On 24 May 00, at 20:43, Juha Lindfors wrote:
> >> I'd like to suggest a document/view architecture where you can
> >> dynamically add views (corresponding to plugins) at runtime. Each
> >> view/plugin could be represented by a tab on the window, for
> >> example.
> >>
> >Yes, this makes sense. Only have to figure out how to do this in a good
> >UI way.
>
> Well, I'd say don't use tabbed pane stuff. Use a tree thingy on your left
> and the sheets on your right. Tabs work ok when you just have 2 or 3 sheets
> but start to fall apart whenever you get bigger than that.
>
> Ever try to manage properties in MS Outlook? That's right, you don't wanna
> go there.
>
Hi Juha,
Yes, it's important to have the user interface intuitive and easy to
manage.
Conceptually, I divide an EJB into two parts. The first is its Java
implementation: home and remote interfaces, bean class, primary
key... The second is the declarative information that configures the
container's behavior: deployment descriptor, JBoss configuration
file, Jaws o/r mapping...
I look at the first part--the Java classes that come together to make
an EJB component--as an object. I look at the declarative
information as attributes about that object.
My suggestion to make the various plugins correspond to tabs
came from this concept that I have. I would use the tree to
navigate the "objects," and I would use the tabs to set the
attributes on those objects corresponding to a particular plugin.
I think your point is good about the number of tabs you can have
before the user interface becomes unintuitive. Would it be
mitigated by my suggestion to let the user control the tabs (i.e. the
views) dynamically?
Otherwise, I see two possibilities. The first is that my conceptual
division is wrong in terms of the user-interface. We could consider
inserting plugin-specific branches into the tree. For instance, the
user might be able to insert a new Jaws node into a CMP bean.
Then, when he or she clicked on that node, a view would open up
that would allow him or her to configure the Jaws mapping.
The second is that we find a more expressive way to represent
those views than simply tab pages. Possibly separate windows
rather than tabs? Any other ideas?
-Dan
