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From: https://tech.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=155912&cid=13069840 https://tech.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=155912&cid=1306984... Will they finally open the

From: https://tech.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=155912&cid=13069840 https://tech.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=155912&cid=1306984... Will they finally open the Workplace Shell? It's a truly object-oriented desktop design that's still superior - a decade later - to anything Windows has to offer. Looking back it's hard to believe a lot of the early FUD from MS against OS/2 was aimed at scaring people away because, hey, 2 megabytes of memory was just an absurd requiremet! They also claimed multithreaded programming was no big deal. If they open up the Workplace Shell maybe OS/2 could preserve some of its legacy. It would rock on Linux. From: https://tech.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=155912&cid=13070250 https://tech.slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=155912&cid=1307025... What does this even mean? Inheritance. In windows (or Linux) a file is an extension and is associated with an application or collection of applications. In OS/2 a file can inherit from various parents. So for example you could have a file xyz.mp3 of a lecture: 1) Since its an .mp3 the sound programs work on it and "edit" opens it up in a sound editor 2) Since its part of a lecture it will inherit from the word transcript and when you "open for transcription" it opens with another (say word doc) transcript 3) Since the lecture an be associated with other lectures which have video with them when you "open for viewing" it can pull up the associated powerpoint etc... Now the important thing is that these behaviors are inherited because the xyz.mp3 is a member of class lecture in addition to being a member of the class .mp3. Members of the class .mp3 are sound files while members of the class lecture have associated transcripts and lectures. It also made some attempt at polymorphic behavior (i.e. edit, open, etc..). Finally information was encapsulated at the lowest level (the file, the folder, etc..)

karmakaze 7y ago
Ah Workplace. That was the best (and worst) aspect of the v2 release. It came as a shock to me and many others that it was included and was a divisive feature. The bad part was the instability of early versions. The great part was the metaphor and programmable possibilities. In terms of the programming, the whole CORBA influence on SOM and its use on making Workplace objects seemed like overkill or at least wasn't executed well to make the developer experience smooth. For me the killer app was the Icon Editor which you could fire up by right clicking on any icon you see on your desktop. More time was sunk in there than I ever spent playing Solitaire and FreeCell on Windows.

karmakaze 7y ago

Ah Workplace. That was the best (and worst) aspect of the v2 release. It came as a shock to me and many others that it was included and was a divisive feature. The bad part was the instability of early versions. The great part was the metaphor and programmable possibilities. In terms of the programming, the whole CORBA influence on SOM and its use on making Workplace objects seemed like overkill or at least wasn't executed well to make the developer experience smooth. For me the killer app was the Icon Editor which you could fire up by right clicking on any icon you see on your desktop. More time was sunk in there than I ever spent playing Solitaire and FreeCell on Windows.