Paris, February 22, 1996 - QualSoft and Non Standard Logics (NSL) announce the introduction of XFaceMaker/Win, a new addition to the best selling XFaceMaker line of X/Motif GUI builders for the rapid deployment of applications in the UNIX and Windows environments.
XFaceMaker/Win enables users to translate a Motif GUI into an MS Windows equivalent version with a click of the mouse. The code generated by the tool for the Windows GUI can then be compiled on a Windows platform with a Visual C++ compiler and from there can easily be ported to a Macintosh.
The key new element of NSL's solution is the full translation of layout and of the full behavior of the Motif GUI. Prior to XFaceMaker/Win, cross-platform GUI development tools restricted the GUI components available to the designer by letting them use only components common to the targeted toolkits. Some cross-platform tools translate only the layout but not the dynamic actions that connect the components within the GUI and the GUI with the rest of the application. XFaceMaker/Win removes both these limitations. Developers can develop fully functional Motif GUIs and translate them into Windows Visual C++ code using Microsoft Foundation Classes as well as additional classes provided by NSL to implement Motif functionality missing in Windows such as Motif forms or various dialog boxes.
XFaceMaker/Win also allows the translation of Motif GUIs generated by other GUI builders with its UIL import facility. "UIL can only describe layout and has no facilities for expressing GUI behavior or dynamics. Only the layout will get translated this way, but even in this case the translation is extremely valuable." says Ion Filotti, president of NSL. Users are able to import UIL GUIs and add behavior to them before translating GUIs to the Windows platform.
Another unique feature of XFaceMaker/Win allows the Windows application to run in either stand-alone or in client-server mode. In the latter, the Windows GUI alone is compiled on the Windows side and communicates through a network protocol with the rest of the application running on the UNIX platform. Client-server mode simplifies porting since the core of the application need not be ported on the Windows platform. In stand-alone mode, the core application must be ported on the Windows side where it must be linked with the Windows GUI.
"Customers have been very enthusiastic about the translation of GUI behavior" continued Filotti. "Behavior that gets translated includes not only intra-widget behavior, such as that internal to a dialog box, but also the complete complex dynamics, defined in scripts, that specify the interaction among the components of the GUI and between the GUI and the application itself. Such scripts can be very complex and their automatic translation significantly reduces the work required to get a fully functional application."
"The main difference in NSL's approach is translation, as opposed to emulation" adds Laurent Gharda, president of Palo Alto, CA based QualSoft Corporation, the distributor of NSL products in North America. "Most other cross-platform solutions use emulation in one form or another, even when they generate native code. As a result, they are forced to use a least common denominator approach and you are never able to exploit the full richness of a powerful toolkit such as Motif. Non Standard Logics has managed to get most of Motif, layout and behavior, translated into Windows and this is a huge difference."
XFaceMaker/Win also comes with a DLL that implements Windows equivalents of complex Motif components that are missing in the MFC classes. The most obvious example is the Motif XmForm manager widget that is often used for the design of stretchable dialog boxes. Non Standard Logics provides a DLL component that implements most of the geometric constraints of the XmForm widget. Likewise, many other components not available in Windows are implemented in the DLL, which is available in source form.
Platforms
XFaceMaker/Win runs together with XFaceMaker/IL or XFaceMaker/UIMS v.3.2 and is available on current versions of SunSPARC SunOS and Solaris 2, HP9000 HP-UX, IBM RS/6000 AIX, Digital UNIX, SGI IRIX and SCO ODT with additional platforms available soon.
Prices
XFaceMaker/Win products is priced at $1,995 for a single-user network license in North America, and at 15,000 FF. in Europe. The XWin-Pack which includes XFaceMaker/IL or UIMS and the XFaceMaker/Win translator is priced from $3,750 in North America and from 39,000 FF. in Europe. Quantity discounts are available.
Distribution
NSL products are distributed world-wide through a network of resellers or distributors:
North America: QualSoft, Palo Alto, Calif., USA Contact: Laurent Gharda. Tel: (1)415 494-6100. Fax: (1)415 494-6099. E-mail: info@qsoft.com and www.qsoft.com.
Germany: Concept Asa, Frankfurt-am-Main. Contact: Wolf Ruppert. Tel: (49)69 597 02 97. Fax: (49)69 59 09 01.
Germany: GSE, Munich. Contact: Else Kluger. Tel: (49)89 1 40 09 0 (central exch.). Fax: (49)89 1 4009 140. E-mail: elk@gse.de.
Italy: Chorus, Milan. Contact: Marisa Soprano. Tel: (39)2 7601 5447. Fax: (39)2 7601 5457.
The Netherlands: Turnkiek, Amersfoort. Contact: Jandit Van Doorn. Tel: (31) 33 55 94 46. Fax: (31) 33 55 96 84. E-mail: info@turnkiek.nl.
U.K.: KC Interface Technology, Burnham, Bucks. Contact: Ken Nathan. Tel: (44)628 666 777. Fax: (44)628 666 778.
NSL distributes directly its products in France.
About NSL
Founded in 1984, NSL has played a pioneering role in the development of graphical development tools for the Motif and the X Window System. The XFaceMaker Motif GUI builder was the first such product in the world and has been continuously developed and improved since the launch of the first version in 1989. Today, the company offers the most comprehensive, integrated suite of graphical user interface development tools for Motif and the X Window System. NSL's product line offers solutions for building Motif interfaces as well as for creating interfaces which require customized dynamic graphics. In France the company also engages in consulting, training and the reselling of products that complement its own product line. NSL is headquartered in Paris, France. Tel: (33)1 44 08 70 80. Fax: (33)1 44 08 70 81. E-mail: info@nsl.fr and www.nsl.fr.
About QualSoft
QualSoft Corporation provides a range of software development and migration tools for UNIX and Windows. QualSoft offers world class software products and services including training, integration, customization and consulting for organizations developing client/server applications in UNIX and Windows environments. Headquartered in Palo Alto, Calif., QualSoft can be reached at (415) 494-6100, (800) 814-6351, info@qsoft.com or on the world wide web at www.qsoft.com.
# # #
QualSoft is a trademark and World Class Software is a service mark of QualSoft Corporation. XFaceMaker is a registered trademark of Non Standard Logics, S.A. All other products, names and services are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies and organizations.
Editor note: color images featuring all products are available on 35mm slides and in GIF and TIFF formats on diskette.
