[REBOL] Re: [native-UI] What's native?
From: carl:cybercraft at: 22-Jun-2004 17:17
>Hi Carl,
>
>CR> One of the complaints I receive about REBOL is it doesn't adopt
>CR> the look-and-feel of the OS it's running on, though if it did, my
>CR> complaint would be the program I'm using isn't consistant across
>CR> platforms. So, I've come to believe the user should be given a
>CR> choice in the matter, and ideally for each program they run.
>
>I don't know if emulating other GUI systems is worth the effort (which
>will be nothing short of enormous). Offering a native look isn't so
>hard, but getting the native feel right will always be tough, and a
>moving target at that.
All agreed. I never said it'd be easy. ;-)
>One of the big benefits to a non-native GUI--which I never seem to see
>mentioned--is what it's like to support apps that look and behave
>differently on each OS they run on (discounting glitches). If I have
>an interface that looks and behaves identically across platforms, I
>don't have to be running the OS my customer is to tell them what
>they're seeing on the screen, or what remember what special keys an OS
>uses.
True, and the docs can be identical as well. These are mainly the developers' problem,
not the users', and I'm thinking of things from the users' POV.
>As an end user--one who spends most of his time on one platform--if I
>can take my app with me, it helps to have it exactly like I'm used to
>it on *my* native OS. Joel cites this as the single most important
>feature his editor should have, and why he uses the one he does--it's
>the same everywhere.
But, at least for now, most people are not switching between platforms on a regular basis,
and those people expect an app to behave the way they're used to at the widget level.
>I know the Mac community is notorious for refusing to use apps that
>don't adhere to UI standards, so that's obviously a tough call if you
>want to sell a commercial app into that sector.
Still, if developers are moving to the browser as the interface of choice, the platform
you're running on might begin not to matter too much.
-- Carl