[linux-audio-dev] a bit off topic: GUI-lib-programming (how does it usually work?)

[Christian Schoenebeck]

Am Sonntag, 5. März 2006 15:23 schrieb Julien Claassen:
> Hi!
>   I know, this may be a bit off topic. But I've a dificulty:
>   I'm currently programming a textbase "GUI"-lib. I want the programming
> API to be similar to on of a real GUI-lib (gtk, you name them).
>   Now I'm wondering, there are menus. Menus have menuitems and if you click
> on one, something should happen. How is this "something should happen" part
> usually done? - I thought of the java-apporach, deriving your own
> menu-class. But it doesn't feel right. I have my dificulties with trying

This depends on the programming language of course. If you pick C for example 
then you would usually do as Loki already pointed out by using callback 
functions.
In Java and C++ you would rather define an abstract class "MenuItem" which 
just defines the API, thus the method names and their arguments and return 
type and then you would derive that abstract class in your actual 
implementation classes to implement those methods.

I'm just wondering how a "text based GUI lib" should look like exactly? I mean 
there are libraries like (n)curses, but those are actually already quite 
graphical. So what did you have in mind?

> GUI-libs myself, for I'm blind. I could write some code, but wouldn't know,
> if it works, like I planned.

Btw have you planned a lecture or something for this year's LAC? Personally I 
would be very interested to hear how blind people usually work with 
computers, what kind of interfaces and software they use etc. This might also 
help other blind people and give developers an impression how to make 
software more friendly for blind people.

CU
Christian