The iTools Feedback Mechanism

The IDLitIMessaging class provides methods that allow you to accept and return feedback via the iTool interface without writing any interface code yourself. For many applications, adding the ability to provide status information, prompt the user for simple input, and display appropriate error messages to the standard iTool interface is sufficient; in these cases, no additional code is needed to create and display user interfaces.

Note
The simple dialogs presented by the IDLitIMessaging methods are similar to those displayed by the IDL DIALOG_MESSAGE function. Since the initial iTools release supports only one user interface style (built using the IDL widget interface toolkit) it may be tempting to use DIALOG_MESSAGE rather than the methods described in this chapter. As the iTools framework matures, however, additional user interface styles may be created either by ITT Visual Information Solutions or by third-party developers. Using the built-in IDLitIMessaging methods will ensure that your iTool applications continue to function properly when other interface styles are available.

This chapter discusses the use of the basic user interface elements provided by the IDLitIMessaging class. If your application requires a more complex interface, see Creating a User Interface Service or Creating a User Interface Panel.