🚀 go-pugleaf

> I think 3D (beveled actually) is a little easier for people to initially use
> because it's a more real-life metaphor. After that though, there probably
> isn't a big difference.  I agree on the difference between look and feel
> though, in fact that is a distinction made very clear by Motif, where
> the feel is a mandated part of the style, but look is optional.  Note
> that a "3D" Open Look on the other hand, is no longer Open Look, because
> it violates the pixel by pixel discriptions in the Open Look Style Guide.

What?  I have in front of me a copy of the "OPEN LOOK Graphical User
Interface Function Specification, Release 1.0" dated May 1, 1989. If
you go to page B-90, you will see specifications for what 3D Open Look
is supposed to look like.  If you also look at the book published by
Addison Wesley of the same title, chapter 9 is called "Color and
Three-Dimensional Design."  So yes, the 3D Open Look does not follow
the pixel specifications for monochrome Open Look,  it follows the
specifications for 3D Open Look.  I like having the two specifications,
<religion on> I personally think motif looses the appearance race in
monochrome <religion off>.

> Solbourne, from what I saw, does not yet do a Motif compliant toolkit
> Frankly I'm *glad* there's only one Motif toolkit.  Sure it's nice
> to be able to experiment with different approaches, particularly in
> an academic environment, but I need to get product out there.  I don't
> want to have to port a toolkit everywhere I go, I want to find it there
> waiting for me, and supported by the vendor. Show me an Open Look
> toolkit for which you can say that across >50% of the vendors.

What is a Motif compliant toolkit?  OSF has no certification process
for toolkits.  We've asked.  Unless they've changed something in the
past month or two, all they have is a certification process for
applications.  There are no Motif compliant toolkits, not even the one
shipped by OSF, only applications.  Solbourne's toolkit allows you to
write Motif compliant applications,  I have the checklist here,
it's not that difficult.  Certainly you can take OI and write a non
Motif compliant application but you can do the same with the Motif
toolkit.  The hard part is, how to write an application that conforms
to BOTH the Motif and Open Look style guides, they're not that much
different, but enough to make it a pain in the butt.  This is an area
where AT&T and OSF are going to have to start talking if this
look-and-feel war is ever going to merge.

You didn't think you were going to ask about Look-and-Feel opinions and
not get a little bit of religion did you? :-)

--
Tom LaStrange

Solbourne Computer Inc.    ARPA: toml@Solbourne.COM
1900 Pike Rd.              UUCP: ...!{boulder,sun}!stan!toml
Longmont, CO  80501