The Motif “Look”

Overview

Chapter 1 presented the idea that a Motif program was instantly recognizable — that it has a Motif “Look.” Three factors contribute to this effect. First, widget appearance is defined at a low level in the class tree, by XmPrimittive and XmManager, meaning that the basic stylistic elements of a Motif program such as color scheme are present in all widgets. The second factor is that higher-level stylistic elements are consistent throughout Motif — the slider of a scrollbar, for example, has an appearance almost identical to that of a pushbutton. The third factor is that the Open Software Foundation has prescribed a standard client appearance — menu bar at the top, scrollbars (if needed) on left and bottom sides, etc — and widgets exist solely to support that standard layout.^l

This chapter begins with a description of the components of a standard Motif client — those items that make Motif programs look alike and act alike. The XmMainWindow widget, which provides direct support for the standard client features, is presented next. Following XmMainWindow are descriptions of the XmSeparator and XmFrame widgets, which exist solely for appearance, instead of function. The chapter ends with a new program template, replacing the template of Chapter 4. The template is presented and described, then used as the foundation of a text editor application, which is further developed in subsequent chapters.

The importance of a standard client appearance cannot be overstated. When users feel that a program will operate in an expected way, they are more willing to use the program. As simple an item as knowing how to exit a program will break down resistance to using the program.