diff --git a/docs/wings.html b/docs/wings.html deleted file mode 100644 index 61a799a..0000000 --- a/docs/wings.html +++ /dev/null @@ -1,66 +0,0 @@ ---- -layout: default -title: WINGs ---- -
-
- -

WINGs Is Not GNUstep

- -

While GNUstep is our ideal development framework, it's overkill for a window manager like Window Maker. We had a - need for a quick, lightweight toolkit to handle basic window manager tasks, which is how WINGs was born, and why it has - become an integral part of Window Maker's core.

- -

Unlike the general uses of the GNUstep development environment, the WINGs toolkit was designed as a specific - solution for Window Maker. It is not implemented in an object-oriented language, but was designed with OO schemas in - mind. It is encapsulated in objects that have various methods (functions), which in turn can be accessed like real - objects (i.e it's unknown what they contain, and they only have the interface functions to alter their data). As much - as C will allow, that is. What really matters is that it's functional and small enough for our purposes.

- -

Surprisingly, there have been several developers who think WINGs is mature and functional enough to write full - fledged applications with it. For developers who are interested in creating real applications, we would encourage them - to look at GNUstep instead. GNUstep is written in Objective-C, and anyone with a solid C++ background shouldn't need - more than an hour to begin programming in Objective-C. For more information on this, please visit the GNUstep Developer Documentation section.

- -

So, what does WINGs do for us, specifically? It contains many necessary widgets, such as the buttons, file browser, - color chooser, and text editor dialog that are all used for creating the UI. It is currently missing a few important - items, such as DnD, treeview, and application menus, but those will be integrated in future releases.

- -

One of the more important aspects of WINGs is that it now provides proplist functionality. proplist, short for - property list, is what Window Maker uses to generate and - maintain structured configuration files. This data is stored as plain ASCII text under a user's ~/GNUstep directory. - These files are what make up the menus, the current state and appearance of the desktop, the Dock, the Clip, and the - values set in WPrefs.

- -

As an example, here is a short snippet from the proplist version of the default menu:

- 
-(
-        Applications,
-        (
-                Info,
-                ("Info Panel", INFO_PANEL),
-                (Legal, LEGAL_PANEL),
-                ("System Console", EXEC, xconsole),
-                ("System Load", SHEXEC, "xosview || xload"),
-                ("Process List", EXEC, "xterm -e top"),
-                ("Manual Browser", EXEC, xman)
-        ),
-        (Run..., EXEC, "%a(Run,Type command to run:)"),
-...
-)
-
-
- -

External sources of information

- -

As this section evolves, we will be providing more documentation on the internals of WINGs. For the time being, - developers interested in WINGs should see Alexey Voinov's WINGsman documentation project. Starters may find this tutorial, which includes a library - listing based on Voinov's work, useful. We'll try to cover some examples and/or more tutorials on how to program small - applications in WINGs in the near future. For anyone already using WINGs for a project, please contact us, as we'd like to get an idea of its popularity and practical uses, as well as some - additional material to place here.


-
-
diff --git a/docs/wings.rst b/docs/wings.rst new file mode 100644 index 0000000..13071fd --- /dev/null +++ b/docs/wings.rst @@ -0,0 +1,78 @@ +--- +layout: default +title: WINGs +--- + +WINGs Is Not GNUstep +==================== + +While GNUstep is our ideal development framework, it's overkill for a window +manager like Window Maker. We had a need for a quick, lightweight toolkit to +handle basic window manager tasks, which is how WINGs was born, and why it has +become an integral part of Window Maker's core. + +Unlike the general uses of the GNUstep development environment, the WINGs +toolkit was designed as a specific solution for Window Maker. It is not +implemented in an object-oriented language, but was designed with OO schemas in +mind. It is encapsulated in objects that have various methods (functions), +which in turn can be accessed like real objects (i.e it's unknown what they +contain, and they only have the interface functions to alter their data). As +much as C will allow, that is. What really matters is that it's functional and +small enough for our purposes. + +Surprisingly, there have been several developers who think WINGs is mature and +functional enough to write full fledged applications with it. For developers +who are interested in creating real applications, we would encourage them to +look at GNUstep instead. GNUstep is written in Objective-C, and anyone with a +solid C++ background shouldn't need more than an hour to begin programming in +Objective-C. For more information on this, please visit the `GNUstep Developer +Documentation `_ section. + +So, what does WINGs do for us, specifically? It contains many necessary +widgets, such as the buttons, file browser, color chooser, and text editor +dialog that are all used for creating the UI. It is currently missing a few +important items, such as DnD, treeview, and application menus, but those will +be integrated in future releases. + +One of the more important aspects of WINGs is that it now provides proplist +functionality. proplist, short for `property list +`_, is what Window Maker uses to +generate and maintain structured configuration files. This data is stored as +plain ASCII text under a user's ~/GNUstep directory. These files are what make +up the menus, the current state and appearance of the desktop, the Dock, the +Clip, and the values set in WPrefs. + +As an example, here is a short snippet from the proplist version of the default +menu: + +.. code:: + :class: highlight + + ( + Applications, + ( + Info, + ("Info Panel", INFO_PANEL), + (Legal, LEGAL_PANEL), + ("System Console", EXEC, xconsole), + ("System Load", SHEXEC, "xosview || xload"), + ("Process List", EXEC, "xterm -e top"), + ("Manual Browser", EXEC, xman) + ), + (Run..., EXEC, "%a(Run,Type command to run:)"), + ... + ) + +External sources of information +=============================== + +As this section evolves, we will be providing more documentation on the +internals of WINGs. For the time being, developers interested in WINGs should +see Alexey Voinov's `WINGsman documentation project +`_. Starters may find `this +tutorial `_, which includes a library listing +based on Voinov's work, useful. We'll try to cover some examples and/or more +tutorials on how to program small applications in WINGs in the near future. For +anyone already using WINGs for a project, please `contact us <{{ site.baseurl +}}/lists>`_, as we'd like to get an idea of its popularity and practical uses, +as well as some additional material to place here.