The new widget engine on the block...
Redefine GUI with DuroBlend!
Sunday, December 16, 2007 by Latin4567 | Discussion: WinCustomize News
For a long time, DesktopX was the only full-fledged widget engine for Windows. Then along came the copycats: Konfabulator (eventually Yahoo Widgets), that ugly "dashboard thing" available to Mac users, Google Gadgets (a me-too product in response to Yahoo's purchase of Konfabulator, or the other way around... who knows), and finally, Microsoft Gadgets (an 'all your base actually do belong to us and if you don't like it you might as well go hug penguins' product). Thus it would seem that there exists today a myriad of powerful UI products, considering the big companies involved, but the truth is that all of these widget engines are extremely lacking because of one thing... they are just about as developer friendly as a doorknob. Serious software developers who try to re-do the GUI of their software using any of the above widget engines (with maybe one or two partial exceptions) will find themselves locked into an archaic scripting engine with limited features and little to no ability to communicate with existing software solutions. In short, the technology which should have been redefining and revolutionizing user interfaces for years has been kept in the dark. But all this is about to change, because there is a new widget engine on the block, and it goes about things a bit differently then do our client-application-based friends above...
DuroBlend is a one-of-a-kind windows class library which provides software developers and user interface designers with a fast, intuitive, unique, aesthetically stunning and altogether seamless alternative to the bland Windows XP user interface. Not only does DuroBlend work on both XP and Vista, but it also allows developers to integrate some of the advanced user interface capabilities of Windows vista applications on the more popular and generally stable XP operating system. DuroBlend lets developers construct alpha-channel-aware, completely translucent user interfaces comprised mainly of PNG files, and in that sense is essentially an unlocked widget engine. It has all the powerful features of the generic widget engines, like DesktopX and Yahoo Widgets (in fact, DuroBlend has several extra graphical features these engines are lacking), but instead of taking these features and locking them down under a draconian scripting library and enforcing the use of a client .exe file, DuroBlend lets .NET developers access all of its core functions from the IDE of their choice.
Because DuroBlend is a Class Library (a .dll file developers can import into their existing programs), it has a huge advantage over its predecessors. Instead of having to import your existing software into DuroBlend, you can simply import DuroBlend into your existing software! This is a surprisingly novel concept (ignoring Stardock's DirectSkin) in the skinning world, and it is a concept which is much more commonly practiced within the programming community, where add-on components are the status quo, and client-based solutions are shunned or ignored. If you are a developer, and you want to make your xp program look like its running on vista, or if you want to give your vista program an AWESOME GUI, then DuroBlend is for you. If you are a hobbyist programmer or aspiring GUI/UI programmer or designer, then DuroBlend is literally your dream come true. If you are a corporation and want your product to become more marketable, (If the ATI Catalyst Control Panel had been made using DuroBlend, it would probably have been the coolest thing ever made), then DuroBlend was designed for you!
And don't worry, hobbyists... there is a free version for you guys, and a professional edition for the software developers... that way everyone's
happy!
Please visit www.DuroBlend.com for more information.
 |
|
Page 1 of 3 | |
|
|---|
Reply #2 Sunday, December 16, 2007 11:50 PM
FYI: frogboy said that DuroBlend's architecture "appears to be superior to DesktopX". He was considering buying the source code from me, but I ended up launching it on my own. I have talked with him at length on IRC recently and he has suggested that we create a WC category for DuroBlend gadgets.
now lets see..
some features...
(copy/pasted from the website):
Core Features
* Semi-translucent/alpha-blended windows, buttons and controls
* PNG sequence-based animation
* Animation functions also support the DTIS image format (DuroSoft Translucent Image Sequence)
* Advanced Hit Detection w/Translucency Buffer support (can automatically exclude dropshadows and such from the hit-box of a control)
* Skinnable Control Library (currently features Message Boxes, BlendButton and BlendLabel)
* Supports Standard Windows Controls (via the WindowsControlHost object)
* Supports Composite/Grouped Objects and Controls (via the BlendGroup object)
* Seamless Loading and Smooth Transitions (Including FadeIn/FadeOut)
* The opacity of any object in DuroBlend can be changed on the fly
Extras
* Visual form designer and testing environment
* Animation compiler + viewer
* Source graphics and media from the default interface skin
* Media and graphics library full of PNG’s which are suitable for use in DuroBlend
Basically you can do anything you can in DX (plus a little bit more... like you can make objects or regions of objects that are invisible to mouse events/can be clicked "through", and there is a thing that automatically ignores drop shadows when performing hit detection.. which is an awesome time saver), only its in a control library so you can do whatever you want instead of using stardock defined functions in vbscript.
