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Component Design


For consistency with other applications, you should always try to use existing components for your application tasks, but there are cases where new components are needed. In designing new components, you should follow the same rules as application designers follow. You should think of components as small applications. They perform a task, present information to the user, and take information from the user. New components must follow the guidelines for designing applications.

The first step to designing a new component is to compare its features with those of the other components. If the new component has a feature that is the same as another component, the mechanisms for using the feature, layout, key bindings, graphics, and so on, should be the same in the new component. You should also try to match the appearance style of components on your system. Most OSF/Motif compliant systems use a 3-dimensional beveled presentation style. Appearance is not specified as a matter of component style in this guide; however, any new components will assimilate better with existing components if they are designed to conform to the implied appearance style for the system on which they will be used.