Re: Does Eclipse provide a "Visual Studio" for programming GUIs?
Lionel van den Berg wrote:
...I start by writing the code myself, rather than using
GUI builders that will eventually require me to edit the code anyway, at
which time I will have to understand what the GUI builder has done.
....
Usability is my top priority.
Ramon F Herrera wrote:
JBuilder?
Yes. Eventually wanted to edit the code manually, didn't like the crap
it generated.
GUI builders are find for forms that don't change much, or might have
items added to a table or list, but start moving outside of this with
more dynamic interfaces and I have found I can write code much faster.
Another factor is that different people work differently. Some find graphic
interfaces and tools more efficient; these tools are a good "impedance match"
to how their minds hold the gestalt of the GUI. Others have a good grasp of
GUI structure through the imperatives of the source.
LvdB, would you agree that in your imperative-oriented mindgrok of the GUI you
account for many details not always apparent in the GUI builder, such as
nuances of border placement, interactions of event listeners and so on?
You didn't mention this in detail but I find that the GUI builder approach can
fragment the mental model - you have to click on a widget to view a property
sheet that you scan for the particular attribute and click thereupon to expand
the value. Looking at code the fundamental navigation is up and down in
various increments. With only one navigational dimension, the mind has more
room to integrate the different things expressed directly in the code, and to
correlate factors that a WYSIWYG separates.
For example, dynamic interfaces (that you did mention in detail) might relate
to hooks for logic beans, but the visual editor shows only the control. You
have to click through a few layers to see what logic it hooks in, through more
than one navigational dimension.
Text seems more "bloated" than images ofttimes, but the human brain evolved to
handle linguistic tasks efficiently. The linguistic nature of source code
empowers some people, apparent Messr. van den Berg among them. I count myself
in this set as well.
--
Lew