September 24, 1994 The GXL Graphical Interface Library version 2.1 Copyright (C) 1992-1995 Kevin Hise, Hise Development. All rights reserved. Introduction: ------------- The GXL graphical interface library provides the C++ programmer with software tools to create a powerful and flexible graphics interface. The library is built using an event driven architecture which allows program actions to be queued and processed as events. This approach allows an application to cooperatively share processor time between user-input polling, printing, and for example, updating a clock on the display. It also has the added advantage of allowing program functions to be initiated or handled generically. This means that your application doesn't need to concern itself with whether a mouse button was clicked or a touch-screen was pressed, it just responds to the event sent by an object selected on the screen. GXL is intended to serve as the foundation for a graphical application by providing the neccessary services to manage events and displayed objects. In addition to ready-to-use objects, simple base classes are provided from which customized objects can be created. Now in it's second version, GXL is a complete re-write of the original "GL" which was designed as an interface library for Point-Of-Sale applications. GL was used to develop several kiosk products. Now, GXL is currently being used in public information kiosk applications by Hise Development. Some of the ready-to-use objects you can build an application with: - 3D 'chiseled-look' buttons and icons. - Windows that can be re-positioned (click-and-drag on title bar). - A desktop or canvas customizer. - Text with different fonts and justifcation. - Blinking text. - Analog and digital clocks. - Scroll bars and List boxes. - Text input fields. Some sample applications are also shown: - A screen saver. - A simple Point-Of-Sale interface. System Requirements: - An IBM or compatible computer. - MS-DOS 3.x or later. - At least 384kb of free RAM. - A VGA display card and monitor. - A Microsoft or compatible mouse (driver). Note: You may also run the demo as a full-screen DOS application in OS/2 2.x or MS-Windows 3.x.