If you want me to further clarify anything, I'd be more then happy to. And no, I am not surprised you have never heard of DuroSoft. Because I am a student developer, and because Stardock opted not to buy my source code (but was extremely interested in doing so, they just didn't have a developer for it and they obviously can't ship me out to Michigan because I'm in school), I had to create DuroSoft (I've had the site for a few years, just in case) and use it to sell my product.
But from a fellow skinner to another, I can assure you that DuroBlend is totally awesome
Reply #4 Monday, December 17, 2007 12:07 AM
As of now, the personal edition is really only good for getting used to the engine slash playing around with the engine. True, the personal edition has all of the features of the professional edition, but there is an annoying message box that loads every time you open up an app using DuroBlend specifying that this is, in fact, the personal edition. Also, you can't distribute things u make using the personal edition. I am toying with the idea of making a community edition (either really cheap or free) which will allow you to distribute things as long as they are free. Alternatively, I could make a runtime-based version which works like dx does and has its own file format. The versions out right now are geared more towards software developers.
But, that aside, the personal edition is still pretty useful. If you don't mind a glossy semi-translucent messagebox briefly popping up when your widget loads, and if you don't intend to share your widget any time soon, DuroBlend can be a lot of fun. It has all the graphical features of the professional edition.. really the only difference is the messagebox and the license, so it shouldn't limit your creativity, etc, in any way.
Thanks for your input
Reply #5 Monday, December 17, 2007 12:09 AM
Reply #7 Monday, December 17, 2007 12:36 AM
Reply #8 Monday, December 17, 2007 12:44 AM
Reply #9 Monday, December 17, 2007 1:30 AM
(before he had asked what the personal edition can do for an end user, though he appears to have edited his post)
while I was reading the site and posting, you had posted 2 which kinda answered my question when you said you can do anything you can do in DTX and more..
Reply #10 Monday, December 17, 2007 1:33 AM
Reply #11 Monday, December 17, 2007 6:10 AM
It doesn't work on my PC... (
Reply #12 Monday, December 17, 2007 6:37 AM
I've never been the biggest fan of gadgets, I just can't justify having 6 different ways to display the weather or make a to-do list. As at this point people have the weather on their desktop, on their tray, in their web browser status bar, on their google or yahoo homepage, etc. Seems to me people claimed gadgets to change "the face of the gui" and they been used in nothing but a juvenile damn near infantile state.
On a side note... who the hell knows what ATI was thinking with the CCC.
Reply #13 Monday, December 17, 2007 7:38 AM
Reply #14 Monday, December 17, 2007 7:53 AM
I ran a beta program on several programming websites and literally had 90 signups in the first day. There is more demand then you might think for a usable, developer-friendly GUI engine.
Like I said before, no one wants to use a scripting engine. Because of the way other widget engines are tied to proprietary scripting engines (and because they do not allow direct function calls), they are in affect useless for legitimate software developers.
DuroBlend is more resource/memory efficient then DesktopX. This is mainly because I purposefully developed and tested it on a very very old laptop with very little memory. It performs exactly the same way on every computer I have tried.
