[ALLY] Notice: Prepare for VID B5 Changes

[1/7] from: carl:rebol at: 18-Aug-2000 13:54

Dear REBOL/View/VID Users: A change to VID for REBOL/View Beta 5.0 will break some of your VID scripts. The change is in the stylize function. Rather than using a unique dialect for style specification, stylize will take style names and facets in the same format as a layout. This will make it easier to remember how to create styles, since they will be done in the same way as layouts. For example: sheet: stylize [ btxt: text bold rtxt: text bold right red gbar: box effect [gradient 200.0.0 0.0.0] btn32: button 100x40 font [size: 32] btn2: button with [feel: new-feel] ] This will create the btxt, rtxt, gbar, and btn32 styles for use in any layout. Note the general face spec in the last example using the WITH word. This is the same as a layout. An experimental version of View will be posted on Monday, giving you the chance to test and change your scripts before B5 is released. There are many other improvements to VID B5. The full set of predefined face styles will be: Text Styles text - text (white with shadow) label - text labels title - title text subtitle - subtitle text norm - text (black, no shadow) H1 - heading 1 H2 - heading 2 H3 - heading 3 H4 - heading 4 sample - example code field - text entry field area - text entry area Graphical Styles image - jpeg, bmp, or gif image backdrop - scale image to fit page backtile - tile image over page box - rectangular box anim - animated image icon - image with text caption sensor - image map Gadget Styles button - click for action toggle - up and down button rotary - multiple value button choice - pop-up button check - check box radio - radio button arrow - arrow button progress - progress bar slider - slider bar Panel Styles panel - subpanel layout list - text and image lists In addition there will be these requestor pop-ups: request - simple requests resuest-color - color picker request-date - calendar picker request-file - file picker Also, you will be able to specify multiple facets for a face: text "Hello" yellow blue - yellow text, blue background rotary "Breakfast" "Lunch" "Dinner" - choices And, finally, there will be a new set of welcome/install windows, including one to help with content selection. NOT ALL OF THESE CHANGES WILL BE AVAILABLE IN MONDAY's EXPERIMENTAL. [Sorry to shout, but I want to make it clear so I don't get swamped with emails.] There is an entirely new document for VID that will accompany this release. -Carl

[2/7] from: brian:hawley:bigfoot at: 18-Aug-2000 23:58

[carl--cybercraft--co--nz] wrote:

>But as long as the requesters are half-way decent ones I >think most people will be happy to use them unaltered apart >from cosmetic changes to make them match their GUI's look.

As long as they don't change the layout of the requesters, just the colors. Changes to the layout would require some relearning on the users' part to handle new programs. This is a bad idea from a UI design standpoint. Any changes to the layout of the requesters should be built into /View in later versions. Consistency is important for user interfaces. Brian Hawley

[3/7] from: petr:krenzelok:trz:cz at: 18-Aug-2000 23:11

[carl--rebol--com] wrote:

> Dear REBOL/View/VID Users: > > A change to VID for REBOL/View Beta 5.0 will break some of your VID scripts. > > There are many other improvements to VID B5. >

Great Carl, can't wait. Could you please be more specific on some internal changes to Beta5? I mean - will there be a buffering for transparent faces e.g.?

> The full set of predefined face styles will be: > Text Styles

<<quoted lines omitted: 36>>

> request-date - calendar picker > request-file - file picker

Is such higher level functionality needed in general VID dialect? btw what about more advanced sliders (with arrows, etc.)?

> Also, you will be able to specify multiple facets for a face: > > text "Hello" yellow blue - yellow text, blue background

Isn't it just a substitution for "with [color: blue]]"?

> rotary "Breakfast" "Lunch" "Dinner" - choices > > And, finally, there will be a new set of welcome/install windows, > including one to help with content selection. > > NOT ALL OF THESE CHANGES WILL BE AVAILABLE IN MONDAY's EXPERIMENTAL. > [Sorry to shout, but I want to make it clear so I don't get swamped with emails.] > > There is an entirely new document for VID that will accompany this release. >

Thanks, -pekr-

[4/7] from: petr:krenzelok:trz:cz at: 19-Aug-2000 0:24

[carl--cybercraft--co--nz] wrote:

> On 19-Aug-00, [Petr--Krenzelok--trz--cz] wrote: > >> In addition there will be these requestor pop-ups:

<<quoted lines omitted: 8>>

> something as common as a file-requester works is no fun. Otherwise > good programs can be made hell to use by bad file-requesters.

Well, I thought VID is gonna be something like widgets, providing us with basic components. My general experience with higher complexity stuff is - it's nice to have but always missing feature you would like to have. .... and then you will seee tones of modifications, often leading to kludgy solutions .... ... but I would like to be wrong ... btw: advanced scrollers/sliders were requested already several months back .... -pekr-

[5/7] from: carl:cybercraft at: 19-Aug-2000 9:53

On 19-Aug-00, [Petr--Krenzelok--trz--cz] wrote:

>> In addition there will be these requestor pop-ups: >>

<<quoted lines omitted: 3>>

>> request-file - file picker > Is such higher level functionality needed in general VID dialect?

Most definately. Without them we'll end up with different requesters on every View script we run and having to repeatidly learn how something as common as a file-requester works is no fun. Otherwise good programs can be made hell to use by bad file-requesters.

[6/7] from: allenk::powerup::com::au at: 19-Aug-2000 10:48

----- Original Message ----- From: <[carl--cybercraft--co--nz]> To: <[ally--rebol--com]> Sent: Saturday, August 19, 2000 10:06 AM Subject: [ALLY] Re: Notice: Prepare for VID B5 Changes Re:(3)

> On 19-Aug-00, [Petr--Krenzelok--trz--cz] wrote: > > [carl--cybercraft--co--nz] wrote:

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> it's not as though there's been a heap of cool requesters appearing > in View scripts so far, is it? Or have I missed them?

We had some appear in the beta2 round but RT let us know back then that a lot of the standard things would turn up in beta5. (Each beta phase concentrated on improving different view functionality, maybe that message w asn't repeated when the view beta4 went public.) Now that the underlying view foundation is in place, VID can be updated to take advantage of it. I will have a fun workload to convert the Rebolforces scripts, and I can happily scrap a number of them because I know Carl has built better ones into VID. Cheers, Allen K

[7/7] from: carl:cybercraft at: 19-Aug-2000 12:06

On 19-Aug-00, [Petr--Krenzelok--trz--cz] wrote:

> [carl--cybercraft--co--nz] wrote: >> On 19-Aug-00, [Petr--Krenzelok--trz--cz] wrote:

<<quoted lines omitted: 17>>

> often leading to kludgy solutions .... > ... but I would like to be wrong ...

Hopefully you will be, as being written in VID the modifications and extensions shouldn't be kludgy, it being designed to be modified and extended. But as long as the requesters are half-way decent ones I think most people will be happy to use them unaltered apart from cosmetic changes to make them match their GUI's look. After-all, it's not as though there's been a heap of cool requesters appearing in View scripts so far, is it? Or have I missed them?

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