Re: TIP #172: Improve UNIX Tk Look and Feel

From: Benjamin Riefenstahl (Benjamin.Riefenstahl_at_epost.de)
Date: 03/17/04 

Date: Wed, 17 Mar 2004 15:54:59 +0100

Hi Ralf,

Ralf Fassel <ralfixx@gmx.de> writes:
> In my experience one-GUI-for-all is useful for those working on
> multiple platforms regulary (e.g. I as a developer, checking that my
> script runs on Unix *and* Windows), and not useful for those working
> on one platform only when the application L&F is not native to that
> platform (the end user who only uses Windows).

Actual case (though not Tcl-related):

I just recently installed a version of the Encyclopedia Britannica on
my Mac OS X machine. The interface was obviously "ported" from
Windows in the same-look-and-feel manner. Although I am a long-time
Windows user, I really dislike it.

Keyboard shortcuts that are common on Mac OS are wrong or missing,
which e.g. makes it a pain to cut-and-paste from and to the
application. Even lots of stuff that I use on Windows was missing,
probably because the developers didn't use the features on Windows and
so didn't port them. And the app looks terrible from a Mac POV.

You could argue that most of this is just bugs in the application.
But to me it indicates that the developers or application designers
didn't know the target platform very well and probably didn't use it
themself regularly. To do a good port, that seems essential to me.
But once I do that, as a developer, I can't see how I could ever be
satisfied with this kind of port.

> The opposite (different L&F dependent on platform): the tk
> checkbutton on Unix by default is raised/grey when unchecked and
> sunken/yellow(violet?) when checked. On Windows, it is
> sunken/yellow(violet?) when _un_checked, and
> sunken/yellow-with-checkmark when checked. This regularly confuses
> me when looking at Windows OFF checkbuttons (I think they're ON).
> OTOH a Windows user would think they're OFF on Unix when in fact
> they're ON.

Note how none of the two implementation styles can help here. Unless
you suppose all people use *only* your application on one of the
supported platforms. Otherwise there will always be people that are
confused, because they are used to the "other" behaviour from other
applications.

benny