What I don't think many understand is that there IS no installer for DuroBlend. Thats the point. Its a developer tool. Its for software developers who want to take their existing .NET apps and make them skinnable using completely alpha-blended interfaces. Its like a combination of DirectSkin and DesktopX, only its so much more. So, no, there is no installer. There is a dll file. To get started with DuroBlend, simply add a reference in your solution to DuroBlend.dll (found in the lib directory). If you don't know what I'm talking about, you can learn, just google "Microsoft Visual Basic Express Edition", download it, and also google "Creating Class Libraries in Visual Basic Express"
Vad_m:
Actually, I was sort of sick of seeing these powerful widget engines being used for ONLY weather objects, mini web browsers, etc. I mean they could be used for so much more. Entire applications could and should be programmed using these UI technologies. As long as a program doesn't need to be maximized (probably 80% of xp applications don't need to be resized, other then the editors the vast majority are small utilities which would really benefit from an interface overhaul), there is no reason they can't be programmed in DuroBlend. Think of the marketing advantages of having an application with an intrinsically superior user interface. A huge swath of users today do everything by look. If they see an awesome screen-shot with a smooth, translucent, glassy interface, especially if its for XP, then they will be much more likely to pull out their wallets. I intend to contact the developers of WinAmp, Sysmetrix, Xion.... to name a few. These programs would benefit highly from having DuroBlend render their interfaces. Especially SysMetrix... at this point they have really no excuse for having not integrated alpha blending... they have had a LOT of time.... lol
O and technically speaking, DuroBlend is a gadget engine, not a widget engine. I wasn't aware of the distinction until brad told me last night. Apparently gadgets are standalone apps (like with duroblend), while gadgets depend on a runtime (like desktopX). Apparently I'm going to have to re-do some of my marketing material... sigh
Although all this negative feedback has actually been extremely helpful (I now know how to better frame my engine to be understood more by the general public), it would be encouraging to get some positive feedback, so if anyone has any, it would be highly appreciated.
-latin
Reply #15 Monday, December 17, 2007 8:01 AM
btw don't take my age as any indication that this software is at all insufficient for your needs/poorly programmed. You will find that it is probably the most stable GUI component out there today. I wouldn't have thrown away three years of my life to produce anything less then perfection in that sense.
Reply #16 Monday, December 17, 2007 8:02 AM
Reply #17 Monday, December 17, 2007 8:05 AM
Feedback?
Reply #18 Monday, December 17, 2007 8:15 AM
The conversation has been enlightening.
Reply #19 Monday, December 17, 2007 8:20 AM
Thanks!
Reply #20 Monday, December 17, 2007 8:26 AM
btw here is a basic guide for creating a blendform / initializing DuroBlend, because it occured to me I don't have this posted anywhere yet
(Visual Basic .NET code):
imports DuroBlend
imports DuroBlend.Controls
dim withevents frm as new BlendForm(My.Resources.SomePng) 'creates a BlendForm from a png resource
dim withevents but as new BlendButton ' creates a button to place on the BlendForm
Sub FormLoad(byval.....)
but.Parent = frm
but.Location = new point(20, 40) 'defaults to (0, 0)
but.Opacity = 0.66 'why not!
frm.Show
frm.Paint(frm.LastBitmap) 'this step is extremely important, without it the frm background will not initialize. The reason I have it set up as a 2-step process is for people who want to do fade-ins and such.
End Sub
Sub ButOnClick(byval.....)
MsgBox("YAY GLASSY MESSAGE BOX ZOMGZ") ' DuroBlend overrides the .NET MsgBox function if you use an import statement, as we have done at the top. DuroBlend MsgBox has all the options of the .NET one, cept it can be skinned with png's. Skins can be applied using the InterFaceSkin property/class
End Sub
Please login to comment and/or vote for this skin.
Welcome Guest! Please take the time to register with us.
There are many great features available to you once you register, including:
- Richer content, access to many features that are disabled for guests like commenting on the forums and downloading skins.
- Access to a great community, with a massive database of many, many areas of interest.
- Access to contests & subscription offers like exclusive emails.
- It's simple, and FREE!
|
|
Page 1 of 3 | |
|
|---|
Reply #1 Sunday, December 16, 2007 11:19 PM
I may have to look at it in a few years when 1) DX can't do something I want AND 2) it has a company I know that will stand behind it AND 3) a community of skinner s that I can rely for knowledge, product, and support.
Until then . . good luck.
(as an aside . . this post is all marketing fluff, buzz-talk . . . but it's skinning related and so not spam and removed.