkits, XT Toolkit and NDE Toolkit, which contain components that are easier to use than the raw protocols in both X-Window and News. The toolkits include interface pieces such as menus, scroll bars, toggles, and buttons, making it easier to put together an application quickly, according to Michelle Arden, Sun's manager for Window system products. XT Toolkit, to be available in the third quarter, is a revision of an existing toolkit from MIT, and it targets developers who are already working with X-Window. NDE (News Development Environment) is a new toolkit for Unix System V.4, which is being jointly developed by AT&T and Sun. The toolkit should be available in the fourth quarter. AT&T said source code for Open Look would be available in early 1989. "NDE is an object-oriented programming environment that is based on Smalltalk from Xerox Corp.," according to Arden. "NDE will ship on top of the X11/News platform but will use specific News functions like Postscript on the screen." News uses the Postscript language and has much of the functionality of Display Postscript but is not from Adobe. Arden said Sun would begin shipping Open Look on its SPARC, 386i, and Motorola workstations later this year. However, she noted that the Open Look specifications have not yet been completed. "It's in skeletel form now -- it will be in final form this summer." Arden added, however, that it was "complete enough for AT&T to announce and endorse it." Announcing early gives people a chance to provide input on the specifications, according to Arden. "We are getting feedback already." AT&T has already scheduled eight, three-day developers conferences on Open Look to begin in September. The conferences will cost $750 and be cosponsered by Sun. AT&T has not yet priced the Open Look developers kit. ________________________________________________________________________ (Related article) Sun Licenses Interface Technology from Xerox By Rachel Parker As part of the announcement of the new Open Look interface for Unix, Sun last week announced it has licensed graphic interface technology from Xerox. The royalty-free license enables Sun to incorporate the patented and copy- righted graphic interface technology that Xerox has developed -- including the Star interface -- in Open Look. Under the cross-license, the two companies will bring additional Xerox features to Open Look. Although no other company has licensed the entire Viewpoint interface from Xerox, the company said it will negotiate with other interested vendors. "We are open to holding discussions with anyone else who would want to license the graphical interface," said spokesman Terry Dillon. Terms of future licenses would depend on the situation, he added. Sun's license reflects the company's appreciation for Xerox's graphic interface development. "We believe the technology is good," said Sun spokeswoman Nancy Groves. "Sun actually looked at and researched the fundamental ideas involved in graphic interfaces and where they are expressed," said Richard Shaffer, editor of the "Technologic Letter." "Bill Joy wanted to give credit where credit is due for the fundamental ideas." Third-party software developers writing programs for Unix will be able to license the Open Look interface directly from AT&T, Groves said. However, it is not yet clear whether Open Look will be packaged with Unix or be available seperately, she added. Sun and Xerox further cemented their alliance last week when Xerox committed to buy or manufacture more than $200 million of SPARC-based systems over the next five years. Xerox said it will build its next-generation document processing systems around the SPARC chip, a RISC chip that Sun developed and is licensing to chip and systems manufacturers. __________________________________________________ Obviously Carole Patten doesn't know the first thing about "X-Window" or "News", but I think you can get the information you want from this article. Greg Holmberg Locus Computing Corp.
mls@whutt.UUCP (SIEMON) (05/13/88)
> > I agree that an IMPLEMENTATION of the standard can be licensed, but can the > > standard itself be licenced ? > From the press release: In keeping with its commitment to support standards, AT&T said that as they become accepted, the company would support APIs for emerging standard interfaces. AT&T also will license source code for the various toolkits supporting the OPEN LOOK user interface. The OPEN LOOK user interface toolkits are scheduled to be available in source form in early 1989. -- Michael L. Siemon contracted to AT&T Bell Laboratories ihnp4!mhuxu!mls standard disclaimer
jtn@potomac.ads.com (John T. Nelson) (05/13/88)
> NEW YORK -- AT&T and Sun Microsystems last week unveiled Open Look, a > graphical interface they hope will transform a bear -- the notoriously > unfriendly command-line Unix interface -- into a pussycat. > > said Ed Esber Jr., chairman and CEO of Ashton-Tate Corp. "Unix had an > interface only a programmer could love." Sounds like Ed Esber has never used JCL. -- John T. Nelson UUCP: sun!sundc!potomac!jtn Advanced Decision Systems Internet: jtn@potomac.ads.com 1500 Wilson Blvd #512; Arlington, VA 22209-2401 (703) 243-1611 Cherish Conserve Consider Create