Re: [Gimp-developer] Search Action dialog feature

[Tobias Jakobs <tobias jakobs gmail com>]

Hello Peter,

thank you for this mail. It answers all my questions and I think it is very
productive. Perhaps even both 1) and 2) can be implemented as two separate
systems.

Regards
Tobias

2014/1/15 peter sikking <peter mmiworks net>

> Burnie West wrote:
>
> > On 01/14/2014 03:13 PM, Chris Mohler wrote:
> > > Staying with the same example, then English menu entry is 'Chromium
> > > Web Browser'.  When switching to Spanish or Chinese, the 'Chromium'
> > > remains the same while 'Web Browser' is translated.
> > I read peter's objection to the requirement that the entire language
> translation process would be impacted, making maintenance nearly impossible.
>
> I actually did not say that. I do not see it that way.
>
> and instead of going into the smaller points that are being raised
> in the replies to my previous post, I am going concentrate on
> the main point.
>
>
> Structuring the design process is ‘half the work’ in my daily
> practice and in order to enable the TITo situation to turn
> from negative to positive, I will contribute this:
>
>
> 1) the people who are really driving this (Srihari Sriraman and
>  Jehan Pagès I believe) have to take a hard choice; is TITo
>
> a) a help system via text search to learn using GIMP
>
> b) a command-line system for operating GIMP
>
> these things are mutually exclusive (too long to explain, but see below...)
> and that is why there is no fudging possible. Make the choice
> and write it at the top of the spec page (“TITo is ...”)
>
> 2) remove from the spec (and the code) everything that belongs
>  to what you chose TITo _not_ to be (not to worry, I will point
>  out what will have to go).
>
> examples:
>
> if you chose TITo to be a) (a help system) then things that
> belong to b) have to go. this include the 2-char command thing
> and the f-recency prioritisation (or, you will need to change that
> for learning situations so much that you would not recognise it
> anymore).
>
> if you chose TITo to be b) (a command-line system) then things
> that belong to a) have to go. this includes verbose explanations
> when showing the actions that match the query string.
>
> 3) now you have to design TITo, for the goal you set.
>
> examples:
>
> if you chose TITo to be a) (a help system) then you must build
> a bridge to the docs.gimp.org (in the right localisation); there
> are many ways to do this. as I said before, if you are serious
> about “Text-based Intent driven Tool” then you have to build a
> synonym list for all GIMP command keywords, in all localisations;
> since this is open source, I recommend you design a system where
> users playfully add synonyms themselves to their own localisation
> (which is then shared across the GIMP community).
> also you need to concentrate on teaching users where they find
> the thing they have queried in the UI (show it, not say it),
> instead of invoking it.
>
> if you chose TITo to be b) (a command-line system) then
> you need to design a super-fast input method, maybe permanently
> available if users chose so. and you need to design a command
> language (a difficult job I would not like to take on, even if
> they paid me double); the current 2-char lets-see-if-we-get-lucky
> is simply not going to cut it.
>
> 4) we review the spec, and adjust until you have something that
> realises you stated goal.
>
> 5) implement. you can do this before, during or after you
> write your spec. the spec however is authoritative, and at
> the moment that you want TITo to be included in a GIMP
> release, that implementation most match the spec. no fudging
> with less or more features.
>
> when you have successfully taken steps 1–5 you can get
> TITo into the standard GIMP release. if you decline, or
> are unable, to complete any steps, then as far as I am
> concerned TITo will not get into the standard GIMP release.
>
> in that case you better think of how TITo can be distributed
> as a user-installable add-on. in that case you can also
> make TITo whatever you want (it is a free world), because
> it no longer reflects on the GIMP project how it turns out.
>
>     --ps
>
>         founder + principal interaction architect
>             man + machine interface works
>
>         http://blog.mmiworks.net: on interaction architecture
>
>
>
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