blitz intuition window tutorial

1996 (c) Peter 'dreamy' Traskalik

Contents:

1. Intuition-Windows Background
   • What are they used for ?
   • What features do they have ?

2. The window-command and its parameters
   • Number, Location
   • Title
   • Flags (most common ones)

1. Intuition Window-Background

   Windows are mostly rectangle screen-parts used to display something separately. They are served by intuition.library, a system library coming with the workbench. Windows can only be opened on screens. (for example Workbench is a screen) They can be moved, sized, closed. There are also some more features in them I'll describe later. A window usually contains a frame. In the top the frame is larger, because this part usually contains the title and can be 'dragged'. There is also the close-gadget,zoom gadget, depth gadget and maybe other gadgets. The remaining border is thin. In case, that we have a resizeable window, the left or/and bottom border is/are larger (to fit the size-gadget).

2. The window-command

   Let start with main parameters like : width, height and position
   They alway specify the _outer_ borders of a window. _Not_ the real window within !

   Now we write a short proggy, to test a bit:

       FindScreen 0
       Window 1,0,0,100,100,14,"My Window",0,0
       VWait 300
       CloseWindow 1
       End
   

   Just launch it using the 'compile and run' option, and see what happens. If all characters are correct, a small window appears in the left/upper edge of the screen. After some seconds it will be closed and you return to the blitz-editor. Now what have we written exactly ? :

   • FindScreen 0
     This line maintains us a screen to output our window on it. Details are not needed for this example. A Screen is _needed_ to open a window.

   • Window 1,0,0,100,100,14,"My Window",0,0
     Well, That is the thing !
     In Blitz a window has its own number (identification). There can't be two windows with same id-numbers. when working on a window in a program, you mostly need its number to specify which one your mean.