NewBie Question - How to create a set of base class widget in EiffelBuild

[dciphercomputing]

Hi

I would like to create a standard set of widgets for use with all my GUI apps.  I would like my version of a textbox, checkbox, drop down list etc.  So I am wondering how do I create such a set of widgets and then make them available for all my GUI projects.  Can I use EiffelBuild and design them visually or do I do this in the Eiffel Studio editor.  I am use to visual design tools for components so I am trying to learn what is the Eiffel way.  So I would appreciate some guidance and suggestions for best practices in this regards.

Thanks,
Simon

[Peter Gummer-2]

dciphercomputing wrote:

> I would like to create a standard set of widgets for use with all my  
> GUI apps.  I would like my version of a textbox, checkbox, drop down  
> list etc.  So I am wondering how do I create such a set of widgets  
> and then make them available for all my GUI projects.  Can I use  
> EiffelBuild and design them visually or do I do this in the Eiffel  
> Studio editor.  I am use to visual design tools for components so I  
> am trying to learn what is the Eiffel way.  So I would appreciate  
> some guidance and suggestions for best practices in this regards.

You would write your special set of widgets in EiffelStudio.

EiffelBuild does not allow you to use your own custom widgets,  
however. EiffelBuild is limited to the standard set of widgets and  
containers in the EiffelVision2 library.

But don't be discouraged. You can still write Eiffel code to add your  
custom widgets to your windows. Design your window in EiffelBuild,  
leaving space vacant in its containers where you want your custom  
widgets to go; then write code to add your custom widgets to those  
containers. This is a bit more work than doing it all in EiffelBuild.  
The major disadvantage is that you can't see instantly in EiffelBuild  
what your window is going to look like.

- Peter Gummer

[dciphercomputing]

Thanks for the explanation.  Given the price of EiffelStudio and its focus on OOP I would have expected that it would allow you to use your own widget sets.  I have been spoiled I guess by having an environment where this was possible for 15 years or more.

Simon

--- In [hidden email], Peter Gummer <p-gummer@...> wrote:

>
> dciphercomputing wrote:
>
> > I would like to create a standard set of widgets for use with all my  
> > GUI apps.  I would like my version of a textbox, checkbox, drop down  
> > list etc.  So I am wondering how do I create such a set of widgets  
> > and then make them available for all my GUI projects.  Can I use  
> > EiffelBuild and design them visually or do I do this in the Eiffel  
> > Studio editor.  I am use to visual design tools for components so I  
> > am trying to learn what is the Eiffel way.  So I would appreciate  
> > some guidance and suggestions for best practices in this regards.
>
> You would write your special set of widgets in EiffelStudio.
>
> EiffelBuild does not allow you to use your own custom widgets,  
> however. EiffelBuild is limited to the standard set of widgets and  
> containers in the EiffelVision2 library.
>
> But don't be discouraged. You can still write Eiffel code to add your  
> custom widgets to your windows. Design your window in EiffelBuild,  
> leaving space vacant in its containers where you want your custom  
> widgets to go; then write code to add your custom widgets to those  
> containers. This is a bit more work than doing it all in EiffelBuild.  
> The major disadvantage is that you can't see instantly in EiffelBuild  
> what your window is going to look like.
>
> - Peter Gummer
>

[peter7723]

--- In [hidden email], "dciphercomputing" <simonwhite@...> wrote:
>
> Thanks for the explanation.  Given the price of EiffelStudio and its focus on OOP I would have expected that it would allow you to use your own widget sets.  I have been spoiled I guess by having an environment where this was possible for 15 years or more.

Re price of EiffelStudio: the GPL edition cost nothing, if the GPL is fine for you.

If you are in a Windows environment, you can use .NET based winforms.

Peter Horan

[Peter Gummer-2]

dciphercomputing wrote:

> Thanks for the explanation.  Given the price of EiffelStudio and its  
> focus on OOP I would have expected that it would allow you to use  
> your own widget sets.  I have been spoiled I guess by having an  
> environment where this was possible for 15 years or more.


Simon, you seem to have misunderstood what I wrote. I did not say that  
EiffelStudio does not allow you to use your own widget sets.  
EiffelStudio does allow you to do this.

The limitation is in EiffelBuild, not in EiffelStudio. I've been  
spoiled by the GUI design capabilities of Delphi and Visual Studio for  
about the same length of time, so I was disappointed with EiffelBuild  
too.

- Peter Gummer

[Emmanuel Stapf]

> Simon, you seem to have misunderstood what I wrote. I did not say that
> EiffelStudio does not allow you to use your own widget sets.
> EiffelStudio does allow you to do this.

It depends what you mean by widget. In EiffelBuild, you can build components in
the component selector. Those components can then be reused in all your
EiffelBuild projects (they are located in the "Component Selector" tool). A
component is a pre-build set of a hierarchy of vision2 widgets. You can drop any
components in any of the widgets located under the "Widget Selector" tool. If you
want to give that component a type, then you can drop that component into the
"Widget Selector" and it will build a type for you. The widget is now available in
your widget selector, and you can reuse it directly in your other windows (they
will appear with a lock icon in the widget hierarchy of your windows).

What EiffelBuild does not provide is building or reusing what I would call vision2
widget that are not part of the standard vision2 library.
 
Regards,
Manu

[dciphercomputing]

Hi

I should have been more careful with my wording.  I do understand that  this is possible in Eiffel Studio by simply creating the appropriate classes that inherit from the Vision 2 classes.

So you are correct it is not a problem with EiffelStudio but more a limitation with EiffelBuild.

Simon


--- In [hidden email], Peter Gummer <p-gummer@...> wrote:

>
> dciphercomputing wrote:
>
> > Thanks for the explanation.  Given the price of EiffelStudio and its  
> > focus on OOP I would have expected that it would allow you to use  
> > your own widget sets.  I have been spoiled I guess by having an  
> > environment where this was possible for 15 years or more.
>
>
> Simon, you seem to have misunderstood what I wrote. I did not say that  
> EiffelStudio does not allow you to use your own widget sets.  
> EiffelStudio does allow you to do this.
>
> The limitation is in EiffelBuild, not in EiffelStudio. I've been  
> spoiled by the GUI design capabilities of Delphi and Visual Studio for  
> about the same length of time, so I was disappointed with EiffelBuild  
> too.
>
> - Peter Gummer
>