Hi all, I thought this might be of interest to some people on this list:
The Human-Computer Interaction Lab at the University of Maryland, in collaboration with Microsoft Research, is pleased to announce the release of Piccolo 1.2, an open-source toolkit (available in C# and Java) for structured 2D graphics and zoomable user interfaces (ZUIs). A ZUI is a novel kind of interface that presents a large canvas of information on a traditional computer display by letting the user smoothly zoom in to get detailed information, and zoom out for an overview. Piccolo uses a "scene- graph" model, common to 3D environments. The framework maintains a hierarchal structure of objects and cameras, allowing the application developer to orient, group and manipulate objects in meaningful ways. There are three versions of the toolkit. Piccolo.Java is built on Java2 and relies on Java2D for rendering. Piccolo.NET is built on the .NET Framework and relies on GDI+ for rendering. Finally, PocketPiccolo.NET is built on the .NET Compact Framework and relies on GDI for rendering. This coordinate release brings together the desktop versions of Piccolo with nearly identical features and APIs, making it easy for Java and C# developers to build graphical applications targeting various platforms. With PocketPiccolo.NET, C# programmers can also build applications for PocketPCs and Smartphones. All three versions of the toolkit are open source and can be downloaded from the Piccolo website: www.cs.umd.edu/hcil/piccolo . âPiccolo makes it easy for application developers to build highly interactive and customized graphical interfaces,â says Ben Bederson, Piccoloâs Project Manager and director of the Human-Computer Interaction Lab. âFrom charts, maps, custom widgets to complete interactive graphical applications, the piccolo infrastructure handles all of the lower-level details for you, from efficient repainting of the screen to animation, layout, event management and more.â Piccolo bridges a gap in graphical tools for developers. The Human-Computer Interaction Lab (HCIL) at the University of Maryland is dedicated to designing, implementing, and evaluating new interface technologies that are useable, useful, efficient and appealing to a broad cross-section of people: www.cs.umd.edu/hcil . Contact: Benjamin B. Bederson University of Maryland (301) 405-2764 [EMAIL PROTECTED] www.cs.umd.edu/~bederson =================================== This list is hosted by DevelopMentor® http://www.develop.com View archives and manage your subscription(s) at http://discuss.develop.com
