SubArctic Java UI Toolkit

Jim Whitehead (ejw@ics.uci.edu)
Mon, 21 Oct 1996 15:39:37 -0700


Looks interesting, but not using the Java event model could provide
problems for some applications. On the other hand, supposedly the Java
event model is going to change in the near future anyway.

- Jim

>Date: Sat, 5 Oct 1996 00:01:24 -0400 (EDT)
>From: Scott Hudson <hudson@cc.gatech.edu>
>To: java-interest@cc.gatech.edu
>Subject: Announcing: Beta Release of subArctic UI Toolkit
>
>
>Below is the external announcement for the subArctic toolkit release.
>
>Enjoy,
>Scott
>
>
>
>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
>
>=====================================================================
>Announcing the First Public Beta Release of the SubArctic UI Toolkit
> http://www.cc.gatech.edu/gvu/ui/sub_arctic/
>=====================================================================
>
>SYNOPSIS:
>
>SubArctic is a new Java-based advanced user interface toolkit which
>offers features not found in other toolkits, such as: high level
>animation support, snapping (and drag and drop) interactions,
>overlapping, transparent, and composable interface objects, lens
>interactions, and new debugging support techniques.
>=====================================================================
>
>FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
>
>1) What is it?
>
>SubArctic is a new, totally Java-based advanced user interface
>toolkit. This toolkit is not an AWT widget set, but a complete, full
>functioned, industrial strength toolkit designed to be used for all
>your user interface needs. SubArctic has been designed from the ground
>up to provide programmers with tools to create novel interfaces
>and allow new interaction paradigms.
>
>
>2) Where did it come from?
>
>SubArctic has been developed by Scott Hudson and Ian Smith at the
>Graphics Visualization and Usability Center at Georgia Tech.
>SubArctic incorporates 10 years of research from the User Interface
>software community.
>
>3) Does it have standard UI toolkit functionality?
>
>SubArctic provides all of the basic interactors (widgets) for
>building traditional, static two-dimensional interfaces. It provides
>a complete library of interactive objects including buttons,
>check-boxes, radio-buttons, scrollbars, labels, menus (including
>pop-up menus), menubars, icons, image buttons etc. All of the
>standard UI components are currently implemented using a Motif-like
>look-and-feel but this can be changed by the programmer; SubArctic's
>interactors are implemented entirely in Java and thus do not have the
>AWT "peer" notion.
>
>4) What new functions do I get by using it?
>
> * General support for animation of any interface elements based on a
> high-level path model, including controlled timing and support for
> effects such as slow-in/slow-out, anticipation and follow-through.
>
> * Support for graphical effects that can be applied to all interface
> elements such as shadows and transparency.
>
> * Support for advanced interaction techniques such as drag and
> drop, semantic snapping, and lens interactions.
>
> * A built-in, efficient, and easy to use constraint evaluator for
> flexible dynamic layout. This constraint evaluator is a
> replacement for the AWT notion of LayoutManagers.
>
> * Support for interactive debugging of interfaces
>
>
>5) How does SubArctic relate to AWT?
>
>SubArctic is built on top of AWT and uses AWT for its lowest level
>functionality such as drawing and input event collection. SubArctic
>interfaces are "hosted" inside AWT objects such as Applets, Frames,
>and Canvases and as such may be combined with AWT
>interfaces. SubArctic uses a totally different event model and
>composition strategy which provide more flexibility than their
>AWT counterparts.
>
>6) Who is already using it?
>
>SubArctic is already in use at places like Xerox PARC, Sun
>Microsystems, and NTT Laboratories. These alpha-test users have
>provided the authors with substantial feedback to help refine and test
>the SubArctic APIs and demonstrated that SubArctic can be used to
>build real-world applications. [This does not constitute an
>endorsement by these organizations, it just indicates that particular
>people at these places are using the toolkit.]
>
>7) How much documentation is provided?
>
> * 60+ page users manual
> * Fully documented API specifications with JavaDoc web pages
> * 40+ example and test applets
> * 3 larger applets providing substantial functionality
> * All source code to the toolkit (~70,000 lines)
>
>8) How much does it cost?
>
>It's free.
>
>Anyone can distribute any program built with the toolkit provided
>they do not attempt to sell the source code to the toolkit itself.
>
>9) When & where can I get it?
>
>The Minneapolis (beta-1) release of the toolkit is available now for
>download from: http://www.cc.gatech.edu/gvu/ui/sub_arctic/
>
>=====================================================================