An object-oriented approach to graphical interfaces

An object-oriented system for building graphical interfaces to programs is discussed. The system, called GROW, facilitates the process of creating interfaces that are highly interactive (including direct manipulation and animation), rich in layout structure, and effectively reusable across applications. These properties are achieved through three techniques: object-based graphics with taxonomic inheritance, interobject relationships such as composition and graphical dependency, and separation of the interface and application. Experience with interfaces for several applications has provided insights on the effectiveness of these techniques. First, object-oriented programming yields significant leverage on specializing and reusing interfaces. Second, layout constraints (such as maintaining the connectivity of a graph) can be managed with simple data dependencies among the attributes of the graphical objects. Finally, separating the interface and application is essential to reusing interface components. This paper describes the techniques in detail, gives examples of interfaces built with GROW, and summarizes experiences using GROW with a variety of applications.

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