Category : C Source Code
Archive   : WIDGETS.ZIP
Filename : WIDGET.DOC

The Widget Works (fourth release) Jan 27, 1992
David Stafford (CIS 76666,2542)

A simple graphical object library for Windows.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

More improvements in the fourth release: A flicker-free DrawBitmap().
Better granularity- the code is a little smaller. Some minor tweaking.

Future improvements (wish list):

o Put some real documentation together so you can use it now and I can
use it six months from now when I've forgotten all this stuff.

o Add support for animating overlapping widgets.

o Clean up the name-space. Change all the API names to a common format
so they are easier to remember and understand.

The philosophy behind the Widget library is to provide a means of doing
simple animation under Windows with little fuss. This a humble library
which doesn't try to do everything but what it does it does simply and
it does it well. If you're animation ambitions don't extend to putting
the Hollywood special-effects studios out of business then this is for you.

Memory usage has generally been favored over speed although I've found
myself gradually adding new things which are larger but a little slicker
(such as rewriting PaintWidget). The creeping feature creature is upon me.

Try WTEST. It's shipped as an EXE so you can try it out to see what the
library can do. The butterfly darts around the mouse and you can drag the
card around. Try clicking over an empty spot and the card will animate
itself to that location.

Docs don't really exist yet. As Obi-Wannabe said, "Use the source, Luke".
Refer to the accompanying WTEST program and the Widget sources.

You can complain about my (lack of) programming style but you can't complain
about the price. This code is free. It's my contribution to the Windows
programming community. Use it in good health. But, one thing I ask is
please don't direct support questions to me as I'm just as busy as you are
and can't afford to support free software. On the other hand- if you like
it don't feel shy about sending me a note saying so.

I'm continuing to improve the code and will release new versions when they
become available. This is distributed as source-only. You will need the
Borland C compiler but the code shouldn't be difficult to convert to MSC
for those with an adventurous spirit.

If you make improvements (hint- write a doc file!) or use it to create
something eye-popping why not put it on a disk and send it to me?

Borland International
David Stafford, Languages R&D Dept.
1800 Green Hills Rd.
Scotts Valley, CA 95066