Date:         Tue, 18 May 1999 08:02:13 -0400
Reply-To:     Mark Lindeman <mtl4@COLUMBIA.EDU>
Sender:       "SPSSX(r) Discussion" <SPSSX-L@UGA.CC.UGA.EDU>
From:         Mark Lindeman <mtl4@COLUMBIA.EDU>
Subject:      Re: From SPSS:  Suggested solution for SPSS for Mac users
Comments: To: "D.R. Wahlgren" <wahlgren@MAIL.SDSU.EDU>
In-Reply-To:  <v04020a00b3666e6e0236@[130.191.244.41]>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Dennis Wahlgren quotes a Mac developer:
 
>> Second of all, to say that MFC and OLE/ActiveX are necessary to port a
>> statistical analysis package is ludicrous.  MFC is generally known as
>> one of the most poorly designed class libraries ever made, and its lack
>> of availability for the Mac is not surprising given that it is
>> basically a thin wrapper for the Windows API.  [...]
>> OLE/ActiveX is another horrid piece of technology that is no longer
>> ported (except by the Office group - which is where you may have seen
>> it) It is used for interapplication and cross-network communication and
>> has nothing to do with statistical analysis.
 
I see this developer's point of view.  But having programmed for both Win32
and Mac, I can testify that _once you specialize_ on Windows [or Mac] with
a graphics-intensive application -- which, like it or not, SPSS now is --
porting is a pain.  The programmers might have made it easier by not going
the MFC route, but don't let anyone tell you that it could have been easy.
[SPSS for Java?  I have my doubts!]
 
ActiveX may have nothing to do with statistical analysis, but I imagine
that SPSS's interactive charts and probably its
"edit-in-place-or-in-a-separate-window" pivot tables rely on it.
 
Mark Lindeman
MTL4@columbia.edu