Design and Implementation of ET++, a Seamless Object-Oriented Application Framework 1

: ET++ is a homogeneous object-oriented class library integrating user interface building blocks, basic data structures, and support for object input/output with high level application framework components. The main goals in designing ET++ have been the desire to substantially ease the building of highly interactive applications with consistent user interfaces following the well-known desktop metaphor, and to combine all ET++ classes into a seamless system structure. Experience has proven that writing a complex application based on ET++ can result in a reduction in source code size of 80% and more compared to the same software written on top of a conventional graphic toolbox. ET++ is implemented in C++ and runs under UNIX^TM and either SunWindows^TM, NeWS^TM, or the X11 window system. This paper discusses the design and implementation of ET++. It also reports key experience from working with C++ and ET++. A description of code browsing and object inspection tools for ET++ is included a...