From: Nit Khair <sentinel.2001@...>
Date: 2008-10-11T13:28:24+09:00
Subject: Re: Writing an OO wrapper (UI)

Martin DeMello wrote:
> On Fri, Oct 10, 2008 at 12:05 PM, Nit Khair <sentinel.2001@gmx.com> 
> wrote:
>> some smallish projects that solve this kind of problem?
> Could you paste in some of your switch/case code? It would suggest
> what bits of it want to be object oriented. Some nice high level
> projects atop C-ish bindings are WxSugar and RubyGame. Also look at
> STFL for an existing high level layer atop ncurses, complete with ruby
> bindings
> 
> http://www.clifford.at/stfl/
> 
> Another neat but sadly abandoned TUI project is jttuii:
> http://freshmeat.net/projects/jttui/
> 
> martin

Have been checking a lot of ncurses wrappers. Sadly, many ruby projects 
that have not released any files, or seem abandoned. I am currently 
installing a newt-ruby binding released in 2002. No activity since. No 
writeup, screenshots etc.

e.g Yesterday I wrote a file pager with an OK Cancel button. This is a 
tiny example compared to FIELD or FORM. Now I would like to be able to 
just add a button in a few lines of code, and not have to cut-paste into 
3 places and change names of form or window variables etc.

So when i am creating all the fields, prior to the form being created I 
have these lines:

    # create the Ok field
    label = "OK"
    width = label.length+2
    field = FIELD.new(1, width, @footer_row, @cols-20, 0, 0)
    field.field_opts_off(O_EDIT);
    field.set_field_buffer(0, "[#{label}]")
    field.set_field_just(JUSTIFY_CENTER);
    field.user_object = label
    @fields.push(field)

Later, in my getch() loop I have this:

     when KEY_ENTER
        name=@curr_field_name;
        if name == "OK"
          return multiline_format(@content, @fieldwidth)
        elsif name == "Cancel"
          return ""
        end

In my field_init_hook, I check for field. When the button gets the 
focus, I make it reverse video:
        if ix != 0
           @fields[ix].set_field_back(A_REVERSE)

When you  tab out, (in the field_term_hook):

        @fields[ix].set_field_back(A_NORMAL)

I have vague/distant memories of Swing programming, so I was having 
thoughts that each field should have a handler installed in some array 
for each event. The field_init and term hook just call that handler with 
field and value, and the handler invokes the handler of that field, if 
exists.

When i create a FIELD, it (should) installs its handlers. This includes 
on_enter, on_exit, on_selection and should also wrap the label (in 
ncurses printing a fields label is totally unrelated to the field, and 
happens *after* the form and window is created). Now I don't want to get 
overly complex and slow, for then one purpose of using text UI is 
defeated.

So i really want to study a well-designed wrapper and see how the pros 
do it.

I did look at wxSugar last night. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
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