[GUI] Portable GUI libraries

[seth@cql.com]

Simon PJ has asked the crucial question.  Not that the other issues aren't
important, but without an interface definition it is not possible to move the
discussion to a more concrete plane.

(By the way Manuel's work on eliminating state monads in a GUI library is very
interesting and should be considered.)

The difficulty of defining the interface must not be underestimated.  One of
the things that continues to amaze me is that, despite the huge body of work
done by very smart people, it is still a PITA to write a GUI app.  Why? 
Because the tradeoff between ease of use and functionality pushes the interface
to be either too inflexible (but easy to use), or sufficiently flexible (but
not easy to use).  The fact that existing GUI libraries either start as, or
evolve to, higher levels of functionality suggests that simplification is not
the best option.

I'm not talking about prototyping here, as mentioned by Simon M.  A rapid
prototyping system is useful and an excellent idea.  However, such a system has
much less in common with a development environment than might be initially
obvious.  So I suggest treating the two (rapid prototyping and application
development) as two completely separate issues.

On 24-Jan-2003 Simon Marlow wrote:
> Just thought I'd weigh in with MHO.  It seems to me that it comes down
> to picking two of the following:
> 
>    1. Portable GUI library
>    2. Rich widget set
>    3. Native look and feel
> 
> Sometimes you can make a pretty good stab at the third, but it's not
> possible to do a good job on all three simultaneously.  It's just a
> question of what you want to compromise.
> 
> We have examples of each combination:
> 
>    1 & 2:  Gtk, Qt, wxWindows, Tcl/Tk
>    1 & 3:  ObjectIO, ?
>    2 & 3:  MFC, Gtk & Qt (On X11 only)
> 
> Personally I'd use the 2&3 libraries, and rewrite my GUI for each
> platform.  For building quick portable prototypes, I'd appreciate a
> library that falls into the 1&3 category too, but I won't expect it to
> be as full-featured or native-looking as a 2&3 library.
> 
> Cheers,
>       Simon
> 
> _______________________________________________
> GUI mailing list
> GUI@haskell.org
> http://www.haskell.org/mailman/listinfo/gui

-- 
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Seth Kurtzberg
M. I. S. Corp.
E-Mail: seth@cql.com
Date: 24-Jan-2003
Time: 09:40:58

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