Re: Custom interface

FROM : glenn andreas
DATE : Tue Apr 01 23:19:36 2008

On Apr 1, 2008, at 3:45 PM, Ricky Sharp wrote:

>
> On Apr 1, 2008, at 10:13 AM, I. Savant wrote:
>

>>> Of course we don't know what the requirements are. You may have a

>> perfectly valid reason but customizing AppKit might be a perfectly
>> poor choice ... The best thing to do - as I said - is to explain what
>> you are trying to accomplish and why Cocoa UI isn't right for the
>> project. If you do that, list members can actually give meaningful
>> suggestions.

>
>
> Well said.
>
> And, if choosing to do your own UI (I did this for my "math drills" 
> app for kids), be aware that the following can add quite a bit of 
> additional work:
>
> - accessibility
> - resolution independence
> - potential need for IB palettes/plug-ins
>
> These, and perhaps more I'm missing, are things you get for free 
> when using the standard UI.



Though you can get fairly simple "custom image" based buttons for free 
with the standard UI.  Just set the image and alternate image, set the 
button to not be bordered, and set the behavior as desired (on/off, 
highlight, etc...).

This will give you the accessibility, resolution independence, and IB 
support automatically.  Combine it with a custom window with an image 
background and no title-bar and you can get a simple "custom UI" with 
very little work.

Alternatively, you can work like Widgets do and use a WebKit view with 
the appropriate set of images (especially if you use SVG based 
images), JavaScript and CSS support to get a more complex custom UI 
with a bit more work, but still get some of the "free" benefits (or at 
least get those that web-pages have, such as resolution independence 
and at least some accessibility).

Now as to how appropriate it is to make your own customized UI, that's 
a different matter (though the general answer is "rarely, but there 
are special cases").



Glenn Andreas                      <email_removed>
  <http://www.gandreas.com/> wicked fun!
quadrium | prime : build, mutate, evolve, animate : the next 
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