From: edwards@hpwarga.wal.hp.com (Edward Swierk)
Newsgroups: fj.mail-lists.x-window
Subject: Re: Looking for an Interactive User Interface Builder
Date: 10 Nov 92 04:16:29 GMT
Distribution: fj
Organization: Hewlett-Packard Company, Waltham, MA

Date: Wed, 4 Nov 1992 21:41:47 GMT
Message-Id: <3880@hpwala.wal.hp.com>
Newsgroups: comp.windows.x,comp.windows.x.motif

In article <zrsjp01.720815808@mailserv>, zrsjp01@mailserv.zdv.uni-tuebingen.de (Peter Jesinger) writes:
|> Is there any WYSIWYG User Interface Builder available over the net,
|> or which commercial products are there? 

Here at HP there's a program called HP Architect. I believe it is a commercial product. Following is an excerpt from the developer's guide:

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Product Description
-----------------------------------------------------------------

Architect is a comprehensive second-generation
Graphical User Interface (GUI) builder.  It
enhances programmer productivity by enabling
software developers to interactively create,
modify, test, and generate code for the user
interface portion of their applications.  In
addition, Architect can create iconic interfaces
for existing keyboard-oriented applications.  Using
Architect, software developers can save much effort
and investment in creating their applications.

Architect is fully integrated with the OSF/Motif
1.1 toolkit.  Developers se a WYSIWYG (What You See
Is What You Get) editor to graphically choose any
of the Motif widgets (such as pushbuttons,
scrollbars, popup menus, etc.) and draw their
interfaces.

Architect contains a built-in C interpreter.  From
within Architect, developers can create the C-code
link between the user interface and their
applications.  They have on-line access to their
own compiled functions, as well as to an optional
library of Architect convenience functions.

Architect allows the user interface to be modified
while the underlying application is connected and
running.  Developers can modify interfaces and
immediately see the effects on their applications;
with Architect, there's no need for the
time-consuming generate
code-recompile-relink-restart-test cycles of GUI
software development.

Architect generates high-performance, error-free C
code, as well as a customizable main program and
makefile.  It can even run the makefile for you.
Developing GUI software has never been so rapid or
so easy.

Architect also works with existing applications.  It
enables developers to rapidly build an iconic user
interface for an existing character-based
application without modifying or restructuring it.

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Architect 2.0 Features and Benefits
-----------------------------------------------------------------

 * Architect fully supports standards so your GUI
   software development investment is protected.
   Architect generates Kernighan & Richie or ANSI
   C, and pure OSF/Motif 1.1 code (as an option)
   with no dependence on convenience libraries.  In
   addition, it reads UIL files.

 * Architect supports 100% of the OSF/Motif 1.1
   Toolkit--all shells, widgets, gadgets,
   convenience dialogs and resources.  Architect
   handles even difficult resources such as
   XmNcolormap (for graphics applications) and
   XmNinsertPosition (for building dynamically
   growing menus).  Architect enables you to build
   production-quality, style guide-compliant
   interfaces without the need to modify generated
   C code and set resources or create widgets that
   the GUI builder doesn't handle.

 * Architect can generate applications which use
   single-byte and multi-byte character code sets
   with the exception of code sets required for
   bidirectional languages.

---------

-- 
Ed Swierk
Hewlett-Packard Company                 Internet:  edwards@wal.hp.com
Patient Monitoring Systems R&D          Phone:     (617) 290-3078
175 Wyman St, Waltham MA 02254          HP Telnet: 290-3078