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KOffice 1.2.1 Supported by DRT Design Recovery Too

Posted by Hemos on from the built-it-they-come dept.

UNSW DRT Team writes "DRT is a design recovery tool for interactive graphical applications running under X Windows. The tool automatically captures actions performed while using such an application. Functions particularly relevant to each action are identified. Moreover, the action itself is described visually from a fragment of the application display. One can search and browse these actions to learn about the design of an application. The latest version, DRT 0.2.2, now supports shared libraries, which allows applications such as those in KOffice to work. This version also includes template drt files for all KOffice 1.2.1 applications for easy instrumentation."

11 comments

  1. I don't get it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll
    I don't get it. What possible use could this program have?

    Oh, and FIRST POST!

    1. Re:I don't get it by amichail · · Score: 1
      Hi,

      Please see the following paper for motivation and examples:

      http://citeseer.nj.nec.com/536115.html

      (See the links in the top right to download/view.)

      Amir

  2. france surrenders by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Troll

    This kind of thing is how world wars start.

  3. Round of applause. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    Everyone, please put your hands together for:



    Congratulations, may your future career in the confines of Randwick Asylum be long and fruity.

  4. o! the humanity! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    My eyes! The goggles do nothing!

  5. Replay by oliverthered · · Score: 1

    I want to replay the actions,
    and Is there an easy way to interrate DTR with QT (e.g. through the pre-processor). So that I can just compile anyones app with DRT enabled.

    --
    thank God the internet isn't a human right.
    1. Re:Replay by amichail · · Score: 1

      Hi,

      The tool is designed to help you understand
      other people's code. How would replaying
      actions help in that regard?

      Could you be more specific in your second question?
      The DRT manual already describes how to instrument
      most X applications to work under DRT.

      Amir

    2. Re:Replay by oliverthered · · Score: 1

      Ok, it looks like DRT logs the actions.
      If it logs them and could replay them you could use it for Macro programming.

      Also, I just wan't to compile -lreplay, not have to muck around with code.
      Preferably compile QT/GTK -lreplay.

      --
      thank God the internet isn't a human right.
    3. Re:Replay by amichail · · Score: 1
      Hi,

      You may wish to look into programming by example/demonstration, which does as you suggest and more: it generalizes user examples into complete programs/macros:

      http://lieber.www.media.mit.edu/people/lieber/PBE/

      However, that's not the purpose of DRT. DRT is a tool to help you understand other people's code by considering concrete scenarios/actions.

      As for automatic instrumentation without code changes, that would be difficult right now even if we focus just on qt/gtk.

      DRT currently patches applications to ensure they do not perform too much polling (which confuses DRT action detection) and also that they have a non-blinking cursor of a unique color (to allow cursor tracking). Amir

  6. Say it ... by belbo · · Score: -1, Offtopic
    From 'man X':

    The X Consortium requests that the following names be used when referring to this software:

    • X
    • X Window System
    • X Version 11
    • X Window System, Version 11
    • X11
    There's no such thing as "X Windows". I mean, come on, if I were to call your software 'Dut', you'd complain, too ;-)

    HAND

    b.

    --

    --
    "Just believe everything I tell you, and it will all be very, very simple."

  7. it has a purpose by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I think it is an educational tool to show you how bloated and stupid X is, and why it is so slow.

    Like we didn't already know that. :\