Whats the deal with Tabs

[Chad Hardin]

I'm just curious, why were tabs brought in to the OpenStep realm?  It 
seems that every-time that I've seen where a tabbed view would have 
been used on other platforms, a popup list with multi-form panels is 
used instead.

Here is why I 'm asking:
I've already made the GSCUP printing backend bundle's printing panel 
with tabs, but I wonder if it would be more consistent to use a popup 
list and multiform panels instead.

If it indeed would be better not to use tabs, when is it appropriate to 
use tabs?  Is there any guidance out there on when to use one or the 
other?

Personally, I hate tabs, they usually never fit right and look 
confusing.  But they are easier to implement when using Gorm.

It would be nifty it GNUstep's NSTabView actually has had a 
NSPopUpButton instead of the tabs.  That would keep the interface 
looking more consistent.  Of course, tabs can be on the left, right, or 
bottom as well; a pop-up button would be silly there.  However, I don't 
think that NSTabView is used like that very often.

So maybe, just maybe, it might be a good idea to make NSTabView  use a 
NSPopUpBottom in lieu of Tabs only when NSTopTabsBezelBorder is used.  
This would keep the interface more consistent.

What do ya'll think?


Chad