Hi Kenneth,

there is some literature on Spec that might help you out.

- The tech report serves as a 'getting started' http://hal.inria.fr/docs/00/70/80/67/PDF/SpecTechReport.pdf
- Also, we published a paper that talks more about the motivations behind spec and itsadvantages.http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?doid=2448963.2448965 I can send you a preprint in a direct message if you are unable to download it.

Greetings,

On Apr 14, 2013, at 1:22 PM, Kenneth Payne <voxkmp@gmail.com> wrote:

> As a newcomer to smalltalk and Pharo I must say I love it - but I'm a little mystified by Spec.
>
> Just as I've got my head around Polymorph and can build an interface with UITheme builder, the paradigm has changed and Spec is the new standard way to create a UI.
>
> I read on a post that Polymorph is a UI framework but Spec is a UI description framework. But Spec isn't just a description like a XML representation of a UI �- it brings new UI objects to the party - ButtonModel, LabelModel etc. But none of these have the rich properties of the corresponding Morphic objects. A ButtonModel looks nothing like a button, for example, and the LabelModel has nothing to set a font for the label. And it's not a description it's just more code.
>
> The only way I can see to create a rich interface using Spec is to create the interface using Morphs (and composite Morphs) and then using Spec mainly just to assemble and position them.
>
> So can someone wiser than I answer these questions for me:
>
> One, what is the purpose of Spec - what problem is it trying to solve?
>
> Two, what advantages are there to building a UI in Spec rather than building it directly in Polymorph?
>
> Three, why are the objects caled ButtonModel, LableModel etc when they are not models but UI components?
>
> Four, am I supposed to be assembling morphs using Spec? It works so is it right?
>
> To sum up, I'm quite sure Spec is an important new feature but at the moment I'm just not getting it.
>
> Can anyone help me on this?
>
>
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