From: fout@kong.gsfc.nasa.gov (David Fout - RMS)
Subject: Re: prototyping tools
Reply-To: fout@achilles.gsfc.nasa.gov
Organization: RMS
Date: Mon, 5 Oct 92 14:58:57 GMT


In article <97611@bu.edu>, vanessa@spiderman.bu.edu (Vanessa C. Feliberti) writes:
> 
> I am in search of a rapid prototyping tool to prototype
> a user interface that I am designing.  I am working on
> a Sun SPARCstation and therefore need the tool to run
> on X and Motif.  Does anyone have any suggestions of
> an appropriate tool?
> 
> Thanks in advance,
> 
> Vanessa Feliberti
> vanessa@spiderman.bu.edu

TAE Plus.  It is a great tool for rapid prototyping. It run on the Sparc
as well as many other unix based machines (and VMS).  It is also extremely
inexpensive. ($350 for University and government)  You can reach the TAE
Support at 301-286-6034 or taeso@postman.gsfc.nasa.gov.

Here is a quick overview:


TAE Plus: Transportable Applications Environment Plus
a Tool for Building and Managing Graphical User Interfaces(GUIs)

TAE (Transportable Applications Environment) Plus is a portable software 
development environment designed to support the rapid building, tailoring 
and management of graphic-oriented application's user interfaces.  The main 
components of TAE Plus include (1) the WorkBench,  an intuitive What You 
See Is What You Get  (WYSIWYG) tool that supports the design and layout of 
an application's user interface;  (2) the WPT (Window Programming Tools) 
Package, a set of application program callable subroutines used to control 
an application's user interface during runtime; and  (3) TCL (TAE Command 
Language), an easy-to-learn command language that provides a simple way to 
develop an executable application prototype with a run-time interpreted 
language.

The WorkBench allows the application developer to interactively construct 
the "look and feel" of an application screen and manipulate a set of 
"interaction objects".  These objects include user-entry objects, 
information objects and data-driven objects.  User-entry objects are 
mechanisms by which an application can acquire information and directives 
from the end user. They include radio buttons, check boxes, text entry 
fields, scrolling text lists, pulldown menus and push buttons.  Information 
objects are used by an application to instruct or notify the user, such as 
contextual on-line help information displayed in a scrollable static text 
object or brief status error messages displayed in a bother box.  
Data-driven objects are vector-drawn graphic objects which are linked to an 
application data variable; elements of their view change as the data values 
change. Examples are dials, thermometers, and strip charts.  A WorkBench 
user specifies the windows and interaction objects that will make up the 
user interface, specifies the sequence of the user interface dialogue, and 
at the end of the WorkBench session, saves the designed user interface into 
resource files, which are then accessed during runtime to display and 
control the user interface.

The WorkBench is a tool for anyone involved in the building of user 
interfaces.  It is designed for both non-programmers and programmers and 
there is no coding necessary to build a prototype (an operational mock-up). 
For those who intend to develop their prototypes into operational 
applications, the WorkBench generates source code (C, Ada,  and TCL) and 
resource files, which fully control the designed user interface. This 
generated source code includes function calls to the WPTs.

The WPTs are the runtime services used by application programs to display 
and control the WorkBench-designed user interfaces.  Since the WPTs access 
resource files during execution, the details (i.e., color, font, location, 
object type) of the user interface remain independent from the application 
code, allowing changes to be easily made to the "look and feel" of an 
application without recompiling and relinking the software. 

In addition to the WPTs, TAE Plus offers control of interaction objects 
from the interpreted TAE Command Language. TCL provides an extremely 
powerful means for the more experienced developer to quickly prototype an 
application's use of TAE Plus interaction objects and add programming logic 
without the overhead of compiling or linking.

TAE Plus is designed to be portable and uses the M.I.T. X Window System as 
the underlying windowing standard.  TAE Plus V4.1 is based on the public 
domain HP widget set.  TAE Plus V5.1 became available in April 1991 and is 
based on the Open Software Foundation's Motif user interface widgets.  An 
update to TAE Plus Version 5.1 (TAE V5.2) will be available from COSMIC in 
December 1992.  The base development is being done on a Sun workstation 
under UNIX. It also operates on the Apollo, HP9000, Masscomp, Silicon 
Graphics Iris,  the Macintosh II under A/UX,  DECstation 3100/Ultrix, 
VAXstation II/Ultrix, and DEC workstations under VMS/DECWindows.  Feedback 
from TAE Plus users (which are an assortment of end scientist users, 
programmers, and user interface design experts) is guiding the development 
of future releases of TAE Plus. TAE Plus is a NASA software product being 
developed by the Goddard Space Flight Center.  Century Computing, Inc, is 
the prime contractor.  The software is available from COSMIC, the NASA 
distribution center, located at the University of Georgia. (706) 542-3265.



Contact:	
TAE Support Office
Code 522
NASA/GSFC
(301) 286-6034
email: taeso@postman.gsfc.nasa.gov

Xref: sparky comp.windows.x.motif:6478 comp.windows.x.apps:1153 comp.windows.x.intrinsics:339