The KineticaRT controls can be used on their own or, for more flexibility, embedded in a Frame control. The Frame serves as a container for other controls and provides layout tools such as automatic positioning and sizing of contained controls. The Frame control permits runtime editing, which greatly simplifies the task of creating an instrument panel that the user can customize at runtime. Frame layouts can be saved to configuration files and reloaded.

The one weak point in the KineticaRT controls is the documentation. It is bare-bones--written by the programmers I bet--and provides essentially nothing in the way of code snippets or demonstration projects. These controls are inherently complex, and a developer should really have better documentation to work from.

I like the fact that you can buy just the components you need--you are not forced to spring for a whole library just to get one or two controls. The prices of the individual KineticaRT components range from £39 to £54. You can download a fully functional trial version to give it a try, then later buy the license if you decide to use the control (which gets rid of the "demo" message). Licenses are on a per-developer basis, not per-system.

KineticaRT is a well-designed and comprehensive set of controls for use in industrial and research monitoring and control applications. They are flexible and powerful yet unavoidably complex, and the programmer's task is made more difficult by poor documentation. Even so, with a little effort they can provide capabilities for your programs that you may not be able to find elsewhere.