UI Design

[Stefan Urbanek]

Hi,

This is how I see it...

I draw a sketch of window layout with some app, like drawing with a pencil on a 
paper. With this 'paper/pencil' approach I can be more productive and creative. 
I tune it to get most of it and to make it usable. When I am satisfied with the 
design, then i can start thinking about autoresizing of views depending on the 
window size.  I can do that in Gorm.

What I want more? 1. I want it to be localizable
2. I want it to adapt to font size changes
3. ...

Where is the problem? Relayout depending on the contents.
Now I have my UI designed and I want to make it adapt automaticaly. Possible 
solution should be to specify relative distances between objects. This can be 
achieved by having NSPoint, NSSize as objects, not as C structures, where I can 
two types of each. One with absolute positions and another with relative to 
other NSPoint, NSSize. With current implementation, we have only absolute 
points and sizes, we cannot specify the size as:    {half of some width, same 
height} or point as    {5 points to the right of that point, same y}. Yes, THIS 
is what we really want - specify either relative or absolute position and size 
of a view. Because points and sizes are not objects, just plain
structures, we have to do it another way: store an additional information about 
the points and sizes of objects.

To sum it up:

1. design and tune the interface.
2. autosizing
3. autolayout depending on contents

The most important thing is, that the FIRST step should be done ONLY by a 
designer, without any forcing/assistance of automatic layout. Relayout design 
should be done by the designer, when the interface is finished. Either as 
grouping objects, or specifying relative sizes and positions in similar way as 
we specify outlet/action connections.

Be it Gorm or Renaissance visual editor, I think, that both should keep that 
order of UI design steps.
I see no sense in creating one UI to be adaptable to an UI philosophy of a 
hosting OS. That is one-size-fits-all solution and the result will be unusable,
but portable UI.

Stefan

--
http://urbanek.host.sk

First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you 
win.
- Mahatma Gandhi