implicit gui programming

9.17: adda/implicit gui programming:

. servers can see the same thing we see

by having windows as a list of coords

and a list of obj's within those coords .

. they can see graphic types like we do, anyway;

since a picts` binary rep is the same as their graphic rep .

. with special effects it may be difficult to know a char's

preferred minimal pixel size,

I guess that's why mac went with points?

(9.18: also:

when looking at picts as graphs of functions,

functions are composed of sets of points) .

. the min height of a character determines

the size of a word's pictorial rep .

. another shortcut to compacting text by making use of the 4-byte coding

is by including in that coding

how it is being separated from the next word;

is next connector a {space, dash, dot, comma}?

-- that way you are compressing all the spaces down to 2-bits .

. every native type has an image which is the

pict it makes in a rect of size in points .

. the servers can invent new types

that also have server-defined images .

. say a line drawn is supposed to generate a circle of varying size

that selects any obj's it overlaps;

then its building the selector set as links to

obj's whose images are overlapping

. image is 2parts (as first described by [inside mac])

. an enclosing rect; and, a subset of that

where active points are given by mask or formula .

. servers see graphics as trees of rectangles;

ie, subtrees are subrectangles,

. here agent refers to gui agent, or presentation agent .

. servers are either processors or type'mgt's .

. word server depends on graphics parameters for doing word wrap

-- an example of how, generally,

servers will have a need for dealing with graphics as

some operations are inherently graphical

and not just a translation for the user's needs .

9.18: adda/implicit gui support:

. a key strategy of adda is implicit gui support,

where the programmer need only create the usual api,

and then the user`agent would tranlate to a gui for the user .

. how is the api sorting cmd's by skill or task?

[9.22: . this is already seen in the use of wrapper api's

where there is a low-level api for the primitives,

and then a high-level api for helping with

simplifying the tasks most often used .

]

. think of some examples where the user or system

is imposing an arbitrary order:

. the mac likes a file menu to have a set of functions {save/as, ... };

but, the server doesn't follow that;

rather the person porting the app to mac (the porter)

creates a map from sys'req's to server rsrc's .

. there is a 1-1 correspondence on (adda, graphics);

ie, a name for types of widgets,

the porters create the map they think the user wants to see;

the user can edit the map like an html form and save .

. the still-unsolved part to this map

is how to name and org widgets ... .

. menu's are records of function.ptr's;

the server itself is welcome to org its face this way .