5 ms·

Nui: C++ multiplatform framework

18 points by hko 17y ago

theschwa 17y ago
I'm very intrigued, and I hope to see more from this. I really like the licensing set up on this too, more libraries should do something like this (it's not a crime to ask for money if you're making money using someone's library). It would be nice if this eventually grew to add a drag and drop gui creator. As a programmer/artist who hates boring interfaces, count me interested.
yan 17y ago
Anyone here have experience with nui?
marksutherland 17y ago
Also, anyone know how this compares with qt/qtopia?
pavlov 17y ago
For a UI toolkit, they don't seem to parade all that many screenshots (or maybe I didn't find the right page). All the examples shown are from audio software with pixel-precise design. Fancy gradients, photorealistic knobs and tiny text labels are certainly the right choice for this type of applications (it's actually pretty interesting how certain software niches have instantly recognizable signature looks which all the vendors within that space share as if bound by an unspoken agreement). But I'd also like to know whether Nui can handle flexible layouts, long text paragraphs, user font preferences, accessibility concerns, tabbing between controls, etc. In a way, Nui seems like an "anti-GTK+", in the sense that GTK+ tends to look very plain and can be difficult to customise for pixel-perfect layouts, but does fairly comprehensively handle all the boring usability and layout automatisation stuff.
- meeloo 17y ago
  NUI is actually very capable of both. Here is a partial list of features (including widgets and layout containers): http://redmine.libnui.net/wiki/libnui/Features http://redmine.libnui.net/wiki/libnui/Features You can have a small example of the way it looks in the widget debugger doc (completely done with nui and included in any NUI application): http://redmine.libnui.net/wiki/libnui/DebuggingTools http://redmine.libnui.net/wiki/libnui/DebuggingTools
tptacek 17y ago
Not seeing the win for writing iPhone apps in a quirky x-p UI toolkit. The good iPhone apps are all custom designed for the platform.
- qazwsxedc 17y ago
  I think the idea is to write quirky iPhone looking apps for all those people on Windows without an iPhone
  - allenbrunson 17y ago
    that's a good point! there's an awful lot of complaining from people who want to get in on the iphone gold rush but don't have a mac and iphone to develop with. this way, you could do most of the work in nui, then borrow somebody else's mac for the final stages, which might take only a day or so.
    - meeloo 17y ago
      The idea also is to write iPhone applications in C++ instead of ObjectiveC/Cocoa which as a steep learning curve (not objC per se but the way cocoa works takes time to learn...)
      - tptacek 17y ago
        NUI is simpler than Cocoa? It doesn't look that way.
        meeloo 17y ago
        Not sure what your background is but for most people learning ObjectiveC and Cocoa is much longer than just learning a new toolkit. I have no problem programming in ObjectiveC with Cocoa but may people really do.
        tptacek 17y ago
bf 17y ago
I downloaded the demo application and it instantly crashed upon loading with: "Unexpected problem detected in the program 'nuiDemo.exe'" If your demo application crashes, you're not ready for primetime.
- ramchip 17y ago
  It works here but... Please wait... scaning font
- meeloo 17y ago
  Do you have updated the drivers of your graphic card? What card is it? On which OS? Can you send the crashlog to the contact address on the website? Thank you very much in advance!
websevenpointoh 17y ago
While the (few) screenshots look beautiful, it's hard to find... well... anything on their site. I've been unable to find any detailed API information in their documentation section (although it appears to be a WIP).
wlievens 17y ago
Curious how both name and logo are similar to http://natural-ui.com http://natural-ui.com

18 points by hko 17y ago

I'm very intrigued, and I hope to see more from this. I really like the licensing set up on this too, more libraries should do something like this (it's not a crime to ask for money if you're making money using someone's library). It would be nice if this eventually grew to add a drag and drop gui creator. As a programmer/artist who hates boring interfaces, count me interested.

yan 17y ago

Anyone here have experience with nui?

marksutherland 17y ago

Also, anyone know how this compares with qt/qtopia?

pavlov 17y ago

For a UI toolkit, they don't seem to parade all that many screenshots (or maybe I didn't find the right page). All the examples shown are from audio software with pixel-precise design. Fancy gradients, photorealistic knobs and tiny text labels are certainly the right choice for this type of applications (it's actually pretty interesting how certain software niches have instantly recognizable signature looks which all the vendors within that space share as if bound by an unspoken agreement). But I'd also like to know whether Nui can handle flexible layouts, long text paragraphs, user font preferences, accessibility concerns, tabbing between controls, etc. In a way, Nui seems like an "anti-GTK+", in the sense that GTK+ tends to look very plain and can be difficult to customise for pixel-perfect layouts, but does fairly comprehensively handle all the boring usability and layout automatisation stuff.

meeloo 17y ago
NUI is actually very capable of both. Here is a partial list of features (including widgets and layout containers): http://redmine.libnui.net/wiki/libnui/Features http://redmine.libnui.net/wiki/libnui/Features You can have a small example of the way it looks in the widget debugger doc (completely done with nui and included in any NUI application): http://redmine.libnui.net/wiki/libnui/DebuggingTools http://redmine.libnui.net/wiki/libnui/DebuggingTools

tptacek 17y ago

Not seeing the win for writing iPhone apps in a quirky x-p UI toolkit. The good iPhone apps are all custom designed for the platform.

qazwsxedc 17y ago
I think the idea is to write quirky iPhone looking apps for all those people on Windows without an iPhone
- allenbrunson 17y ago
  that's a good point! there's an awful lot of complaining from people who want to get in on the iphone gold rush but don't have a mac and iphone to develop with. this way, you could do most of the work in nui, then borrow somebody else's mac for the final stages, which might take only a day or so.
  - meeloo 17y ago
    The idea also is to write iPhone applications in C++ instead of ObjectiveC/Cocoa which as a steep learning curve (not objC per se but the way cocoa works takes time to learn...)
    - tptacek 17y ago
      NUI is simpler than Cocoa? It doesn't look that way.
      - meeloo 17y ago
        Not sure what your background is but for most people learning ObjectiveC and Cocoa is much longer than just learning a new toolkit. I have no problem programming in ObjectiveC with Cocoa but may people really do.
        tptacek 17y ago

bf 17y ago

I downloaded the demo application and it instantly crashed upon loading with: "Unexpected problem detected in the program 'nuiDemo.exe'" If your demo application crashes, you're not ready for primetime.

ramchip 17y ago
It works here but... Please wait... scaning font
meeloo 17y ago
Do you have updated the drivers of your graphic card? What card is it? On which OS? Can you send the crashlog to the contact address on the website? Thank you very much in advance!

websevenpointoh 17y ago

While the (few) screenshots look beautiful, it's hard to find... well... anything on their site. I've been unable to find any detailed API information in their documentation section (although it appears to be a WIP).

wlievens 17y ago

Curious how both name and logo are similar to http://natural-ui.com http://natural-ui.com