Re: gtkada/glade info needed

[Ted Dennison <dennison@telepath.com>]

Marin David Condic wrote:

> Does anybody know where there might exist some documentation about using
> Glade to build GUIs for use with GtkAda? I'm looking for a sort of
> tutorial that walks you through all the steps of constructing some sort
> of reasonably simple app that shows how to use the various features to
> create a nice looking window. Despite claims to the contrary, the tool
> is *not* intuitively obvious to even the most casual observer.

I used it at work to build a little app for showing our application's
varaible values using vxWorks' WTX (debugger) protocol. It was very slow
going at first. It struck me that Glade would be very tough to figure out
for anyone who isn't fairly familar with how Gtk or Motif GUI building
works. The main trip up would probably be in figuring out what widgets you
have to use as your base (window). Only certian ones are allowed. You can't
just create a GUI with one pushbutton.

It also has some rather annoying crash bugs on Windows (NT at least). But
since Windows isn't its primary port, this is probably to be expected.

> Also, I'm having trouble with getting Glade to generate source code
> because of apparent problems with something called Gate wanting to
> create various directories and getting permission denied. Could be the
> scripts weren't designed to deal with Win2k, but a quick look at the

I had problems with that too. For one thing, I think there was a file that
has to be deleted before you save (after the first time). I kind of liked
this, as it prevented me from accidentally wiping out my old GUI before I
was ready. But I did have to write a script to backup my GUI package bodies
and delete that file. Then another script I wrote restored my GUI package
bodies after gate was run. I'm working from memory here, so I can't be much
more specific for certain. If no one else responds before I go back in on
Monday, I'll take a better look at what I did.

> Is it time to once again observe that one reason more people don't
> develop Windows apps in Ada is because there isn't a complete,
> well-integrated, well-documented set of tools with which to work? C++

Actually, I believe ObjectAda does more or less what you are asking for, it
just isn't free. :-)

As for doing something free, C++ doesn't really have such a system (on
Windows) either. What would such a set of tools include? Should the GUI be
Windows with ActiveX support and all that jazz, or should it be TK, or
should it be Java, or should it be Gtk+? How about 3D libraries? There are 3
popular ones on Windows right now, OpenGL, Direct3D, and GLIDE (do we have
enough GL*DE acronyms yet?). Even Sockets support is in a similar situation.
Any choice you make is not going to satisfy everyone.

> may be a poor excuse for a programming language, but MSVC++ installs
> from a single disk, configures everything it needs to and runs properly
> right out of the box. No net surfing for all the bits and pieces. No
> setting paths, environment variables, system configurations, etc. No
> fussing to get the compiler, editor, GUI builder, debugger, etc., to
> work together. No need to scour around to collect up manuals from a
>

That's because they give you no choices! Your GUI will be Windows (with
ActiveX support and DirectX). Your 3D will be Direct3D. Your sockets will be
WinSock.

> I like the notion of being able to develop a GUI based app in Ada using
> a tool that will let me take the code between Windows and Unix
> unchanged. GtkAda may do that. It may gain more popularity if it works a
> bit more seamlessly.

I'd agree here, particularly with the first sentence. I don't even think
"like" is strong enough. Perhaps GtkAda does need a bit more polish.
Certianly GLADE on Windows needs a bit more polish. But what they have done
so far in such a short time is very impressive.

--
T.E.D.

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