Specifications

Athena Widget Set libXaw 1.0.7
•Model
•Conventions used in this manual
•Format of the Widget Reference Chapters
1.2. Terminology
In addition to the terms already defined for X programming (see Xlib — C Language X Interface),
the following terms are specific to the Intrinsics and Athena widget set and used throughout this
document.
Application programmer
Aprogrammer who uses the X Toolkit to produce an application user interface.
Child
Awidget that is contained within another "parent" widget.
Class
The general group to which a specific object belongs.
Client
Afunction that uses a widget in an application or for composing other widgets.
FullName
The name of a widget instance appended to the full name of its parent.
Instance
Aspecific widget object as opposed to a general widget class.
Method
Afunction or procedure implemented by a widget class.
Name
The name that is specific to an instance of a widget for a givenclient. This name is speci-
fied at creation time and cannot be modified.
Object
Adata abstraction consisting of private data and private and public functions that operate on
the private data. Users of the abstraction can interact with the object only through calls to
the object’spublic functions. In the X Toolkit, some of the object’spublic functions are
called directly by the application, while others are called indirectly when the application
calls the common Intrinsics functions. In general, if a function is common to all widgets, an
application uses a single Intrinsics function to invoke the function for all types of widgets.
If a function is unique to a single widget type, the widget exports the function.
Parent
Awidget that contains at least one other ("child") widget. Aparent widget is also known as
acomposite widget.
Resource
Anamed piece of data in a widget that can be set by a client, by an application, or by user
defaults.
Superclass
Alarger class of which a specific class is a member.All members of a class are also mem-
bers of the superclass.
User
Aperson interacting with a workstation.
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