Hello python-announce-list, Alpha version of PyAmulet, new module for the Amulet GUI toolkit, is available. This version is made for OpenAmulet, newly maintained, supported and developed version by volunteers. You may read more about OpenAmulet below. As for Python, it is ideal language to be bound with this dynamic, flexible toolkit. (As an example, C++ code below rewritten in python: # Create an green rectangle r=Am.Rectangle(FILL_STYLE=Am.Green); # Cast magic spell upon it: # "Do Animate!" r.append(Am.Move_Grow_Interactor()) # after this, rectangle on screen can be dragged with mouse ) OpenAmulet homepage: http://www.openip.org PyAmulet homepage: http://www.openip.org/html/oa_pyamulet.html (sources and win32 binaries) Binary of OpenAmulet dll (needed for win32 bin PyAmulet): http://www.openip.org/oa/openamulet4.3-devel-mingw32-bin.zip To be more informative, some kind of blurb (somewhat lengthy and advocatic, sorry): ============= OpenAmulet, free cross-platform GUI Toolkit version 4.3 ------------------------------------------------------- Why yet another GUI toolkit? ---------------------------- First of all, it's not yet another GUI toolkit, it's *the* GUI toolkit. OpenAmulet is based on previous work of Amulet project (http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~amulet/) held by User Interface Software Group in the Human Computer Interaction Institute in the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University (Brad A. Myers, Ellen Borison, Alan Ferrency, Rich McDaniel, Robert C. Miller, Andrew Faulring, Bruce D. Kyle, Patrick Doane, Andy Mickish, Alex Klimovitski). Amulet is their second toolkit, the C++ redesign of Garnet, written in Lisp and being classical example of nice and functional design. One of the intentions of writing Amulet in C++ was popularizing ideas not available to large audience and pushing it to production needs, in addition to research and educational ones. What are distinguishing features? --------------------------------- Briefly, OpenAmulet utilises Prototype-Instance (vs Class-Object) object system, uses Constraints as the means to maintain system's state and actions, and provides detached behaviour-oriented intercation model. More specifically, OpenAmulet emphasizes data-oriented programming. While "classical" (or, precisely, C++'s) object design preaches data hiding and interfacing via methods, Amulet has it "upside-down": all interfacing held via object's properties, and methods has only auxillary, system-internal role. Amulet has means to support such view of the world: * Prototype-instance object model Class-object model distinguishes two kinds of entities: 'classes', which can be instantiated, but not used, and 'objects' with opposite features. Prototype-instance approach doesn't have this distinction: any object can be both used as entity ready for processing and for instantiation of subobjects. Hence, class-object model is just constrained form of prototype-instance model, having stipulation above. Of course, Amulet object system is fully dynamic, allowing creation of new types of objects at runtime. * Demons and constraints How is it possible to interface via data? That's because it's possible to watch some object properties (or slots) and act upon changes. Low-level mechanism for this is demons. They are supposed to be eager and low-latency. For example, when size/position of graphical object changes, attached demons queue changing region for update. More high-level notion is constraint. Ideally constraints are mathematical equations, though may have side effects. With constraints slots of different objects can be linked in some way, for example top of one button may be equated to bottom of other. Afterwards, this relation is maintained automatically by system: wherewhere second button moved, first will be under it. Many current systems support constraints in ad hoc manner. For example, Tk's power to build quickly decent interfaces with pack is essentially stating (high-level) constraints on widgets. wxWindows' constraints are simplier and less amazing. What distinguishes Amulet here is fully generalized constraint support. Constraints can do anything (even loops are tried to be converged) on anything. Using ad hoc methods may give some benefits in some cases, for example, for example, laying out dialog with Amulet constraints is more verbose than with Tk's packs, but you can do things just not possible with Tk. * Behaviourial interaction model Contemplating evolution of GUI user-interaction techiques, following scale may be drawn: - (back to [your favorite 8-bit box] times) No interaction model Your code is mess with no obvious destinction with user-event handling and other code - MS Windows' message loop For each large-scaled entity (top-level window) you have "message procedure" which recieves all events (all they low-level) happening in that entity. Then you wonder to which lesser part it relates and act on that, if needed. - GTK, wxWindows, etc. event handlers, signals, maps, etc. each user-interactible object has bunch of (relatively low-level) events which may occur to it. Means to attach handler to needed event is provided. Handlers are independent and don't put burden on them. - Amulet's Interactors No usual graphic Amulet object has ability to interact with user. Interaction is supported by separate, external subsystem, by entities called 'Interactors' (of course, that's usual Amulet objects). Interactors function in high-level event terms, or behaviours. For example, there interactors for Selecting, Moving, Growing objects, Text-editing, etc. Low-level events, such as button- or key-press still handled in unified manner. Amulet widgets have interactors already attached. Behaviourial model means that it is very easy and clean to program highly interactive, direct-manipulation interfaces. E.g.: // Create an green rectangle Am_Object r=Am_Rectangle.Create().Set(Am_FILL_STYLE,Am_Green); // Cast magic spell upon it: // "Do Animate!" r.Add_Part(Am_Move_Grow_Interactor.Create()) // after this, rectangle on screen can be dragged with mouse What's more? ---------- Many, many more ;-) Crossplaformedness for X,Win32,Mac is worth immediate note. What's not? ----------- By current standards OpenAmulet has poor widgets set, lacking such things as trees/outlines, splitpanels, tabbed dialogs, etc. Where? ------ Latest sources, binaries, samples, language bindings, TODO lists ;-) available at http://www.openip.org/ ============= <P><A HREF="http://www.openip.org/html/oa_pyamulet.html">PyAmulet 0.1</A> - a module for the <A HREF="http://www.openip.org/">OpenAmulet</A>, highly dynamic GUI Toolkit. (30-Oct-99) Best regards, Paul mailto:paul-ml@is.lg.ua -- ----------- comp.lang.python.announce (moderated) ---------- Article Submission Address: python-announce@python.org Python Language Home Page: http://www.python.org/ Python Quick Help Index: http://www.python.org/Help.html ------------------------------------------------------------