OBJECT-ORIENTED FUNCTIONALITY CLASS LIBRARY FOR USE IN GRAPHICS PROGRAMMING

A library of C++ classes for use in writing data visualization programs. The library embodies a general design principle for class libraries: that the classes are partitioned into entity classes and functionality classes. Entity classes in the library specify properties of areas in a display and the functionality classes specify functionalities which the areas may have, for example, being responsive to the mouse or the keyboard or being capable of executing drawing commands. The classes are narrowly defined, and when the C++ programmer specifies a class for an object, he or she can give the object exactly the desired properties by selecting from among the area classes and the functionality classes. Because properties are acquired by inheritance, code generated using the libraries is shorter and faster than code generated using conventional class libraries.