- 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/
>
>=====================================================================