RE: GUI

[Joel Fritz <JFritz@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: boothm@ibm.net [mailto:boothm@ibm.net]
> Sent: Tuesday, March 02, 1999 4:44 PM
> To: MIDRANGE-L@midrange.com
> Subject: Re: GUI
> 
> 
> I have problems with calling an application a gui interface 
> and still needing the F3 key.  One point I feel we can all 
> agree on is that gui-izing a green screen is not gui.  True 
> gui goes far beyond that.  Designed and implemented from the 
> event-based paradigm instead of the cycle-based paradigm 
> allows the gui to become both fast and accurate.
> 

It seems to me that any interactive program is event driven.  You put the
screen and then see what happens.  You can control how many events are
possible, but as long as the user can do something that your program must
respond to, you have to respond to events.  In Visual Basic, the event loop
is hidden (kinda like the cycle), but your program still is in a "do while
NOT done" done loop.  In a green screen environment the number of possible
events is limited by the number of function keys (in the broad sense.)  In a
GUI environment or a text based environment where you get user input one
character at a time, there are just a lot more possible events.

By the way, having keyboard equivalents for mouse actions is an important
(to me) component of any GUI.  My elbow and shoulder aren't up to the
overhand curve ball or heavy mouse use any more.

###########################################
The above is my personal opinion and is not intended to represent good
programming practice or the product of a sound mind.

Joel Fritz 
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