Jens, Graham, List, First, a bit of background : Yes, I am coming from multiple other platforms (ms c++; ms.net, national instruments CVI, multiple industrial HMI/SCADA, Kiel for proprietary embedded, etc, etc.). We write machine control applications for a variety of industries. www.youney.com The applications that I am speaking of are not your typical desktop applications, and are not designed as such. There are very specific hardware, software, and safety reasons why our GUIs are laid out the way that they are. I do not mean to be closed minded, and I do realize that there is always a better solution, and strongly believe in constant improvement.
The screens in out operator interfaces have to be mutually exclusive for a number of reasons. Configuration in one area cannot be altered unless configuration in another area has been completed. Product configuration cannot be taking place while a machine is running production, etc. This certainly can be easily done using a tab control. The downside is that the entire NIB is loaded at once, adversely affecting performance/resources. This is not the end of the world, however I am starting with a "clean slate" here, and I want to design the best app possible, as well as learn and implement Cocoa's best practices early on. I greatly appreciate the experience, wisdom, and expertise of the pros on this list. Much of this lists traffic is at a very high level of expertise, and I am somewhat embarrassed with my rudimentary questions. Thanks to all, Matt -----Original Message----- From: Graham Cox [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, June 16, 2008 9:36 PM To: Jens Alfke Cc: Matthew Youney; Cocoa Subject: Re: Newbie interface questions - multiple "modal" windows On 17 Jun 2008, at 10:39 am, Jens Alfke wrote: >> I would think that this is a common application architecture (it is >> to me) > > You may be coming from another platform? I can't think of any Mac > apps that do this, and frankly, I wouldn't want to use one that did. It does sort of sound like a wizard or agent type interface, where each "step" is completed one at a time, like the Installer or Apple Setup Assistant. If so, those might be a better model, where there is one window and a forward/backward button? I may have misunderstood however - it certainly does sound like a terrible UI if each one *has* to be in a separate window. Modal hell. Graham _______________________________________________ Cocoa-dev mailing list (Cocoa-dev@lists.apple.com) Please do not post admin requests or moderator comments to the list. Contact the moderators at cocoa-dev-admins(at)lists.apple.com Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: http://lists.apple.com/mailman/options/cocoa-dev/archive%40mail-archive.com This email sent to [EMAIL PROTECTED]