RE: [platform-swt-dev] possible XML SWT markup language?

["Joe Pluta" <joepluta@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> From: public@xxxxxxxxx
>
> You absolutely can do that, what I'm saying is that I don't want to.  I
> believe it to be much more difficult than it initially appears, and of
> dubious benefit to developers.  (and outside the scope of what a SWTML
> should be)

I think we agree here, actually, Derek.  My point was that your idea of a
SWT-specific ML is the right level to start at.  If someone wants to make a
higher-level abstraction, that's fine, and then it's a simple XSLT translate
to the SWTML.  But the original work should be at the SWT level.  A pure
1-to-1 mapping simply moves the implementation from Java to XML, which is a
good thing.  Generalization can be a second layer.


> P.S.  Besides, I don't see the need for a higher level of tags.  SWT is
> high enough for me right now.  Remeber that every layer of abstraction
> reduces your level of control over its implementation.  But I'm more
> than willing to coordinate with anyone trying to build such an XSLT
> collection on top of my work.  :)

I agree with the idea that more abstraction tends to mean less control.  But
there are so many "application level" UI things that can be done by
encapsulating the lower-level stuff.  Many simple UI projects don't need
advanced control, they just need an easy way to toss up a few panels.  At
the highest level you should just be able to specify a group of fields and
labels and everything else is done for you.  But this should NOT be the goal
of your SWTML.

So I think we're in agreement, and while you work on the SWTML, I'm going to
start cogitatin' on the requirements for a generalized UIML.  (Actually, I
want to start with a subset - a BAUIML, or Business Application User
Interface ML, which will provide all the basic capabilities for a simple
data entry type of business application).

Joe