A couple of weeks ago, I posted a request for information about interface
tools, to the newsgroups comp.human-factors, comp.graphics and
comp.multimedia. I have had about a dozen responses, telling me about
some tools I knew about, and some tools I perhaps SHOULD have known about, and
some that were new to me. But one or two of the ones I DO know about
weren't mentioned.
From this I deduce that I have not reached all the distributors or
programmers I would like to, so I am re-posting the request, casting the
net a little wider. The original request follows. Once again, please
reply by email, not via news, and I will post a summary to the net at the
end of the month.
The replies I have received so far mention the following systems
GARNET
GINA
Winterp
Sepia Prolog (with PCE interface)
Sicstus Prolog (with Graphics Manager)
Gizmo
Metacard
TCL/TK (in various capitalisations)
UIM/X
HyperLook
Open Interface
WNDX
I would still welcome first-hand accounts of using them, though!
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This has the feel of something that should be a "Frequently Asked
Question", but I have looked at the FAQ lists we have here and not found
anything appropriate, so...
I am working on a project that will be looking at different styles of
interface, and in particular seeking to compare language-based and
graphics-based interfaces. Part of the work will involve building one or
more systems with one or more different styles of interface. These systems
will either be existing applications with the interfaces replaced, or
possibly minimal systems built from scratch. Either way, pairs (or sets)
of different interfaces will be built and compared.
We are currently looking for tools or toolkits that we could use to build
these interfaces. We will be using X windows on Sun machines, and are
looking for software that will let us build and easily modify graphical (as
opposed to just mouse and menu) interfaces. The ability to work with or
couple to systems written in Lisp or Prolog will also be important, so that
information can be extensively processed before it is displayed, and to
allow sophisticated (dare I say "intelligent") interface-related processing
within the interface.
I'd like to ask for pointers to software systems that we should be looking
at---that we should make sure we don't overlook. We do have a software
budget, but it is not huge, so both commercial tools and research systems
will be of interest. We'd like to know
o What tool or system would YOU suggest we use, and where do we find out
more about it? (References to papers will be fine, as will contact
information for vendors or implementors.)
o What is it---a code generator? A run-time library? Part of a
programming tool? How does it couple to the "back end" system?
o What features has it got that make it particularly attractive?
o Have you actually used it in anger, and if so, how robust is it? How
resource-hungry is it, and what sort of response can it deliver, and
how much does it need to be "fine tuned" to deliver it?
Pointers to (or preferably copies of) other surveys or summaries of
available systems (or indeed relevant FAQ answers) will be appreciated, but
I am also particularly interested in people's experience of using the
various systems.
I suspect (and hope!) that this is something that many people will have an
opinion about. Rather than generate a flood of traffic, I suggest that
people DON'T post to the net; reply by mail and I will summarise, probably
in around two weeks time.
Robert.
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Robert Inder HCRC, 2, Buccleuch Place, Edinburgh EH8 9LW Scotland
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Robert Inder HCRC, 2, Buccleuch Place, Edinburgh EH8 9LW Scotland