Re: [boost] Re: [gui] The Big Picture

From: Alan Gutierrez (alan-boost_at_[hidden])
Date: 2004-12-29 23:12:03

* Noah Stein <noah_at_[hidden]> [2004-12-29 18:28]:
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: boost-bounces_at_[hidden] [mailto:boost-bounces_at_[hidden]]
> > On Behalf Of Alan Gutierrez
> > Sent: Wednesday, December 29, 2004 4:58 PM
> > To: Christopher D. Russell
> > Cc: boost_at_[hidden]
> > Subject: Re: [boost] Re: [gui] The Big Picture
> 
> 
> >         As far has hassles go, I think that most object libraries
> >         are so frame/widget oriented, they leave almost all the real
> >         work to the application developer.
> 
> I don't see that you've proposed anything that would leave frames behind.
> Isn't the frame still the fundamental unit in your view?  Aren't layout
> managers objects that position and size some frames inside of other(s) or
> have I misunderstood the nature of what you have been describing?

    When I hear layout manager, I think of Delphi or Swing. A layout
    arranges components on a form. A form is a fixed set of controls
    within a window of fixed size, or that has a simple resize
    strategy, since the number of controls does not change.

    Frames + controls + layouts = Power Builder, Delphi, Visual Basic.

    Then you have a few frameworks that up the ante with a grid
    "control", but that is a misnomer, because a grid "control",
    where it is found, imposes a lot of requirements on the UI
    library. The library must now implement components that can take
    part in a grid, there can be many, they can be clipped. Where
    you see a grid "control", you see a library that has provided
    it's own set of UI widgets. This is Swing and Delphi VCL.

    A grid is not a "layout", it is a very complicated rendering
    engine, and it requires it's own components.

    I'm talking about putting "layout managers" in their place,
    *form* layout managers, one strategy to render the contents of a
    window, and looking at the three other strategies, grid
    *renderers*, document *renderers*, canvas *renderers*.

    If by frame, you mean the window frame, is the same fundumental
    unit as a label, no, because that breaks down if you try to say
    that a window is the same fundumental unit as a paragraph.
    
    If you see a form label and a window as the same beastie, you're
    making the Win32 GDI mistake.

--
Alan Gutierrez - alan_at_[hidden]
> 
> -- Noah
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Unsubscribe & other changes: http://lists.boost.org/mailman/listinfo.cgi/boost