On 23/02/2009, at 1:10 PM, Lachlan Deck wrote:
> So here's a preview of what I'm looking to submit patches of as a
> 'new and improved' component creation wizard.
>
> So, this is a call for feedback (note feedback vs commitment to do :)
> - first impressions
First impression, it's too complicated.
I am a subscriber to the KISS principle, less is more and all that,
and this kinda goes the other way.
If someone were to ask me how they can improve the existing component
creation wizard my answer would probably be to make it smarter, have
fewer input options but more output possibilities, have better
defaults but still do what the user expects.
A few questions come to mind when looking at this UI:
What do we really need to know to do what the user wants in the vast
majority of cases?
Can we make an intelligent decision based on convention or the
existing project contents without asking the user?
How much productivity do you gain by having this in the wizard? How
often are users likely to change the default value?
The API file for example, the API editor is always accessible through
the component editor, and will create an API file when needed, so do
we need to care about it in the component wizard?
In the "controller" section, how important is it to have all these new
options at creation time, and how often will users need (or bother) to
change them from the defaults.
Why is abstract/private/protected/static even listed? How often do
users create a WOComponent that isn't public? How inconvenient is it
to the user if they were always created public?
I think your suggestion of adding support for custom user templates
would be of significant value. This might allow a user to simply name
the component and select a template that corresponds to the type of
component they wish to create. A variety of custom component types
(List/Detail/Confirmation/etc), and an extensive amount of
customisation could be achieved while using the simplest of user
interfaces.
As for the java source folder, does this serve any purpose other than
to solve an issue with maven projects? Is it really necessary or can
we fix it in the wizard without having to ask the user?
I like what you have done with the cleaned up visuals and view/
controller separation
> - features you think might be useful additions / behaviours
The encoding type isn't really optional, it needs to be set to
something, and it should use java encoding type names and drop the old
Obj-C naming.
Optional WOO file creation was previously a feature of the wizard, but
was removed for good reasons (that I don't recall right now).
> - does anyone actually care greatly about the current component
> wizard?
>
> FYI:
> - the component / source/package folders will auto-populate
> depending on selection
> - the superclass will default to WOComponent (perhaps look at
> remembering previous stuff)
> - if you select abstract or default modifiers the component view
> will disable
> - as different from the standard class creation wizard I've
> defaulted constructors and comments to true.
> - the wizard icon in the top-right is from Andrew Lindesay (it may
> change) using default wizard background
> - later on I'll perhaps look at being able to associate templates
> for component view things in the workspace / project.
-- Seeya...QQuinton Dolan - qdola..mail.com Gold Coast, QLD, Australia (GMT+10) Ph: +61 419 729 806
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.0.0 : Mon Feb 23 2009 - 02:01:14 EST