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Most software product companies aspire to use object oriented techniques to build products.
Some are delivering component based products today. However few manage to achieve reuse
and hence achieve the cost savings promised by advocates of OO techniques.
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OO for the GUI
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Reuse can fail for a number of reasons, but one problem that we have seen is the difficulty in
'picking up' someone else's object when the function and interface is highly technical.
Many programmers are not very good at describing code in words either, which makes
it seem easier to do it from scratch.
By contrast a GUI object is by its very nature visible. A programmer can see it and
hence it is easier to understand its purpose.
By
contrast a GUI object is by its very nature visible. A programmer can see it and
hence it is easier to understand its purpose.
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We believe that about 80% of the screen design for many products can be implemented using
between 10 and 15 base objects. It is a good place to start reuse.
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80% of the GUI through reuse |
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This is not ‘just’ a good idea. It works and we have done it with a number of
clients. It is also the way the market is going. The major part of the market for 3rd
party ActiveX/OCX components is made up of GUI objects.
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Examples of common screen objects
- Reports in HTML format
- Property Sheets
- Graphs
- Static Data entry forms
- Database Query and Update windows
- Workflow presentation
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Examples of Common Screen Objects |
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combining Object Oriented techniques with a good screen design you can embed the screen
design into reusable objects. Developers can then build the interface out of some basic
design patterns which automatically enforce the Brand, and will produce a highly usable
product.
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Enforce the Brand through Objects |
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