Re: [rgui-dev] API Time

[Massimiliano Mirra]

On Thu, Aug 22, 2002 at 03:46:34PM -0600, Tom Sawyer wrote:
> Okay all, now it's time to get down and dirty and figure out the GUtopIa
> API. That is to say: How does the programmer work with GUtopIa?
> 
> There seems to me to be two approaches we can take: 1) The traditional
> API approach, like that presented in the preliminary sample on the
> GUtopIa wiki. -or- 2) The markup approach, al la glade.
> 
> I think we all have a fair notion of what the traditional approach
> entails. and i tend to lean toward it, but recently i'v had another
> notion, that may make markup much more attractive: Dynamic Markup.
> 
> Typically once markup is created it stays static, and is used as such.
> Of course this has started to change with things like DOM. but DOM's
> create a-whole-nother layer of API on top of the markup language already
> used, and additionally if you've ever used DOM you know just how poor of
> an API it is. it is ungodly cumbersome to generate markup with a DOM
> only! improved solutions to such problems have trickled in, like REXML,
> which represents a much improved API for the manipulation of XML.
> 
> But I have the notion to actually use markup to manipulate markup, hence
> Dynamic Markup. With regards to GUtopIa, the GUI markup could change and
> automatically be reflected on the screen. i haven't fully flushed this
> out yet. any ideas?
> 
> additional thoughts?

I've not been following YAML closely, but I was wondering whether it
could be of help.  I gather YAML produces a readable translation of an
object which can also be translated back into an object.  If I'm
mistaken, disregard the next paragraph. :-)

We wouldn't have an either/or scenario.  An interface could be written
in YAML and marshalled into an InterfaceDescription at runtime, as
well as created at runtime and then written in YAML format.

I admit some reluctancy to consider XML.  I'd like to imagine a GUI by
just looking at its description, and it's hard with XML where
everything soon becomes flooded with tags.


Massimiliano