The Human-Computer Interaction Lab at the University of Maryland, in
collaboration with Microsoft Research, is pleased to announce the
release of Piccolo 1.2, an open-source toolkit (available in C# and
Java) for structured 2D graphics and zoomable user interfaces (ZUIs).
A ZUI is a novel kind of interface that presents a large canvas of
information on a traditional computer display by letting the user
smoothly zoom in to get detailed information, and zoom out for an
overview. Piccolo uses a "scene-graph" model, common to 3D
environments. The framework maintains a hierarchal structure of
objects and cameras, allowing the application developer to orient,
group and manipulate objects in meaningful ways.
There are three versions of the toolkit. Piccolo.Java is built on
Java2 and relies on Java2D for rendering. Piccolo.NET is built on the
..NET Framework and relies on GDI+ for rendering. Finally,
PocketPiccolo.NET is built on the .NET Compact Framework and relies on
GDI for rendering. This coordinate release brings together the desktop
versions of Piccolo with nearly identical features and APIs, making it
easy for Java and C# developers to build graphical applications
targeting various platforms. With PocketPiccolo.NET, C# programmers
can also build applications for PocketPCs and Smartphones. All three
versions of the toolkit are open source and can be downloaded from the
Piccolo website: http://www.cs.umd.edu/hcil/piccolo
.
"Piccolo makes it easy for application developers to build highly
interactive and customized graphical interfaces," says Ben Bederson,
Piccolo's Project Manager and director of the Human-Computer
Interaction Lab. "From charts, maps, custom widgets to complete
interactive graphical applications, the piccolo infrastructure handles
all of the lower-level details for you, from efficient repainting of
the screen to animation, layout, event management and more." Piccolo
bridges a gap in graphical tools for developers.
The Human-Computer Interaction Lab (HCIL) at the University of Maryland
is dedicated to designing, implementing, and evaluating new interface
technologies that are useable, useful, efficient and appealing to a
broad cross-section of people: http://www.cs.umd.edu/hcil
.
Contact:
Benjamin B. Bederson
University of Maryland
(301) 405-2764
bederson@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
|
