From: David F. Skoll
Subject: GUI Generator - summary of replies.
Date:
Message-ID: <dfs.684684907@lore>
I posted an article yesterday asking if anyone had a GUI-generator for
Common Lisp and X-Windows. Thanks to all who replied:
·····@cis.ohio-state.edu (Arun Welch)
··········@Corp.Sun.COM (Alok Rishi)
·····@xwillow.TC.Cornell.EDU (Jim Davis)
··········@GEM.GARNET.CS.CMU.EDU (Brad Myers)
·············@SEF-PMAX.SLISP.CS.CMU.EDU (Scott Fahlman)
····@aplcen.apl.jhu.edu (Marty Hall)
Here's a summary of the two most promising replies:
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From: ····@aplcen.apl.jhu.edu (Marty Hall)
My understanding is that DevGuide from Sun will work with *Sun* (Lucid)
CL, and that the code to get the output in LISP instead of C comes with
Sun Common LISP. So assumedly this will not work with Franz Allegro.
Your Sun rep can give more info; this is secondhand knowledge.
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From: ··········@GEM.GARNET.CS.CMU.EDU (Brad Myers)
Announcing a new version of Garnet
Generating an Amalgam of Realtime, Novel Editors and Toolkits
New features in V1.4:
* A Motif look-and-feel widget set, implemented entirely in Lisp for full
flexibility.
* A graphical interface builder, called "Gilt," for creating dialog boxes
interactively using the mouse.
The Garnet toolkit and interface builder are available from the School of
Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University. The Garnet User Interface
Development Environment helps to implement highly-interactive, graphical,
direct manipulation programs for X/11 in CommonLisp. Typical applications
include: drawing programs such as Macintosh MacDraw, user interfaces for
expert systems and other AI applications, box and arrow diagram editors,
graphical programming languages, game user interfaces, simulation and
process monitoring programs, user interface construction tools, CAD/CAM
programs, etc. Garnet does not currently help with text editing (except
for small labels or property-sheet fields).
General features include:
* Coverage of the entire user interface, including the contents of the
application windows.
* Look-and-feel independence, while still providing a high level of
support.
* Two complete sets of "widgets:" one with the Garnet look-and-feel and one
with Motif.
* Optional automatic layout of application data into lists, tables, trees
or graphs.
* An object-oriented architecture using a prototype-instance model.
* Automatic constraint solving, so properties of objects can depend on
properties of other objects, and be automatically re-evaluated when the
other objects change.
* Automatic graphical object updating, since objects are retained and
remember their position on the screen. Whenever any property changes, the
objects erase and redraw themselves, along with any other damaged objects.
* Separation of input handling from graphics programming, through the use
of "interactor" objects, which encapsulate interactive behaviors.
* Independence from X/11 and its complexities, since programmers using
Garnet never make Xlib (CLX) calls or receive Xlib events.
In the near future, a sophisticated interactive design tool (called
"Lapidary") and an interface to Macintosh QuickDraw will be released. Many
other enhancements are planned.
Garnet is implemented on top of the CLX interface to X/11, and works in
virtually any Common Lisp environment, including Allegro, Lucid, CMU, and
Harlequin on Sun, DEC, HP and Apollo machines. Garnet does not use CLOS or
any existing X toolkit (such as Xtk or CLIM). The toolkit comes with
debugging tools, complete reference manuals, and a tutorial.
Garnet is being developed under a grant from DARPA. Papers about Garnet
have appeared in OOPSLA (88), SIGCHI (89, 90, 91), ACM TOIS (July 90), and
UIST (89), and an overview article is in the November 1990 issue of IEEE
Computer (pp. 71-85).
Garnet sources are available for free, but you need to have a license from
CMU (currently restricted to only US, UK, Canada, and Australia). Send
requests (including a full physical mail work address) for additional
information or a license to:
Brad A. Myers
School of Computer Science
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA 15213-3890
(412) 268-5150
······@cs.cmu.edu
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--
David F. Skoll
Don't exaggerate, be philanthropic!