Things to do before GUI-developers can start their work



On Wed, 2003-06-11 at 08:04, C Y wrote:
> --- James Amundson <amundson@fnal.gov> wrote:
> > On Wed, 2003-06-11 at 04:43, Michael Reimpell wrote:
> > 
> > > shouldn't we split the user interface from the maxima-kernel and
> > provide a 
> > > convenient interface for programs, allowing others to produce nice
> > GUIs? 
> > 
> > That is the approach I favor.
> > 
> > --Jim
> 
> Problems with this - if we have the kernel and the GUI act as two
> separate running programs, communication between them becomes an issue.

Of course. We already have that issue with the various interfaces to
Maxima: Xmaxima, TeXmacs, the emacs interface, etc.

>  I believe Mathematica invented a protocal specifically to deal with
> this issue.

The MathLink protocol has kernel <-> gui communication as a subset. It
also provides a mechanism for other programs to communicate with
Mathematica. I admire the *idea* of MathLink, even though I am
unfamiliar with the implementation. 

--Jim