tomr@ashtate (Tom Rombouts) (06/02/90)
Now that I have been dragged into the brave new world of Windows 3.0 and its SDK, I am seeking on advice on prototyping tools for Windows. Essentially, I want to be able to grind out a bunch of screens and windows and have people play with them a bit before deciding on a final version (if anything in software is ever final :-) ) and producing the actual C code. I am familar with three tools that might do the job, and will now list my current, perhaps incorrect, impressions of them: Actor: Designed for Windows, very compact code, but will require re-coding for production version. CASE:W: Generates C code based on SDK, but a fairly limited tool, based on a friend who used version 1.20. Smalltalk/V: An established language on a variety of platforms, but may not be usable for production version due to royalty requirements and my desire to use an existing body of C code. (C++: It is my belief that there is not enough Windows C++ code or classes yet available to even consider this.) So, there is what I think at the moment. Any experiences with these out there? Other tools or upgrades I am not familiar with? And what about C libraries like CommonView or XVT? (These claim to work the same on Windows, PM and Mac) Or is that another thread? This would seem appropriate to discuss here, but if I get many direct responses I will post a summary. Tom Rombouts, Torrance Techie Voice: (213) 538-7108
akm@getafix.cs.uoregon.edu (Anant Kartik Mithal) (06/07/90)
In article <973@ashton.UUCP> tomr@ashton.UUCP (Tom Rombouts) writes: >Well, my original posting got zero responses. Maybe everyone >has already mastered the 3.0 SDK....:-) > >Let me rephrase: Is there a "Dan Bricklin's Demo" type program >for Microsoft Windows? > >Tom Rombouts Torrance Techie Voice: (213) 538-7108 Assuming I understand your questions correctly (I don'tknow Dan Brickin's Demo Program), but presume it is a rapid prototyping system, well, there are lots of flavors for windows. The best developed (whatever I mean by that) is Actor, which is very smalltalk like, except that its' syntax is C-like (not an improvement in my opinion). Actor produces windows executables. There is also something called CASE:W, which is supposed to write C-code, which can be compiled using the SDK. Infoworld said this week that ParcPlace is putting their smalltalk onto windows, so you should be able toget Smalltalk 80 for windows pretty son. Kartik ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Anant Kartik Mithal akm@cs.uoregon.edu Department of Computer Science akm@oregon.BITNET University of Oregon
patrickd@chinet.chi.il.us (Patrick Deupree) (06/08/90)
In article <965@ashton.UUCP> tomr@ashton.UUCP (Tom Rombouts) writes: >[Wants prototyping tool for Windows apps] >Actor: Designed for Windows, very compact code, but will require >re-coding for production version. I would, of course, recommend Actor for creating the entire app from prototype to final application phase. However, my opinion is somewhat biased since I work for the company. @:) >CASE:W: Generates C code based on SDK, but a fairly limited >tool, based on a friend who used version 1.20. If I were you I'd look at WindowsMaker as opposed to CaseW. Neither will generate screens for you. They will only generate windows with a menu that ties into dialog boxes and/or procedures that you define in C. If this is what you want, WindowsMaker is much better than CaseW. >Smalltalk/V: An established language on a variety of platforms, >but may not be usable for production version due to royalty >requirements and my desire to use an existing body of C code. Keep in mind that Smalltalk produces an application that runs under a windowing system. It does not create a windows application, though. It creates a window that creates smalltalk windows within itself. If you want something that has the look and feel of a windows app, this wouldn't do it. If you want an object oriented language/environment that really kicks butt, then I'd buy Smalltalk. >(C++: It is my belief that there is not enough Windows C++ code >or classes yet available to even consider this.) You might be right. Don't forget about ToolBook. If you want to create screens quickly this will do it for you. You can then use something like Actor to create the code that will run in the background or that will integrate ToolBook screens. -- "Organized fandom is composed of a bunch of nitpickers with a thing for trivial pursuit." -Harlan Ellison Patrick Deupree -> patrickd@chinet.chi.il.us
rburns@cup.portal.com (Randy J Burns) (06/08/90)
I'd take a look at Toolbook from Asymetrix. This is a very glossy, well thought out product developed with funding from a co-founder of Microsoft.
scotte@applix.UUCP (Scott Evernden) (06/12/90)
In article <1990Jun7.050104.14224@cs.uoregon.edu> akm@getafix.cs.uoregon.edu (Anant Kartik Mithal) writes: >Infoworld said this week that ParcPlace is putting their smalltalk >onto windows, so you should be able toget Smalltalk 80 for windows >pretty son. This has been true for at least 6-8 months, ever since ST80 2.5 was released. Simply set a few environment variables, and ParcPlace Smalltalk-80 runs in Windows jes' fine... -scott
tma@osc.COM (Tim Atkins) (06/17/90)
In article <1990Jun7.202442.2687@chinet.chi.il.us> patrickd@chinet.chi.il.us (Patrick Deupree) writes: > >Don't forget about ToolBook. If you want to create screens quickly this will >do it for you. You can then use something like Actor to create the code >that will run in the background or that will integrate ToolBook screens. >Patrick Deupree -> patrickd@chinet.chi.il.us As I understand it, Toolbook can integrate DLLs into itself. However, I've heard that Actor can not create DLLs but only use them. So I'm a bit confused as to what you mean about running actor code in the background. As for integrating ToolBook screens, I don't see how Actor or any external language could possibly manage to deal with the ToolBook scripts. I'm flying blind here but I assume that some run-time ToolBook support must be present for a TB screen to operate properly. Forgive me if I'm simply misinformed. Thank you for any clarification of these questions. - Tim