RE: [boost] Re: GUI/GDI sample library code

From: Brock Peabody (brock.peabody_at_[hidden])
Date: 2003-07-30 08:28:48

> -----Original Message-----
> From: boost-bounces_at_[hidden]
[mailto:boost-bounces_at_[hidden]]
> On Behalf Of Philippe A. Bouchard
> Sent: Wednesday, July 30, 2003 1:09 AM
> To: boost_at_[hidden]
> Subject: [boost] Re: GUI/GDI sample library code
> 
> It seems really great & simple to use, but one thing I would like is
> default
> settings.  When I insert a string, I would like a lineedit to appear
by
> itself.  If I insert a list<string>, a listbox should appear
immediately.
> Why?  Often you want to create an internal application a fast as you
can
> and
> you don't want to spend time learning too much new function names.
Think
> of
> <iostream>; if you want to have special formattings then you include
> <iomanip> and you start playing around with floating point precision,
> right
> alignments, etc.  But you don't really need <iomanip>.

That's a cool idea!

> 
> What if I want 3, 4 or 11 columns?

You can put as many as you want, up to a limit configured by a macro.  I
use the boost preprocessor library to generate the appropriate
functions.  There is also a grid<> function similar to row and column
that makes a more... gridlike layout.

row (a, b, c, column(d, e, f, g, h, i, row(j, k, l, m, n, o, p)));

grid<2>(a,b,c,d); //2 specifies 2 columns, may be a better syntax for
this

> 
> Associating data type with widget type at run-time means you need to
> traverse the entire tree of data & widgets and this can never be done
> automatically?  I would really like having the option of flushing out
my
> list to some uiout stream...  Boost would then be way out ;)
> 
> I would like to get more involved and start writing down my ideas but
I am
> not working on a project like this actually, professionnally speaking.
> Good
> luck!
>

Thanks!  I know my implementation is not good enough for boost, but it's
a place for us to start.  I've been severely limited in what I can do by
VC 6.  Besides the known issues I keep getting ICE's when I don't expect
them.  I would strongly suggest dropping VC 6 support in whatever
library we develop for boost.
 
Brock