zee@fwi.uva.nl (Daniel M. van der Zee (I89)) (06/17/91)
About two weeks ago i posted a message about x-developing the same app for mac, x & ms windows. I got a lot of replies suggesting i should take a look at XVT. The only thing i know about XVT so far is that it is a collection of header files and libraries that create a layer between the operating system of various GUIs and my program. What i fear is that to use XVT i have to learn to program yet another operating system from the ground up. (I well remember the horror of trying to understand the first three issues of Inside Macintosh). I would like to have some more info about XVT before actually looking at it myself. If you have some time left and you've used XVT yourself i would appreciate some answers to the questions below (for most questions a simple Yes or No will do): 1 Is XVT just a collection of "low-level" functions that translate the params to the OS its running on? 2 Does XVT contain a large class library for speeding up application development? (if so how does it compare to MacApp) Is it good? (does XVT speed up application development for applications that will have to run on one platform only?) 3 Does XVT cover more than the parts all GUIs have in common or does it try to add good things from one GUI to the other? 4. Has printing be implemented? How hard is printing (compared to mac) 5. Has a text-edit object been implemented? Can it handle multiple fonts in one object? What is the limit to the number of chars in such an object? Are there any other limitations? 6. Are resource definition files translated to all GUIs? 7. What are the strengths of XVT? 8. Is there something you cannot do with XVT? 9. What compilers does XVT work with? (Please excuse my english and ignore my spelling errors) Thank you very much, Daniel van der Zee Student Computer Science University Of Amsterdam The Netherlands e-mail: zee@fwi.uva.nl
bill@polygen.uucp (Bill Poitras) (06/21/91)
In article <1991Jun17.130007.16913@fwi.uva.nl> zee@fwi.uva.nl (Daniel M. van der Zee (I89)) writes: >(for most questions a simple Yes or No will do): > >1 Is XVT just a collection of "low-level" functions that translate the params > to the OS its running on? No. Although XVT doesn't contain almost a one to one tranlation, there are a bunch of stuff that is not low-level. > >2 Does XVT contain a large class library for speeding up application > development? (if so how does it compare to MacApp) What do mean? A C++ class library (to which the answer is yes) or something else. Please let me know, for I have never used MacApp. > Is it good? (does XVT speed up application development for applications > that will have to run on one platform only?) > >3 Does XVT cover more than the parts all GUIs have in common or does it try > to add good things from one GUI to the other? The latter. Some of the things it adds: child windows and text edit object for the mac, a standard way to print for Motif (done ala windows) and a simple font mapper much like windows. > >4. Has printing be implemented? Yes. > How hard is printing (compared to mac) Probably a little easier. It still uses the idea of "banding", but if you write your applications so all your drawing is in one procedure, you can print very much like you draw to the screen. > >5. Has a text-edit object been implemented? Yes, on all platforms. > Can it handle multiple fonts in one object? No. > What is the limit to the number of chars in such an object? Don't remember. > Are there any other limitations? Don't remember. > >6. Are resource definition files translated to all GUIs? Yes, both to and from. e.g. you can create a dialog in the Windows Dialog editor and convert it to CURL (XVT's resource language) which then can be converted into UIL or Mac resource. > >7. What are the strengths of XVT? - Portable resources - Royalty free C callable libraries - High level functions on all platforms (Printing, clipboard handling) - Ability to call native windows system - Supports Windows 3.0 Mac OS/2 Motif (on many platforms) Open Look (in Beta) Character based window system (many platforms) > >8. Is there something you cannot do with XVT? Yes - Portable bitmap creation - Major functionality that doesn't exist on all platforms (DDE, QuickDraw...) > >9. What compilers does XVT work with? Windows - BC, MSC 5.1+, Zortech C Mac - Lightspeed C, and one other Motif - Whatever platform uses (ANSI compilers) Any specific questions, let me know (anyone) +-----------------+---------------------------+-----------------------------+ | Bill Poitras | Polygen Corporation | {princeton bu}!polygen!bill | | (bill) | Waltham, MA USA | - This space for rent - | | | FAX (617)890-8694 | bill@polygen.com | +-----------------+---------------------------+-----------------------------+