> This is not true any more with modern VMs. See eg ArgoUML > (http://argouml.tigris.org/). This is a much-debated point of course > so I won't waste any more time on it; try it again on a fairly modern > machine with a modern VM and it'll be much better.
I had never heard about this VM. The only ones I've known are the Sun's and MS's. > First, I don't know if you used AWT or Swing, but either way, they > suck. I think I tried both of them! > Try SWT; an IBM-developed library that uses native gui elements on > different platforms. Less portable than AWT and Swing, but lots and > lots faster. See it in action eg on Eclipse (www.eclipse.org). I'm gonna check it. > Second, what you call 'pixel-level control' is imo THE big deficiency > in > win32: lack of support for layout-managers. Getting resizing windows > right is a PITA on Windows with lots of pixel calculations. Like Jason > said, it's near impossible to get translated interfaces right without > having different dialogs for different languages, and how often have > you seen applications that can't handle Windows' 'large font size' > correctly because their entry boxes and statics are too small? I see > them every day and it's not pretty :( Layout managers help you get rid > of all these problems at once. Gtk uses them as well by the way, and > unlike Java, you cannot choose not to use them - it's the only way. > But the good thing is that anything can be a container, even eg a > button. > So no more separate classes for buttons with images on them (I mean, > that's SO basic) or separate tutorials on how to get a dropdown in a > toolbar (toolbars are an abomination in win32 when you come from gtk). > The primitive way of positioning every control manually like in vb is > ok for fixed dialogs that are on only one language - I'll admit that > they're easy to write but once you understand the full power of layout > managers you'll never want to go back. I'll also admit that the Java > layout managers aren't great but you shouldn't use that to dismiss all > layout managers and go back to pixelpushing. All IMO, of course ;) Hmmm, very interesting reading you gave me there. I admit I had never looked at the matters that way. > But you cannot compare Java application with applets. They're in > different leagues. I was comparing their speed. Is that a false comparison? > I don't know about LAF, but for SWT, start here: > http://www-106.ibm.com/developerworks/library/j-nativegui/ > > Oh, and btw, the gcc compiler can compile Java into native code > nowadays, see http://gcc.gnu.org/java/. There are Java bindings for > Gnome even. AWT and Swing are still in development though so it may > not be a great solution. Check http://gcc.gnu.org/java/ to see for > yourself. Well, FYI gcc's java is not a true gcc backend. I read about it somewhere, that it's an awkward hack of some sort, and doesn't use the usual gcc methods. I think it was on a discussion about writing a gcc backend for CLI code (the code generated by .NET apps) and mentioned gcc's Java support as an example. You can google for it if you're interetsed. But anyway, what that means to my job is probably it's not supported on the Mingw32 project, and that would mean I can't cross compile a native Windows version of the app easily. ------------- Ehsan Akhgari Farda Technology (http://www.farda-tech.com/) List Owner: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [ Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ] [ WWW: http://www.beginthread.com/Ehsan ] Mature manhood: that means to have rediscovered the seriousness one had as a child at play. -Beyond Good And Evil, F. W. Nietzsche _______________________________________________ msvc mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] See http://beginthread.com/mailman/listinfo/msvc_beginthread.com for subscription changes, and list archive.
