Re: [PATCHES] Re: Harp Pedals?

[Carl D. Sorensen]

On 8/29/08 10:45 AM, "Francisco Vila" <address@hidden> wrote:

>> Why not use an ellipse that just fits _inside_ the rectangle?
>>
>> Because the object of the ellipse is to "circle" a rectangle.  The rectangle
>> is a filled box, and the ellipse is supposed to enclose it.
>
> Have you considered that an ellipse could not be optically optimal for
> tiny sizes?

No, I have not.  I have looked at existing harp-pedal diagrams that appear
to use ellipses.

>Some tests with inkscape show me that an ellipse
> (depending on the aspect ratio of the rectangle) could be a little too
> 'tall', but if the half-axes simply add a fixed amount in x and y to
> the width and height of the rectangle, it would leave a more
> controllable space in between (maybe it also would be faster to
> calculate)

I have not tried, but I would be really surprised if a "fixed amount" would
lead to general encircling behavior.

The behavior I chose is easily calculated (all of the "difficult"
calculations are done before the code is written).  I doubt that any other
algorithm would be faster, but it might look better.

I think that Reinhold's idea of x-padding and y-padding is a good idea,
because it allows the user to change the aspect ratio of the ellipse if the
automatically generated one is not good.  I will implement that idea by
tomorrow, if Reinhold has already done so.

Once that is done, you can experiment with various padding values and come
up with something that you believe is optically the best.  We can then make
that part of the defaults.

>
> Also, an oval (ie a pseudo-ellipse made from concatenated circle
> snippets) or even a rounded rectangle with large radius could be
> easier to adjust to the rectangle. Just my 2c

Have you tried making pedal diagrams in Inkscape with ovals and rounded
rectangles?  If you have something that you think looks better than an
ellipse, please propose it with examples and I'll be happy to implement it.
I know nothing about harp pedals other than what I've read since your first
request two weeks ago, so I'm not the person to be making aesthetic choices.

That being said, I think the ellipse is a much prettier curve than an oval
or a rounded rectangle, so I'd be surprised to find that one of those looked
better than a properly-sized ellipse.

Thanks,

Carl