Microcomputer user interface toolkits (panel session)
William A. S. Buxton, David R. Reed, Larry Tesler, S.J. MacGregor · ACM SIGCHI Bulletin · 1985
A well-designed user interface is a very valuable asset: the best available today are based on hundreds of man-years of work combining results of research in human factors, tasteful design reviewed and modified through extensive end-user testing, and many rounds of implementation effort. As a result, the user interface “toolkit” is emerging as the hottest new software item. A toolkit can provide software developers with a programming environment in which the user interface coding is already done so that new applications programs can automatically be integrated with other workstation functions. The panel will evaluate this new trend. Tesler and MacGregor, will present the designs of the leading toolkit products from Apple and Microsoft, respectively. Reed will analyze the choices from the point of view of the third party software vendors' requirements. Noting that the effort going into these products may well result in de facto standard setting, Buxton will question the appropriateness of making this commitment based on microcomputer hardware.