[comp.os.msdos.programmer] Zinc interface library

blake@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (Blake Freeburg) (05/16/91)

>Is anyone familiar with the Zinc interface library, either the new
>version 2.0 or any previous version?   Can developing a user interface
>really be anything even approaching as easy as point and click?
>jpser@cup.portal.com

I used Zinc 1.0 for a project, but ended up writing my own interface.

I needed a class lib. that would allow me to emulate many of the features of
the Turbo IDE, and being a C/C++ programmer, thought that Zinc would do the
trick.
These are the problems that I had with their interface.
	1.  There are no radio buttons or check boxes.  I called their offices
	to find out if they had added this in version 2.0, and they do not 
	support them.  (They do have an example on their BBS to show you how
	to include the proper windows code, but no dos text stuff).
	
	2.  Text is always wrapped.  This poses a real problem if you need
	something like an editor.  It is pitiful to see 80 column text wrapped
	to a box that is 10 columns wide.  The still always wrap the text in
	version 2.0, and have no plans to change that.

	3.  They do not support horizontal sliders, and they cannot because ot
	their class heirarchy.  The windows are built using the overloaded +
	operator, and always act on the next object.  An example:
		*window + new Title(...) + new VSlider(...) + new Text(...)
	would cause the slider to be "tied" to the text so that you could   
	slide the text field vertically.  Now look what would happen if they
	used both:
		*window + ... + new HSlider(...) +new VSlider(...) + new Text()
	Now, because of the way they designed it, HSlider operates on VSlider,
	and VSlider acts on the text.  Not at all what a GUI is supposed to
	do.  
Problem 2 is a simple bit change, but then they do not support the idea of 
looking over a virtual page, and you then have to build a seperate string and
text object, with text clipping, etc. built in.  Problem 3. they have no plans
to support.  When I called them about this after ver 1.0, they told me the 
interface builder was more important.  I called them again after ver 2 came out,
and they told me that they still were not interested.  

I told them I bought Win++ from Blaise Computing.  Very nice if you are doing
windows programming.

Zinc is best used for Dbase interfaces, not as a general GUI.  Yes, it is
point and click, and can change resolutions dynamically.  But not worth the
effort and pain to get the features listed above to work.

Blake Freeburg