Re: [MacPerl] Prototyping Mac GUIs in MacPerl

[online@mactech.com (Jeff at MacTech)]

In article <mac-perl.199808100338.DAA26638@pacific.telebyte.com>, Brian
McNett <brianmc@telebyte.net> wrote:

>> What is the MacPerl GUI API?  Is it something standard or is some kind 
>>of direct access to the Mac toolbox?

It is mostly direct access to the Mac Toolbox. There are a few
"higher-level" GUI tidbits, such as Ask, but mostly it's direct Toolbox.
I'm not convinced that MacPerl is the best way to rapidly prototype a GUI,
though I'd like to be proven wrong.

[Side question: Does anyone have a candidate for the MacPerl app with the
most highly-developed GUI? Do we have a showpiece?]

>I haven't explored what he means by 'something standard'.

He may mean Perl/Tk. The Mac version of Tk is lagging somewhat (ie, Sun
has suspended development), and I don't think there's a functioning
Perl/Tk for the Mac, but I'm not at all certain.

>Ports of the program in question (apparently in C, although I don't have 
>the source yet), exist for Windows and Unix, and I suspect my 
>acquaintance wants a fully portable GUI as well (tall order, yes).

I don't think that anyone has tried it, but there it is reasonable to
think that the Toolbox modules might compile for Windows (but not Unix)
with little modification, via the QuickTime Media Layer. (In porting QT to
Win, Apple ported a shocking amount of the Toolbox to Windows, since it
was easier to do it this way.) People have ported larger things this way.
I'd be curious. But your friend probably doesn't want to go to all of this
trouble.
-- 
__________________________________________________________________________

Jeff Clites                Online Editor           http://www.MacTech.com/
online@MacTech.com         MacTech Magazine
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