Report Number: CSL-TR-89-380
Institution: Stanford University, Computer Systems Laboratory
Title: Unidraw: A Framework for Building Domain-Specific Graphical Editors
Author: Vlissides, John M.
Author: Linton, Mark A.
Date: July 1989
Abstract: Unidraw is a framework for creating object-oriented graphical editors in domains such as technical and artistic drawing, music composition, and CAD. The Unidraw architecture simplifies the construction of these editors by providing programming abstractions that are common across domains. Unidraw defines four basic abstractions: components encapsulate the appearance and semantics of objects in a domain, tools support direct manipulation of components, commands define operations on components and other objects, and external representations define the mapping between components and the file format generated by the editor. Unidraw also supports multiple views, graphical connectivity and confinement, and dataflow between components. This paper describes the Unidraw design, implementation issues, and three prototype domain-specific editors we have developed with Unidraw: a drawing editor, a user interface builder, and a schematic capture system. Experience indicates a substantial reduction in implementation time compared with existing tools.
http://i.stanford.edu/pub/cstr/reports/csl/tr/89/380/CSL-TR-89-380.pdf