? MDI depreciated

[Andrea Gavana]

Hello Len,

> Hate to ask this dum question (since I've been hiding under a rock).
> But if the MDI UI model is/was depreciated.  What is the new UI model.

This much depends on which kind of application you have in mind. In my
organization a lot of software that we use (basically for reservoir
geology/engineering visualization) use the MDI model. They are not
deprecated, in some case MDI is the best approach that one may take in order
to create effective and easy-to-use applications.
According to Micro$oft, the MDI model (in their opinion) is deprecated, but
it should be noted that:

"MDI was used a lot with versions of Windows prior to Windows 95. However,
Microsoft researchers discovered that users found this split artificial and
confusing. So from Windows 95, Microsoft announced that MDI would be
deprecated and it should not be used for Windows applications ... well,
Microsoft's story on MDI has never been consistent; legacy support has
continued to be included with windows and the .NET Framework supports the
MDI Approach in an excellent manner."

you can find the whole thing here:

http://www.akadia.com/services/dotnet_software_design.html

For a while, M$ were preaching this as *the* way to do complex user
interfaces, but they have backed away from it quite a lot. You can read
something about it here:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/dnwue/html/ch10g.asp

If you want to read about pros/cons of MDI approach, go to the bottom of the
page.

Some of modern applications have moved away from MDI in favour of different
other approaches:
- SDI (Single Document Interface);
- Notebook Style
- Splitter Windows/Sash Windows with multiple panels
- Docking Windows

The approach you will take, much depends on the type of application you have
in mind. I usually prefer the Notebook approach, but this is just a personal
style.

HTH.

Andrea.

-- 
"Imagination Is The Only Weapon In The War Against Reality."
http://xoomer.virgilio.it/infinity77