Re: OT: GUI [was:]Ann: TeXCAD 4.1

[Georg Bauhaus <sb463ba@l1-hrz.uni-duisburg.de>]

Preben Randhol <randhol+valid_for_reply_from_news@pvv.org> wrote:
: On 2004-03-18, Georg Bauhaus <sb463ba@l1-hrz.uni-duisburg.de> wrote:
:>
:> Well, irrelevant..., the OP had mentioned or implied, to me at least,
:> that low level layers (below Gtk) as well as the high level layers 
:> invite criticism that can be well expressed in typical "Ada" terms.
: 
: What do you mean? I really don't understand what you are saying.

For example, as the GNOME guidelines say, a user using a computer
with a graphical user interface should see a consistent (see "Ada
culture", see also Ada RM :-) user interface accross applications,
whether these applications appear as one application (document
centered approach) or not.
But GNOME /= Windows, thus a GNOME style application and a Windows
style application both running on Windows might have the very same
Ada parts, but they must fail to have the same user interface parts.

This is why I said it might be worthwhile writing applications
that specifically use an operating system's features.

 I know many who prefer PhotoShop over GIMP not because
GIMP lacks functions they need, but because it doesn't fit as well
with the operating system and with their interface expectations.

Dress code violation, so to speak.


: You said: That one should bring GtkAda up to the level of Mac OS X.

That one had a smiley :-)

: Then you go on comparing apples and oranges.

O.K., maybe what I said is confusing or not explicit enough. I'll
try.

: Please I don't want yet another debate about Human interface. Rather
: read : http://developer.gnome.org/projects/gup/hig/

This is much more a "How to Use Gtk/GNOME Elements".
It argues at a very different level, namely it shows how not to
misuse the GNOME interface elements, not at the level of
  "Why We Have Chosen The Controls That You Find in Gtk
But Possibly Nowhere Else".
When things important for "human interface" considerations come up,
they refer you to unnamed books,
"There are a large number of professional interaction designers who
 write books and teach courses on design methods that can help with
 this process, many of which are extremely useful."

 And the guide is contradictory in many ways. For example,

  "Put the User in Control"
versus
  "what you want to enable them [users] to do"

("learn what your users want" is not present
in the same bulleted list, but only elsewhere.)

 
:> (For example, is a dashboard oriented panel design, as is more or
:> less hardcoded in (the spirit of) Gtk(Ada) really an adequate choice
:> when in comes to applications that have nothing to do with engineering,
:> or with engineers?)
: 
: What do you mean?

As a brute force example, we have switches and push buttons,
but no muffineers or graters.
 
: Are you talking about libglade?

"GtkUIManager allows the application to specify a set of
 "actions", then create menus and toolbars using those actions
 from an XML-like interface description."