Re: part-color-list and :body

[lynch@aristotle.ils.nwu.edu (Richard Lynch)]

>   From: lynch@aristotle.ils.nwu.edu (Richard Lynch)
>   Message-Id: <9106190020.AA02269@aristotle.ils.nwu.edu>
>   To: info-macl@cambridge.apple.com
>    
>   1.  Specifying :part-color-list for a dialog-item seems to be bugged.
>   2.  What exactly is the "body of a dialog-item" as stated in the manual?
>       I've attempted to (set-part-color <foo> :body *yellow-color*) for
>   several different values of foo and have had no visible change...
>    
>   Thanks in advance.
>    
>   "TANSTAAFL" Rich lynch@aristotle.ils.nwu.edu
>
>The following code makes a window with a red button for me:
>
>(let ((w (make-instance 'window :color-p t)))
>  (make-instance 'button-dialog-item
>    :part-color-list (list :body *red-color*)
>    :dialog-item-text "button" 
>    :view-container w))

Then perhaps the question should be why doesn't it make the "body" of a
static-text-dialog-item or editable-text-dialog-item colored?

Which leads into the next question.  Presumably I could put a before method
on view-draw-contents for static-text-dialog-item to paint a red rectangle
and set the pen-mode and it might actaully work.  *BUT*, a future (or
present; I haven't checked yet.) release may use the before method for
something.  The alternative is to make a new subclass and use that, but
that is aesthetically unpleasing (to me) because I really think that the
standard static-text-dialog-item *should* use the body.

Would the makers of MACL care to comment on the pros/cons of altering the
behavior of system defined classes versus using mixin classes.

"TANSTAAFL" Rich lynch@aristotle.ils.nwu.edu