Hurd, Matthew wrote:
Behalf Of David Turner Sent: Friday, 20 August 2004 3:32 AM To: boost@lists.boost.org Subject: RE: [boost] Java style GUI in C++
I am currently designing a GUI framework in C++ (initially targeting the Windows platform) that uses a model similar to that which Java uses in it's AWT and Swing libraries. Specifically:
[snip]
I would appreciate comments and ideas as to what people would like out of a GUI framework, especially one that will be multi-platform.
Boost-style C++ GUI library utilizing boost::signals and with a nice way of handling message loops:
Looks like a very nice conservative approach. I think you're wise to keep it simple and take a conservative c++ approach. Only trouble is it still feels like a lot of other things just shines a bit brighter and has cleaner lines.
However I must say I've never seen a UI lib I've been happy with. Nor have I written one, or infrastructure that uses one, that I've been fond of.
Borland's C++ Builder was very nice, but of course it wasn't standard C++. VC++ Managed C++ .NET is very nice but it is even further away from standard C++. In neither do you have to write hundreds of lines of code to do any GUI programming of significance. In order to have a really top-rate C++ GUI library I believe one needs reflection in C++ in order to do the sort of easy RAD programming which C++ Builder and Managed C++ .NET provide. Needless to say, both use extensions to C++ to do reflection. This is not a knock on any of the GUI libraries mentioned, but after using C++ Builder and Managed C++ .NET, even despite their non-C++-isms, most C++ GUI libraries are very primitive by contrast.