Re: OT: GUI [was:]Ann: TeXCAD 4.1

[Georg Bauhaus <sb463ba@l1-hrz.uni-duisburg.de>]

Preben Randhol <randhol+abuse@pvv.org> wrote:
: Georg Bauhaus <sb463ba@l1-hrz.uni-duisburg.de> wrote on 18/03/2004 (12:05) :
:> However, as can be learned from advanced UIs before OS/2 and even
:> from OS/2, file open dialogue windows are a great leap, uhm, backwards.
:> Though to appreciate this one might need the help of a different approach
:> to UI design, like applications truly integrated with the OS, including
:> its GUI, literally. Like a document centered approach, or like the integrating
:> approach of Plan 9 (the *user* defines the user interface using what the
:> OS provides for this.)
: 
: Now you are not talking any more about GtkAda versus the Mac OS X
: toolkit so this is completely irrelevant.

(Mac OS X is not mentioned in the paragraph above, but I admit that
I'm always carried away by human interface design issues. I think they
are important, and as long as programmers are empowered to make user
interface design decisions, improvements aren't likely.)

Well, irrelevant..., the OP had mentioned or implied, to me at least,
that low level layers (below Gtk) as well as the high level layers 
invite criticism that can be well expressed in typical "Ada" terms.
(Which is what I thought reading pages from the XCB site.)
Thinking about a new interface it is an opportunity to think differently
about interfaces, taking human interface research into consideration.
Interestingly this maps to programming language syntax design decisions,
as presented in a collection of articles entitled "The Psychology of
Programming" (I don't have it here, but I can provide details when
I'm at home.)

(For example, is a dashboard oriented panel design, as is more or
less hardcoded in (the spirit of) Gtk(Ada) really an adequate choice
when in comes to applications that have nothing to do with engineering,
or with engineers?)


In addition, the new Gtk has adopted an XML based mechanism to
describe certain interface components. This is another level of 
abstraction. Dr. Leif might be pleased to hear about this ;-)