NAME:

C++/Views, V3.0.1

 

VENDOR:

Liant Software Corp.

959 Concord St.,

Framingham, MA 01701 USA

(800) 237-1873 (sales)

(800) 833-3678 (inquiries)

(508) 875-2246 (support)

Email: support@lpi.liant.com

 

SOFTWARE CONFIGURATION:

This is a C++ library based on the smalltalk model (all classes come from one superclass, and they have a smalltalk-like class browser). Version 3 now has a WYSIWYG GUI builder (that includes a class browser and portable resource editor) called C++/Views Constructor. Additional features include printer, graphics, event, string, and various container classes as well as some higher-level classes (e.g., VTableView and VToolBar). Version 3 also handles geometry management so you can place objects based on relative coordinates and persistent object storage. C++/Views Constructor is the focal point of the C++/Views development process. One uses the browser to navigate through his application to, among other things, find appropriate GUI base classes. From there, one can derive new class descriptions which the browser uses to generate the necessary C++ source code. The user doesn't see individual events; they handled by virtual callback functions in the base classes.

 

SUPPORT:

60 days free. After that, $399/year for Microsoft Windows / Windows NT, Mac, and OS/2; $599/yr for Motif. All support contracts now include upgrades.

 

COMMENTS:

Liant believes that their product is different from the rest because C++/Views provides a higher level of abstraction from most of the rest of the PIGUIs and, therefore, is easier to come up-to-speed. Liant seems to be listening to what their customers have to say. Many of the previous negative comments in this FAQ have been addressed by Liant in their latest release (and this has been substantiated by user comments). The people at Liant have also been extremely helpful with putting together this FAQ. Liant was founded in 1980.

 

FUTURE PLANS:

Liant has a Mac version, but the price is as yet undetermined. They have DOS and Unix character versions which, I'm told, will be in beta very soon. They're also working on portable on-line help, multi-byte character support, C++ code generation from their builder (as opposed to generation of a resource file), and compatibility with ODBMSs.

 

WHAT THE USERS SAY:

They use a smalltalk model -- if you like smalltalk, great; if not, you may have some trouble. They have a browser/editor -- it's simple to add a new message but it's reportedly kind-of clumsy to use. You may want to use a different environment like Borland's IDE under Microsoft Windows. US technical support has improved (and is continuing to improve), from what I've heard, but overseas users must go through their local technical support personnel (some of which are less than stellar).