Re: GUI design

[Daniel J Sebald]

On 03/23/2012 04:36 PM, Jacob Dawid wrote:
> I am sorry to say that, but I think that all the discussion about the GUI
> is complete non-sense. A GUI is simply a different way to access octave's
> functionality that integrates better with the ideas and concepts that a
> state-of-the-art program has to have. What I don't understand is that
> people are so afraid of using something different than their vi or emacs or
> whatever they are used to.

I'm not afraid to use something other than vi or emacs.  I've been 
accustom to GUIs for decades.  Loved FrameMaker twenty years ago.  The 
issue is that GUIs are not always efficient.  I don't buy into this 
modern computer system idea, continually changing for no justifiable reason.


> Can you click in the terminal and modify a matrix visually, by clicking a
> cell and simply changing the content? No, you can't. Can you type and -
> while you type - sort the history in a list, then simply click the command
> and it will be inserted into the terminal? No, you can't. Sure, you can
> find different ways to do that, but in the end, a GUI offers many
> possiblities.

But all this pointing and clicking isn't always efficient.  Typing is 
ten fingers working at once with little hand motion.  "Mousing" is one 
or two fingers working at once and moving the mass of my whole arm 
around.  Honestly, sometimes my index finger gets tired and I move my 
hand so that I can operate the left button with another finger.


> We're in the era of touchscreens and still fiddle with pseudo GUIs in
> terminals and editors like vi and emacs that simply look terrible and are a
> nightmare to use.

Some of us don't find them a nightmare to use.  There is a learning 
curve, sure.  But people with a computer software background become very 
proficient at using the control sequences and so on.

The problem with the GUI/touchscreen approach is that one can't 
replicate a plot or process very easily.  Say I generate a plot and then 
point-click to modify text, or line color.  The next day my boss asks to 
have the line in green instead of blue, then I have to do all the 
point-click stuff again.  Had I written it as an M-file script I just 
retrieve that script (via gvim) type in blue where it said green and 
rerun the script.  Having a scientific bent, I like being able to 
replicate analysis, figures, etc.  Doing ephemeral things doesn't sit well.

Does GUI have its place?  Most definitely.  CAD work, graphic designers, 
cartoonists, document editing layout, surfing the web--there are all 
sorts of cases where a GUI is superior and much more efficient than the 
command line.  But a touch-pad to analyze data?  How many thought 
provoking text messages have you ever gotten?

Dan