[ale] Object Model on Linux

[Steven A. Duchene]

OK Dan...Have you really looked at a properly configured CDE system? I am not
100% percent positive I know what "object component layer and user interface"
is but I don't think CDE has this but the points that you bring up certainly
seem to be satisfied. It has a file manager that allows you to work with files
as icons including using drag & drop to place them on your desktop or into
other integrated applications (text editor, mailer, and etc). It also
functions as an application manager that lets you bring it up as a toolbox
to start applications or desktop tools by clicking on icons. Because it allows
you to work with applications as icons there is an easy method to customize
your environment by placing commonly used application icons in toolbars on
the front panel (the long thin toolbar on the bottom of the screen that
has the workspace switch buttons on it, very similar to FVWM Goodstuff
module but MUCH easier to customize).

As far as making interfaces the same across applications this is also
available in CDE. A completely integrated application can take
advantage of the CDE programming API to utilize of all the CDE
funtionality (drag & drop, saving the application state, controlling
workspace occupancy, defining datatypes to associate them with a
particular application, and using CDE fonts & colors). This integration can
be done in stages with the use of CDE fonts & colors being the first and
simplest stage. Additional integration stages work their way up in
complication to include actual coding changes. Motif has also had a look
and feel specification but it didn't have a "desktop environment" that CDE
provides.

As far as having too many libraries to work with how is this different
than the 1001 DLLs you have to work with in Winblows?

If you want to check out a really unusual window manager take a look at
http://www.cse.unsw.edu.au/~s2154962/enlightenment.html
It is based on the Xaw-XPM widget set (more info on this at
http://www.zip.com.au/~bb/XawXpm/  ).
--
Steve DuChene              sad at hpuerca.atl.hp.com               1-800-633-3600

	       The HP North American Response Center, Atlanta
		  X/CDE/Vue/xterminal/graphics support team
    		    I am an employee of Hewlett-Packard.