Acme: A User Interface for Programmers (1994)
13 days ago
- #user-interface
- #programming-tools
- #text-editing
- Acme is a hybrid of window system, shell, and editor designed for text-oriented applications, offering a clean and consistent interaction style.
- It provides a fixed user interface accessed via a file system interface, acting as a file server for its windows.
- Acme uses distinct mouse button functions: left for selection, middle for executing commands, and right for context search and file opening.
- The system is structured as a set of communicating processes in a concurrent programming language, dividing tasks like display management and input.
- Acme's user interface avoids traditional typescript windows, focusing on seamless integration of applications and files.
- It supports automatic window placement and dynamic window management, with heuristics to optimize user experience.
- Acme's undo facility allows for high-performance reversal of changes, with the ability to redo actions.
- The system is implemented in Alef, a concurrent object-oriented language, leveraging multi-process architecture for efficient I/O handling.
- Future developments may include support for non-textual graphics and further integration with graphical applications.
- Acme has proven addictive for users due to its comfortable interface, handling of multiple tasks, and high level of integration.