Document ID:       30305.1
Subject:           General porting Hints
Author:            ASANTAGA
Last Modified:     27 Jul 95 


Issues which should be taken into consideration when 
writing  GUI portable applications
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The following listing is a compilation of issues to keep in mind when
developing cross-platform applications using Oracle's CDE Tools, especially
across Windows and Mac.  I would like to receive you Windows, you must specify 
them in  the Program Manager.
 
- It is recommended that you store any external objects (images, sounds, etc.) 
in the database to avoid the path problem mentioned above.
 
- Keep in mind that fonts look differently on different platforms.  Yes, there 
are fonts that are available on both Windows and Mac.  However, what looks  
good on Windows doesn't always look good on the Mac.  If you want a polished 
looking application, go and change the fonts so they look good on that  
specific platform.  Our plan is to implement a user-definable font mapping  
table in a future release of Forms.  This would allow a user to specify what  
font they want mapped to what when transfering an application from one  
platform to another.
 
- The same goes for colors.  A color that looks nice on a Mac may not
necessarily look nice on a Windows machine.  This is a minor detail, but
worth keeping in mind.
 
- Keep in mind of the monitors that will be used to run the application.
Code to the lowest common denominator for size, resolution, and depth.
 
- Sound files, as long as they are stored in the Oracle Sound format, are 
portable.
 
- In Forms, iconic buttons are not portable.  They must be created for each
- Do not use messages with explicit references to the keyboard, such as:
  "Hit the F3 key for more information."