RE: Can end users configure XUL interfaces?

Thanks for the reply Alessandro.

I had thought about the Tcl or Python variants route, especially seeing as they have builders associated, but at the end of the day to achieve functionality changes in the GUID that I want to allow, then some programming has to happen and that assumes some coding parlez on the part of the user.

 

It does mean I'm restricting myself quite a bit but I'm hoping that my specific user base will have a few users able to do such things, I know some of them can write firefox extentions, and seeing as the changes ( hopefully ) will be just XML and javascript ,it should be easy for most of them that are interested to pick up.

That's my current theory!

 

Gerald, I've pretty much given up on Xoetrope  as I started it's tutorial and it droppped almost immediately in to java, which I wanted to avoid. Thanks for the info on the mailing list, I'll be signing up to it.

 

Wil

 

-----Original Message-----

From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Alessandro Bottoni

Sent: 04 August 2005 17:00

To: [email protected]

Subject: Re: [xul-talk] Can end users configure XUL interfaces?

 

Will, Laurent,

excuse me for this intrusion but I think Will has to be warned about a couple 

of issues.

> to write extensions, you only need :

> - a text editor to edit all js, css, and xml file you want (xul, 

> overlay, xbl, html, svg, contents.rdf etc)

> - a zip tool to create the xpi package

> - your application to test the extension

> - and ... knowledge about XUL, overlay, css etc...

> There isn't yet an existing RAD tool (to create a rad tool helping to 

> develop overlay, it is very difficult...). Some project for such tools 

> are began but they are still in developpement, and some of them are 

> cancelled...

Creating estensions may be easy for a programmer but certainly it is not for a 

end-user. A _real_ end-user is the kind of person you can see behind the desk 

of a post office or a bank, that is: a clerk or a secretary. This kind of 

person does not edit XML files to change the UI of an application (even 

granted that such a sophisticated feature is actually required or useful).

Even for a programmer, XUL and Mozilla may be not the most elegant or the 

easiest way to create a graphical front-end for a server-side application. 

Mozilla and XUL requires to manage at least 3 different languages (XML/XUL, 

Javascript/ECMAscript, and CSS) and to keep under control a few annoying 

issues (like the permission to execute your code on the end-user machine). 

There are easier ways to accomplish such a task.

For example, have a look at wxWidgets (www.wxwidgets.org) or wxPython for a 

good cross-platform GUI library. You can use a XML file to describe the UI 

interface of a wxWidgets application (see wxGlade) and there are a few nice 

UI builders (see DialogBlocks or wxHatch). It may be what you are looking 

for.

CU

-----------------------------

Alessandro Bottoni

 

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