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-------------------   Zinc Application Framework   --------------------
-------------   ZAF 4 -> ZAF 5 Transition Information   ---------------
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GENERAL INFORMATION
===================
ZAF 5 code is *not* backward compatible with ZAF 4.  In an effort to
bring the product up to date and make it competitive with non-portable
tools, this change was required.

Conceptually, however, ZAF 5 is still very much the same.  The concepts
you have already learned for ZAF 4 will serve you well, reducing the
learning curve to about one day according to our early test sites.

Data files are also not compatible with ZAF 4, but a convert utility is
supplied which will convert all standard ".dat" files.

In future beta versions we will describe specific techniques for converting
code from ZAF 4 to ZAF 5.  For now, we encourage you to read the available
documentation--especially the attribute matrix and ZafWindowObject
reference--to get a feel for coding using the new techniques.  Beta 2
focuses on advanced, API level ZAF users.  Future betas will move toward
ease-of-use, and rapid application development.


WHAT ABOUT EXISTING ZAF 4 PROJECTS?
===================================
Large Scale
-----------
If you have large-scale existing projects that are already shipping or
nearly so, we recommend that you continue with ZAF 4 for those projects
only.  Converting code will bring you better stability and performance,
but the time required seems to be about 1 man-day per 1000 lines of code
for initial conversion, plus debug time.

Smaller Scale
-------------
If you have smaller scale projects or are in the early stages of
development on a new project, the benefits of converting your code will
save you time in the long run.

Unix
----
If you are doing *any* development with ZAF 4 for Motif, we recommend
that you convert immediately.  The benefits in stability alone will far
offset any effort to convert.


IS ZAF 5 READY FOR NEW PROJECTS?
================================
Yes.  Statistical measures of stability already exceed those for ZAF 4
even in beta.  However, since Zinc Designer is not yet ready for serious
use and the documentation is still sparse, we recommend that only advanced,
API-level C++ programmers begin using the beta code for critical projects.


NEW ZAF 5 TECHNIQUES
====================
(Future beta)


CONVERSION INSTRUCTIONS
=======================
(Future beta)
