Hi Kenneth, there is some literature on Spec that might help you out.
- The tech report serves as a 'getting started' http://hal.inria.fr/docs/00/70/80/67/PDF/SpecTechReport.pdf - Also, we published a paper that talks more about the motivations behind spec and itsadvantages.http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?doid=2448963.2448965 I can send you a preprint in a direct message if you are unable to download it. Greetings, On Apr 14, 2013, at 1:22 PM, Kenneth Payne <[email protected]> wrote: > As a newcomer to smalltalk and Pharo I must say I love it - but I'm a little > mystified by Spec. > > Just as I've got my head around Polymorph and can build an interface with > UITheme builder, the paradigm has changed and Spec is the new standard way to > create a UI. > > I read on a post that Polymorph is a UI framework but Spec is a UI > description framework. But Spec isn't just a description like a XML > representation of a UI - it brings new UI objects to the party - > ButtonModel, LabelModel etc. But none of these have the rich properties of > the corresponding Morphic objects. A ButtonModel looks nothing like a button, > for example, and the LabelModel has nothing to set a font for the label. And > it's not a description it's just more code. > > The only way I can see to create a rich interface using Spec is to create the > interface using Morphs (and composite Morphs) and then using Spec mainly just > to assemble and position them. > > So can someone wiser than I answer these questions for me: > > One, what is the purpose of Spec - what problem is it trying to solve? > > Two, what advantages are there to building a UI in Spec rather than building > it directly in Polymorph? > > Three, why are the objects caled ButtonModel, LableModel etc when they are > not models but UI components? > > Four, am I supposed to be assembling morphs using Spec? It works so is it > right? > > To sum up, I'm quite sure Spec is an important new feature but at the moment > I'm just not getting it. > > Can anyone help me on this? > > > > > > ---> Save our in-boxes! http://emailcharter.org <--- Johan Fabry - http://pleiad.cl/~jfabry PLEIAD lab - Computer Science Department (DCC) - University of Chile
