GUI: Basic Machanical Aspects

[IWishIKnew]

I am having trouble understanding the mechanics of a GUI library.

By 'mechanics', I mean the way that these objects are meant to work; the way they're supposed to be put together, retrieve information, etc...

Also, this is for PDcurses, which I found can create GUI objects that are supposed to be like the actual ones (the non-textually based).

For example:

There are windows, and there are panels... I read n the documantation that only panels can scroll... Since panels can only be attatched to windows, I created a new window (because I wanted it to be separate from the 'main' display) and attatched a panel to it. I resized it, and then came the part where I wanted to display text... do I do it on the window? Is there a function to display on the panel directly??

This is a problem that can be summed up with one word: mechanics.

How are these functions supposed to work? How are they designed to be used?

So, my question to you is: Is there any place I can read about this online? I have searched, but to no avail...