ViewKit ObjectPak is a C++ toolkit that makes it easier for you to develop applications. It provides a collection of high-level user interface components and other support facilities that you typically must implement in every application. For example, it provides high-level user interface components, such as windows, menus, and dialogs.
ViewKit ObjectPak does not replace OSF/Motif or any other user interface toolkit. In fact, it uses OSF/Motif widgets to implement all of its user interface components; also, you can directly call OSF/Motif functions to create and manipulate widgets in a ViewKit ObjectPak application. The ViewKit ObjectPak architecture helps mask much of the complexity of programming with OSF/Motif.
ViewKit Objectpak advantages
ViewKit ObjectPak offers the following advantages:
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Provides support for common user interface components such as windows, menus, and dialogs. Also provides specialty interface components for tasks such as displaying and managing arc-and-node graphs, displaying and managing toggle check boxes, and managing the layout of other widgets. Creating these elements using ViewKit ObjectPak is much simpler and faster than using low-level widgets to build them from scratch. Additionally, by using the same basic components, applications that use ViewKit ObjectPak components have greater visual and behavioral consistency.
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Simplifies interaction with the X resource manager, allowing you to customize your application using resources more easily. By designing your application to use resource values rather than hard-coding the values in your program, you can easily modify the appearance of your application. This approach is particularly useful for preparing your application for internationalization.
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Provides a framework for using OSF/Motif in a highly structured, object-oriented way, because all user interface components are C++ classes. ViewKit ObjectPak architecture encourages you to develop self-contained objects that you can re-use in multiple applications.
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Provides support for other common application services such as interprocess communication via the ToolTalkTM Message Service.